We’re wrong about a lot of things… the list is actually pretty long. Partly because we bring all our cultural history and life experiences with us, and partly because of the language barriers. I think this is a normal part of traveling and actually an enjoyable part. The unexpected. The surprising.
A not so favorite language barrier for me is the French fries. Back home I always ask for the fries extra crispy. I have succeeded in being understood once while in Portugal and it was because the owner speaks perfect English. I still didn’t get crispy fries, but he tried. Usually it results in a double order, for which Joe is thankful because he doesn’t have to share them with me. Not sure why, but the Portuguese French fry is a wimpy soft thing like at a fast-food place. When a place has good fries, we go back often.
The shoreline has changed due to a heavy winter. We used to be able to walk in front of the fortress, but now it’s only doable during low tide. We (Joe) decided to go in front of it (instead of climbing up to the road and walking past it) which meant getting our feet wet, but since we were in swimsuits, that didn’t seem terrible. Cold, but not terrible. So with backpack and travel purse we timed it to dash past the wall. We timed it wrong. As soon as we were at the most critical point a wave swept past our feet, up the wall above our heads, and doused us. I’m pretty sure the wave was laughing as we stood on the other side covered in sand and salt water. Everything in the backpack and my purse had to be set out to dry at the restaurant.
This has been a difficult trip for us to predict what to do and what to wear. The weather is absolutely impossible to predict. Even my app is confused. It predicts sunny days for the next week and it rains every day. One time it showed that lovely round yellow sun for the whole day. I held the phone up to show it that it was pouring down rain… seriously, a torrential downpour. The whole day it rained on and off, but the app never changed its prediction.
We brought our swim gear, as usual, to swim laps. The pool is freezing. It’s a love/hate thing. We force ourselves to do it and then we’re cold for a couple of hours in spite of the hot shower. However, we can eat more French fried, hamburgers, and pizza. I hope Florence is warmer next week.
The first night he arrives in Florence—Monday, we have a meeting with a someone from a film company. Then we will start mapping out the scene locations. We will need to film in front of the police station, across the plaza of the Duomo, in the alley where Grom Gelato is, the Ponte Vecchio, and some back streets on the other side of the Arno River in Oltrarno. We’ll also check out Pistoia and Lucca. On one day we will take the high-speed train to Rome to meet with a producer who’s interested in the film.
Last, but definitely not least, The Tattered Book screenplay has been nominated for best screenplay in the European International Film Festival. This is a new festival and I’m excited to be part of its debut. Their trajectory is somewhat like the Olympics. Every year they will have it in a different European city. Next year it will be held in Rome, but this year it’s in Madrid on May 29-31. I was so tempted to fly to Madrid for the blessed event! Keeping my fingers crossed for winning the Best Screenplay, hopefully not being present won’t prevent me winning. There’s only one other screenplay besides mine nominated, so there’s a pretty good chance.
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