Monday, July 16, 1979
Acted as chauffeur taking Aldo’s car. Took Pina and her sister, Teresa, out for ice cream in Vauda di Nole, and then to their tailoress nearby. Then we drove to Cafasse to drop off shoes we had brought back from Bordighera. When we arrived home, I received a message that Marisa wanted to see me, so we drove to her home in Villanova. Marisa, one of the try-it-out maids at the B’s, had news of a possible job for me.
Tuesday, July 17, 1979
Borrowed Aldo’s car to go to Torino to try to exchange money, only to find there was too much red tape for me to change Italian lire, and at that I could only take 100,000 lire out of the country. Tried several banks and found one who gave me 100,000 lire ($125) worth of French francs.
Wednesday, July 18, 1979
Biked to the B offices to say goodbye to the receptionist. The secretary said to try the offices of exchange such as at the airport, not at the banks. The receptionist, Joan, said to also try the Nole bank, and if I needed help she would change money for me. I did go to the Nole bank, which changed 100,000 lire into dollars. That afternoon Carlo and his friend, Alessandro, came to take me to Torino to offices of exchange where Alessandro is known and no questions asked. Managed to get Spanish, Dutch, Swiss and English currency. Then went to Alessandro’s house where he showed me his armory, all sorts of rifles and pistols. He even took us out into the yard for shooting practice using a silencer on his rifle. Then he drove me home after inviting me to go swimming with him, but I declined.
That evening a family friend of the P’s made secret pockets for my jeans to carry all that money!
I had two special gifts, both handmade: a sweater from Debora's mother and a shawl from Claudio's grandmother:
Thursday, July 19, 1979
I am now on vacation! At least that is how my Italian family sees it, but I seem to feel it's more of a permanent leave-taking. Now that I am more emotional like a quasi-Italian, I cried! Pina walked me to the Nole station where I took the local into Torino which was 20 minutes late; unusual! From the Giulo Cesare station I hiked to Porta Nuova. There I went to the information windows, but the lines were very long. I decided to take my chances going immediately to the international ticket window to get my Eurailpass validated. It was done right away. Wandered around the station wondering whether or not to buy a cheap watch, or just depend on my alarm clock. Instead, I bought film, mostly to get the Rochester zip code. Then I took a walk outside the station to buy a notebook to keep my journal. I had planned on taking the 13:50 train directly to Ventimiglia, but in checking the schedule I decided to take the 12:15 to Savona then change for Ventimiglia. During the hour wait, I found a bookstore selling books in English, so I bought "The Thorn Birds." Should keep me occupied along with writing this journal while waiting for trains.
And so now begins the 1979 Eurailpass/Europe Trip.
I had two special gifts, both handmade: a sweater from Debora's mother and a shawl from Claudio's grandmother:
Thursday, July 19, 1979
I am now on vacation! At least that is how my Italian family sees it, but I seem to feel it's more of a permanent leave-taking. Now that I am more emotional like a quasi-Italian, I cried! Pina walked me to the Nole station where I took the local into Torino which was 20 minutes late; unusual! From the Giulo Cesare station I hiked to Porta Nuova. There I went to the information windows, but the lines were very long. I decided to take my chances going immediately to the international ticket window to get my Eurailpass validated. It was done right away. Wandered around the station wondering whether or not to buy a cheap watch, or just depend on my alarm clock. Instead, I bought film, mostly to get the Rochester zip code. Then I took a walk outside the station to buy a notebook to keep my journal. I had planned on taking the 13:50 train directly to Ventimiglia, but in checking the schedule I decided to take the 12:15 to Savona then change for Ventimiglia. During the hour wait, I found a bookstore selling books in English, so I bought "The Thorn Birds." Should keep me occupied along with writing this journal while waiting for trains.
And so now begins the 1979 Eurailpass/Europe Trip.
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