Checking In

Yesterday and today have been better. Peach consumption down dramatically; real meal consumption up. I always roll my eyes when I read for the kajillionth time that I should sit down to eat a meal, but it really does make a difference in terms of satiety. (Then again, the amount of olive oil and butter in my grilled salmon with a side of spinach may have had something to do with that…)

I was hoping to get home a couple of days early and get back to my routine before it’s shaken up again for London Fashion Week and then my US trip. But alas. If I’m yanked early from the land of bellinis – and of Johnny Depp and Heath Ledger, the latter of whom I only recognized (and at the table next to me at Cipriani, no less) because today he was wearing the same tangerine-colored sweater he wore on Tuesday – it will be to go elsewhere in Italy to cover Pavarotti’s funeral. Nine months ago the mere prospect of this would have sent me into a panic – because where on earth would I buy a size 18/20 funeral-appropriate black dress in Italy? (Then again, nearly everything I owned at that size was black, so maybe I would have had something suitable already? Anyway.)

Speaking of shopping, I have neither the time nor the funds to buy cold-weather clothing here, so I settled for buying a pair of knee high black boots and tights – presto, instant summer-into-autumn wardrobe! And let me pause to note that nine months ago buying knee high black boots (calves, I’m looking at you) would have been a pipe dream. Things to keep in mind when it seems every other shop is either a gelateria or a pasticceria!