Since I retired I never get up early if I can help it. I normally rise at a respectable 8 am. But I needed to take a sample to be tested at the hospital. They require you to drop it off between 7:30 am and 8. It is inhuman! I had been putting it off for two weeks. Finally I told myself, today is the day, and I roused myself by 7:15. The hospital is about 10 minutes on foot from our house. I looked at the temperature…-1C…ouch! I almost jumped back into bed. Dressed warmly, I headed out. Just outside of our door across the road, is a little tunnel that goes through to a small piazzetta. We use it a lot as it leads to some bins for recycling cardboard. Today, at that hour, the rising sun was aligned to shine right down the tunnel.
I arrived at the hospital drop off place which is the same place as you go to get blood drawn for testing. The way it works here, people get a prescription from their primary doctor. Then they take it to the pharmacy and get an appointment. This particular test doesn’t require an appointment. But most of the people there are getting blood drawn and that *does* require an appointment. So I queued up with all the other early risers. We all are required to fill out a form for future contact tracing in case someone has Covid. I dropped off the sample and he gave me a paper with a PIN. In a week when the results are ready, I can download my results. Works well. Some people go to private clinics for this but I see no reason.
When I got back the weekly market was slowly opening, so I did a little shopping and headed home.
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Last Sunday we had lunch at Calagrana. They have just reopened after a month and a half. There has been some new decorating and it looks really nice. I love the chocolate accent wall. Very dramatic.
My antipasto was a new dish. Called Cipolla al forno, melanzana arrosto, formaggio di capra, salsa verde e pinoli. Which translates as baked onions with goat cheese fondue on top of roasted eggplant with pine nuts and green sauce. It was brilliant!
Hi Wendy, I do think we need to meet for a caffe or vino sometime soon, now the weather is getting nicer. I love the tiles in the tunnel. I remember it before when it was a dark and dank place covered with graffiti. The tiles and light paint, new lighting make it very cheerful. I read about the school kids making the tiles. You must be proud. And the security cameras keep the graffitiste away for which I’m grateful.
I can’t think of any reason you wouldn’t love Calagrana. The people are lovely, the ambience is cozy and friendly, Alberto is a really talented chef but I happen to know Ely is a lot of the inspiration for the food. (My antipasto Sunday was REALLY good!) And it’s only 15-20 minutes away, a lovely drive. The views from their patio are amazing. It is nice in the warm weather. They open the patio at Pasqua I think. Be sure to book 🙂
Hi Nancy! I still think it’s so funny how often we are in the same place at times and we still haven’t met. A little side note, in that tunnel there is a tile from one of my daughters from when she was in her last year of elementary school. We walk through to to look at it every once in a while. Your lunch sounds amazing, I’ve recommened to my husband that we try Calagrana because everything you post sounds and looks wonderful. Enjoy the lovely weather we’re having and hope to run into you one of these days!
This one is just a follow up to see if all’s well. Hope so. Keeping up with our health is more time consuming as we get older. Things take a little longer here. But you can pay private and get things fast. It is hundreds of times cheaper than paying in the US so quite affordable for us should we choose that.
Hi Nancy – Hope your tests turn out OK. We’ve got our hands full with health issues at the moment, but the system works really well here. The doc writes a script electronically and we can show up at any lab and often get test results the same day. Be well!!