Andy got her Tax ID! The 3rd time was the charm! Now she’s panicked about getting a bank account!

After we finished there, which took all of 5 minutes, we came back to our neighborhood and walked to the market. Got some mushrooms for dinner with rosemary chicken tonight and some swordfish for dinner tomorrow night. We will fix it with tangerines. And garlic.
One our way to get a sandwich for lunch, we saw a strange looking little man furiously peddling a bicycle on the sidewalk…but it was in some kind of stall and going nowhere. Couldn’t figure out what on earth he was doing until we got right on him. He was sharpening scissors and knives. He’s called an arrotino. The wheels of the bike were turning a whet stone. This reminded me of an article I read about a man who lives near Florence, Mauro Grifoni, who has a large garage and collects Peddlar’s Bicycles. These were from an era when tradesmen had customized bikes to ply their trade.
As we went down one street, we saw three more Stumbling Stones…three more Jews taken to Auswitz. I’m sure there are dozens around the city.
Close to the apartment, we saw a big fat English bulldog. I have seen him several times, but never close enough to stop and give a scratch. Today we got to meet ‘Great Banks’. He goes by Banks. He is 7 years old and he LOVES having his butt scratched! He lives on our street and we look forward to many more encounters.
Tomorrow, we are going to attempt to go to a museum near Piazza Barbarini and then meet my eccentric friend, Nicola for lunch. He is obsessed with Barbra Streisand and knows every word of every song and movie she has ever done. If, in conversation you mention the word, ‘people’, he breaks into song. (And you just thought I was crazy!) He is a hoot. Speaks about 5 languages fluently. I speak English.
Off to bed.