The "Tufo" arrives! ONE WEEK today to PALIO...

It was all happening on the Campo today, as the race course was covered with a thick layer of  "tufo", the earth on which the city is built, to make the cobbles horse friendly. Here it is applied to  the notorious San Martino bend, which is the most dangerous- the corner most likely to cause a pile up. It is lined with mattresses, (hidden under the white areas) to soften the impact of any potential blow...

 The city was out in force this morning, here with the Mayor De Mossi (white T-shirt above|) surveying the progress.                                                              

Nevertheless, proceedings still went on as if it were a normal Saturday, with a smart wedding spilling out from the Palazzo Pubblico, complete with Carabienieri in historic outfits...

Dublin and Siena (via London)

Arrived back to Siena Tuesday night from London, (yes, yes, I know I have been flitting about, rather...) into a city which is  limbering up for the Palio-there is palpable excitement in the air, and the countdown has started- 8 Days left! The Campo is changing shape hour by hour as the coveted seating is erected around the course- a seat here or on the balconies costs between 200- 350E and they are all sold out! So I will be taking up my free spot next to the Red Cross (just to be on the safe side) in the corner of the Campo, like last time- three years ago. 

But I need to mention the exciting trip to Dublin too...whither I flew from Amsterdam to take part in birthday celebrations for my old friend David- below with his partner, dear Jeremiah, right, who has exchanged London for Dublin since he works for the European Commission, which has  now usefully posted him in this splendid city. 

I knew I was going to love Dublin- and I was right.

 It turned out to be one of those rare cities that behaves just the way it should; a mythical place which lives up to its reputation. There are just a few cities that have done that for me and they have all been  in the States: New Orleans; New York and Los Angeles have all behaved admirably according to expectation.   Dublin was also just the way it is billed;  a fun loving. eccentric, passionate, poetic city where much alcohol is consumed, and where anything can happen. 

The truth of that preconceived idea  became  immediately obvious as we stumbled across Sweny's pharmacy/bar, where the owner PJ serenaded me with  songs in Gaelic and we were offered glasses of wine and no one expected any payment.  Sweny's is mentioned in Ulysses, and has therefore been saved intact  by fans of James Joyce as an important and original location worthy of preservation.  I found myself catapulted into this Joycean Dublin because it was BLOOMSDAY, which is celebrated every June the 16th,  representing the 24 hours during which the action of the novel takes place.  It was doubly special this year because it  was a hundred years since the controversial novel was finally published. 

There were readings all over town of the strange, wondrous and delirious text, none more extraordinary than the Circe dream sequence, beautifully read in the Abbey Theatre by Barry Mc Govern. I thought I must have  eaten magic mushrooms for breakfast as I tumbled around on the precipitous and vertiginous wordscape that was so beautifully enunciated by McGovern...

The whole of Dublin was out in force, joined by a plentiful supply of enthusiastic American tourist Joyce fans,  dressed up like these below, trying -and often succeeding quite beautifully- to look as if  they were Edwardian. All in all a strange and rather unforgettable experience...

                                                        But now... Siena and Palio!

Below a couple of pictures form July 2019 when  I witnessed Giraffa win the July Palio and decided this is where I want to be!

                                                     

                                        

Movement

The most important thing to happen in the last two weeks is undoubtedly the arrival of that all-important document S1 to my letterbox in Siena, which was communicated to me this evening, about an hour ago, on WhatsApp by Paolo who had gone to my apartment in Siena to check... and there it was! Hurrah! After one month, it arrived finally to its destination...which means that I can now become a resident in Siena; we can start the work on the flat; I will be able to register for |Italian health care; I can go to all those museums in Siena for free when my friends come to see me etc etc...

but before this happy event, there were other reasons to be cheerful, such as the arrival of my lovely god daughter Aoife, (here enjoying a deep fried baby squid at my favourite seaside restaurant in Castiglione della Pescaia last week) and her boyfriend Kai, who kept me company for a few days in Siena. 

Last Thursday I left for France with a coach. Cheap transport, and quite tiring of course. But it has its plus side- It is wonderful to travel through the Alps and to see the world change and feel the distance... arriving at Lyon, I was once again happy to stay with my lovely friends Monique and Pascal. This time we explored 'La Colline qui Prie'- that is to say the oldest part of the city, which includes the cathedral, a comparatively plain edifice if  set against some of the more elaborate cathedrals of the North. But  what a city- I love it! And the food... Ah! here below is Pascal, always a most erudite and enthusiastic guide.

Another long night's bus journey brought me to Amsterdam to see my dear friend Birgit, who was such an integral part of my life in Mali. She works at the Nordenmarkt, selling all her lovely West African stuff at the market on Saturdays and Mondays. 

She took the day off yesterday and we went to the Dutch sea side, which is quite a different experience from my newly acquired Tuscan sea side habits...for a start, the sea is much colder of course, and there are no rows of umbrellas on the beach... the feeling is quite 'Northern'...

And Amsterdam,,, what a lovely city! had almost forgotten. But quite terrifying of course with those  great hoards of cyclist that threaten to mow one down around every corner if one is not careful...

                                                              And tomorrow off to Dublin!