More Changes

From a different cafe, but you get the idea.....

The more things change.....the more things, I was almost about to say "change" in place of the appropriate words "stay the same" but, as I sit here at 7:30 in the morning, in the same cafe, at the same seat I sat, every day last year, I am already starting to see the usual cast of characters entering. This pattern, however, has come to an abrupt end.....

This is the first morning in three weeks that I have availed myself of the opportunity to fully wake up to my surroundings.  I left a sleeping Joe and walked down the street a few steps into my beloved Cafe Duomo.  Nearly broke my heart the day we came in here upon arrival, the absence of Isabel was palpable and it all felt so unfamiliar.  How could a place that had once been as familiar as the keyboard on my laptop turned so cruel and harsh upon my soul I wondered.  Joe had no frame of reference so he was satisfied.  Good cappuccino and an outdoor seating area that hangs over the beautiful Piazza San Rufino.  Devoid of tourists, the silence of the square is broken only by the rushing of water in the fontana and the pigeons flapping.  Not a bad way to wake up.

I have a good internet connection in here.  To my joy, my laptop was instantly recognized and there was no need to enter a password.  That was comforting to say the least.

But, it's after 7:30 and only one familiar face has shown up.  I wonder if he remembers me, the woman who might have been a foreign correspondent? I'm still not entirely sure that the regulars from last year understood what I was doing here every morning.  But, they smiled and I smiled and it all seemed to be great.  Heck, by the time I left, they were even posing for pictures.

Were Isabel here now, I would be enjoying her play list - she shared my love of Leonard Cohen and made sure we had some time together, the three of us.  I would also be getting a little language lesson. Never did I feel dumb in her presence.  I asked questions freely and she answered all of them, including my Italian culture inquiries.  Perhaps that was due in large part to the fact that she is not Italian.  She's Portuguese and is married to an Italian.  Second language for both of us makes for kindred spirits.

Apparently, I am not the only one who misses her.  Isabel, come back to the Duomo.  I need you!!

 THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME. THAT'S A STUPID SAYING.  THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY CHANGE. PERIOD.