No gelato yet. I walked to a mall on Friday to get Robyn's phone equipped for cellular service in Italy. It was about a five mile walk and I realized when I got there that I was too old and tired to walk back; so I bought a bicycle at the mall and rode home.

They were very gracious and helped me get it ready to ride by pumping up the tires, putting the pedals on, and aligning the handlebars with the front wheel.  I bought a safety helmet but forgot two things: a bike lock, and to tighten the seat at a height that fits me.  The first two days, I would set the seat in place, tighten it by hand and then ride. After about 50 feet my butt was lower than the handlebars and my knees were higher than my ears.  I worked on it for a while Saturday evening and it's stayed in place since then.

It came in very handy in going back and forth between our hotel and the apartment. It's about a 10 minute walk to our apartment and a 3 minute bike ride. Robyn's opposed to riding a bike--not so much riding as crashing which she does when she tries to ride. I made several trips on Friday and Saturday taking things we didn't need from the hotel to the apartment to make our suitcases a little lighter.

This morning, we hired a taxi to move us the half mile to our apartment. Robyn told how Dario and Alba saved us from having to shut down at dark (5:30 pm). These angel friends have been working tirelessly to help us get here and be comfortable. 

I have joked that it's been a war of will between us and the Italian bureaucracy and we finally won. In reality, there have been many battles, and the general who has been directing things, Dario, has been the real victor.  

Italy has a national mask mandate requiring a specific type of mask for all activity outside of the home.  One of the members who has been helping us told me that a significant number of the saints have opted not to get vaccinated. A woman who worked in the temple laundry didn't want to get vaccinated and she died last week from COVID.  Robyn and I have had the two Pfizer shots and a subsequent booster. I hope we stay safe.