#68: Pranzo di Lavoro

Ciao Nonni,

Well I guess I should start with an apology. This is the longest I have ever left you waiting for a dispatch from Lucca! I am sorry.

The post-Christmas demons that came to visit really settled in and made themselves at home for a good few weeks. We're only just now all recovered from what turned out to be quite the persistent flu / cold / stomach bug. The only remaining symptoms being some spectacular post-viral coughs. We sound like a family of pack-a-day smokers.

Luckily, the weather followed our health - and for most of our period of convalescence, it was cloudy, cold and raining. So there was less cabin fever than there otherwise might have been if it had been blinding sun all day.

In any case, we are healed. And we have emerged, squinty-eyed and ravenous for social interaction (even me!), into the light and the world outside our little apartment.

One of the unexpected victims of our period of isolation was our poor little Fiat. The blue gremlin didn't get driven at all for about three weeks. Which, given that it already had questionable battery life, was just too much for the poor dear. We couldn't even jumpstart it, so we had to call for roadside assistance. Which was the most Italian experience ever.

We rang up, and managed to convey that we needed a jump start. The woman on the line took our details (address and phone number) and said that the tow truck driver would be there within the hour. Around 10:30am.

Two hours go by. Nothing.

So we call again. She is as confused as we are. The driver was in Lucca, but now he isn't anymore.

She calls him, and then he calls us.

He explains that he was here, but that he had the wrong phone number (suspect) and the address he was given did not include our house number, only our street. So, instead of calling back to the office, which clearly held all of our details, he just drove off. He said he could come back, but that it might take some time. 

Why? We asked. 

Well because now it is lunch time. 

Ugh. 

His explanation was that he felt that we were ok because our car was at home, we weren't stuck on the side of the autostrada or something. Which I guess was true, but come on!

Anyway, he said he would be here by 2pm. Or maybe 3pm to be safe.

At 3:15pm he arrived. Luckily for him, he was actually lovely. Obviously just very, very Italian. He got the car going in a matter of minutes, and then was off. 

So then I took our car for a little holiday to the meccanico, where a similarly lovely and very, very Italian interaction ensued. I was told it would take two days, as there were a few other things that needed to be done. Five days later, we finally have it back!

The other major event of the past week was David's birthday. We had planned to go to an excellent restaurant about 20 minutes outside town that had been on our wishlist for ages, but because of the aforementioned lack of car this had to be postponed. So instead we went for a classic workers lunch, a pranzo di lavoro.

Many restaurants offer fixed price lunches for workers in the area. And they are usually exceptionally good value. You are typically offered a short menu, with 2-3 options for first and second courses, and either water or a glass of wine, and coffee included. 

The place we went to is a bit of an institution, and very, very rustic. Despite the fact that it was a cold Tuesday in the dead of winter, the venue was pumping. Tables were crammed in, and all full. It was the type of place where, if you walked in as a solo diner, you might be placed on the same table as a group of three already midway through their meal.

It was also the type of place where the advent of indoor smoking restrictions seemed to have not occurred. 

When we walked through the door, it was like being the out-of-towner entering the saloon in a western movie. I'm not even exaggerating when I say we got all heads turned in our direction. So it seems like they don't get too many foreigners at this place. Or maybe I just had a huge bit of food in my teeth or something. Who knows.

Anyway, we sat at a table with two other people, and ate like the king and queen of Lucca. Dave had a steak the size of his head. Our bill at the end? 25 euros. For everything. Fantastic, and well worth the second hand smoke exposure. 

All my love as always,

Kate