Back to Italy despite COVID
Artistic espresso from Franca's favorite bar. I didn't take a photo of the amazing flaky pastry that went with it. Via Paolo Sarpi, the street in Milano where Gauss lived before moving to America. The street is now the center of Milano's Chinatown. Franca still occupies the apartment across the hall from where Gauss and his parents lived when he was a child. It is sweet and moving to be there. I'm back after a three-year absence. For two of those years I've been studying Italian with Duolingo--as of today my streak is 811 days in a row. (I managed not to skip even through hip replacement surgery.) My improved fluency—in fairness I probably can't really call it that—has helped matters greatly. I'm able to converse with people who speak no English at all, with occasional help from Google Translate when I just can't find a word. I know I slaughter the grammar but I've taken inspiration from my Chinese student Aaron Li, who plunged ahead and spoke Engli