The 3 Plagues of Italy

The 3 Plagues of Italy…mosquitoes, ants, and Il Mafioso
Well perhaps 4 in the summer- tourists. But not in our off- the- beaten path oasis, Alessandria, where a week later, we still haven’t heard English spoken by any native speakers. (and where apparently, according to the Microsoft Mafioso-Abby??, my native grammar is abhorrent).
Getting back to the real plagues…I added the Mafioso in honor of anti-Mafia day-as announced today on Italian MTV. I can’t say I know much on the subject but was glad to see that the Italians feel they are a problem, too. I do remember reading during a trip to Sicily in ’03 that there, those who stand up to the Mafia have extremely short-lived protests. So may there be strength in numbers for future efforts.
Rachel and I are the true vigil-ant-ies!! Last night we eliminated hundreds of the little suckers in our kitchen. Why one day and not any other? Perhaps Rachel’s meal was especially tasty last night- or after numerous glasses of wine we spilled more than our usual share of bread crumbs? In any case we were the Via Verona Mafiose (apparently Microsoft also doesn’t believe that women-plural-can be in the Mafia) and the streets are now safe.
And ah, the zzzzzzzzzzzzzzanzare. Rachel lives in fear as she is highly allergic and looks like Elephant (wo)man when bitten. So far she has kept them at bay but the weather has been unseasonably cool so far (give or take a day or two) and I’m afraid that ultimately she may not be the conquistadora she fantasizes herself to be. Time will tell.