Oliver once made a car....

My brother made a car some years ago, and I recently came across the photos of it. You can tell what the driver is like by the license plate: 666.... 13.

Yeah, that stick on the side, it's the brake. You pull it and the other end drags on the ground. The rose, however, is just for looks.

The red thing is a periscope, to see over oliver.

Picking Olives

I have been happily working for our neighbors since I arrived in Panicale. I do a few hours of work and they give me internet, lunch, and a bag of food to bring home. It could not be better. This is the road I wander down every morning to their house.

Olive trees grow so slowly that if you shock them by cutting them down they do not die, they just send up more trees.

Picking olives is simple. Put a net down to catch them, and rake or hand pick the entire tree. There is some technique to raking the tree. Climbing in them is both necessary and enjoyable until one falls out.

This tree below has been the record for producing the most olives, and it has a hole right through it.

One tree makes about 1 liter of oil.

Siena

Well, Stew, Midge, Kiki, and I went to Siena for lunch. It was a two hour drive which was fairly uneventuful except for picking up a Dylan Dog comic book. Damn, that is a great comic book. Always wears the same clothes, gets the girl, and survives/defeats the bad guys.

I look up at the uncompleted church. I look down at my legs. I have cartoon legs.

what I have been up to for the last week

I have been working for our neighbor here in Italy. Last week we went to a plant nursery and consulted with the experts (above) on what to get. Bellow is a citrus fruit called the "hand of buddha".

This is half the stuff, a full truck dropped more off the next day.

Work lead on to olive picking. To be continued.....

excuses

I have 5 dogs crawl over me as I attempt to blog and do other computer chores.

The internet is cooperative today, so more post to come!

I love Tuscany. It is my second home. It even has the "you can't get there from here" kinda thing. This is where I have been eating lunch every day.

I am staying with my aunt and uncle at their beautiful house for a while.

My friend Kiki and I went to the second largest buddhism site in Italy.

Our neighbor Nico came over and made us dinner! He spoke only italian and referred to me as Louie. We were attempting to recreate the first dinner that was ate in the house about 10 years ago. 

you could call it art?

Today should be my last day with a broken camera. It has produced some unique photos since the screen is broken, meaning I cannot choose the settings. Here is me at the Vatican.

I met a man from California and had lunch with him. I had 1 glass of wine and he drank 3. He then became semi-racist and passionately opinionated about the States health care system. I had agreed earlier to show him this fountain (below) and take him to the train station near by, so I felt bad about leaving him. He came close to the line when he started hassling every woman in his vicinity. This included shop keepers who threatened to call the police, and a female police officer. I really thought she was going to beat his ass with the club she carried. Anyways I got him to the train station and he bought some beer, we parted on the spot. He definitely appreciated my company.

Back to the fountain, you're suppose to throw coins in and make a wish, according to legend it will become true. I threw 3 coins in, I wished for good health for everybody in my family, for comfort to come to Zoe in this difficult time, and for my personal skillful action to develop.

Later on Chris (my hostel cellmate) and I went for a walk. The colosseum looks great at night!

Chris and I walked really far. He is a university student looking for a flat in the area, I decided to check one out with him. This blurred picture below is the really awesome old elevators, with the 2 doors you open by hand. It can squeeze in 4 people. I would rent the flat for that!

The subway is very similar to Barcelona, only spray painted a ton, and it doesn't smell like piss.

I thought of my british friends at EcoDharma, who occasionally swear "bloody hell".

walking around Roma

Well. I have ate pizza 4 1/2 meals in a row. Cheese is amazing after 2 and a half months vegan at EcoDharma. Below is my room at this great hostel, I sleep in the bed on the left. I share my room with an older man who only knows a few phrases en ingles but the other guy is a 20-year-old University student named Christian who knows quite a bit.

I set out this morning in a different direction, walked 2 or 3 blocks and ended up here, had no idea I was so close!

It was impressive. The tourist were kind of annoying though. I got there just a few minutes before they over took the place.

I have a been developing a theory that when I speak spanish to the Italians and they think I am a dumb American trying to speak italian. Sorry it's all I know! Half the time it is useful, the other half they just go "hey man, just spit it out in a english".