Its AWESOME season...

...and the last time I got checked out AWESOME is NOT one of the things I am allergic to!

Last week I managed to venture out on the shit-bike despite the threat of rain, and a cold and quiet Sunday to explore the nearby hamlet of Faenza.

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I thought it was the bigger of the two towns we are scrunched betwixt, but then I had a chance to check out Forli, and wah wah wee waaaahh! I am in love with the town of Forli, the bike roads to get there, and everything it has to offer. And it is old. Old is not something I think many of my 'Merican friends have a good idea unless you have traveled to Europe. In the states "old" is 150 years old, here... old is in the several hundered, if not thousands! And the towns dig it, so as you creep down some tiny alley all of a sudden you find remnants of a Greek arch, or Byzantine frescoes, or Roman roads...its CRAZY! In Forli these things, these glimpses of ancient pasts are right on top of stores that sell jewlery, addidas, and leather pants and jackets! Its amazing.

What I really dug today though was the Parce Urbano, yup, that means Urban Park, City Park...whathaveyou. As well as wooded enough to find a spot to piss, it was a great little crossroads of activity. Most of you know I write alot in those little black and white booklets and today I had a chance to sit a write, while enjoying the view, and sipping my first ever Italian Cappuccino. And this was all at a park vendor stand that is probably shunned by locals as touristy or not the best...but I was diggin it! I thought I would share a direct quote from the pages of infamy...

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"The can of water I bought taste like cancer but its 20° cooler in the shade. Old men calling back in forth in front of me. I'm on the edge of the seating area and its fucking great!!... Forli is amazing. I found the main huge plaza, the indoor market, the Asian grocery, extreme sports store, with skate and surf window displays, a trekking store, and all the meat, fruite, verduras, patisseries, fromagio - all the trad. food shops you could think of. Hanging out in this town is going to be great....this might be my new SF! about as big as fort collins with all the shit I dig about SF; museums, cultura, historia, good people watching, and so unbelievably bikable. There's hipster kids who all look the same, a few rogue artsy kids with mismatched clothes, haven’t seen a bike gang yet just the right amount of graffiti and shithead high school boys. I saw Chinese, African, Pilipino, Jews, even a Pakistani kid with full beard and cap. Dark, kinda light, short kinda tall, young sorta old, this town has it all. I might be home.

"This is the present that makes my past totally worth it. This is the life that cancels strife, this is the sea of beautiful existence stretched out forever in front of me, the distance of the earth's circumference hiding the fact that I must eventually wash ashore. This is the infinite depth of experience that will forever enrich my stories, my life, my person, the very core of who I am. This is the dismantling and re-weaving the rag rug of my life's story - rearranging the colours and patterns to reveal a new shape. This is the reshaping of my very spirit. And this is the new colour of the walls surrounding my heart. This is my shrinking world....More and more people trickle into the park... a little younger but still my senior, mountain bikers head towards the centro, and the public lovers teasingly fold up their blanket to possibly trade it in for a small dormitorio, or a smaller Italian back seat. A few hipsters straggle in from the fringes travelling in small packs and even smaller waistlines, as I get sprinkled with spring buds, a gentle kiss from spring breeze as cherry and plum trees slowly beckon summer with a snowing of their blossoms.
I'm absolutely in love with this spot. And the sun on my cheek is so warm and fertile feeling, no doubt the same sun that aggressively attacks the sprout button in the ground. The land here is fertile and things grow quick. And I'm not missing a thing, not a sprout, shoot, or bud - for its my own personal growth I feel today. The straightening up to meet spring's sun, the drinking in the mineral rich waters of my immediate environment, the fertile ground of the present moment to reach down through with my roots and grab a vicious hold.

"1.30 Euro and I'm moustache deep in the best fucking cappuccino I've ever had! I look up and the park swells with activity, more students, more gorgeous people, more leather jackets, stylish cigarette pants, and moms pushing strollers, pulling dogs. The nearby bustle of work day must be starting up again. I could get used to this schedule. A couple blondes who look like Midwestern or Texan transplants in southern California belly up to the coffee bar, unaware of the sugar-free syrups, non-fat milk, and half decaf options being combined into 20oz cups half a world away. They order gelato and proceed to dive in. Silence ensues and with each twist of the cone sparkles from diamond encrusted wrists and fingers glimmer in the sun - their husbands unaware of their secret ritual. My chairs scoot away as I write and another card game begins. Coffee water and beer work its way through and I'm encouraged to shuffle on, at least to the nearest shrubberies!!"

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Got back to the Farm in time for the best lighting for taking pictures, and I figured out how to use the micro focus feature. So I can take some more shots like these...

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I think I'm going to be ok...

S.