Watermelons

Today was the fourth day of the kids in school, Michael working, and me with Rachel. Since we do not have a yard, taking Rachel to the park every morning is certainly part of my day. Today I found myself, as I imgaine I will often find myself, at Palazzo Te. Palazzo Te is a palace from the 16th century, built as a suburban palace but now is very much a part of Mantova's city. I love the grounds and park that surrounds it, as it is one place where green is plentiful and trees are tall, giving off cool shade. The palace's garden, and the playground nearby, are busy with children in the evening, and seniors and toddlers in the morning.

At 11:00, right after an amusing interaction with an Italian toddler where Rachel got shoved off a toy by a toddler and the kid's mom subsequently went into a tirade of scolding her toddler that included strenuous-and ominous- looking hand gestures, it was time for a snack. Nearby the park is lovely bar that we frequent; during August one pleasure here was ordering a slice of watermelon, and having them bring a very cold and sweet slice of Mantova's finest. Today, with the 80+ temps, seemed like another nice day for watermelon.

As such, Rachie and I sauntered over, parked the stroller on the side, and walked up to order [in Italian, just to say].
"May I have a slice of watermelon, please?"
Big, huge, belly laughs from the lady behind the counter were followed by laugher from the senior waiting to order her coffee. The whole place seemed to be in stitches,
"AH HA HA HA HA HA HA".
I looked at Rachel, What did I do?
When all the laugher died down, the waitress spoke,
"Singorna, it's September. I know it's hot but we don't have watermelon in September. I am sorry. Ha ha ha. Watermelon. Ha ha...."

I bought some popcorn and was on my way.

After bringing hilarity to my fellow city-dwellers, Rachel and I went food shopping. Indeed, no watermelon in the store. No berries, either. Lots of squash, though, and apples and pears. We will be eating seasonally here whether we like it or not. Can you imagine if we ate a pear in January? That's CRAZY. Crazy Americans.