Lundry *sigh*

Laundry in Italy is a trip... To start things off Dave (our tour/school leader) described it like this: Laundry machines in America were designed for efficiency, but not the Italian ones. They were designed to simulate how laundry was done way back when, by laundry ladies. First, you cram all your laundry into the tiny drum. This simulates handing it to the wash lady. Don't plan on seeing your undies again for a long time. Then you close the door, which locks, and it sits there doing nothing. The laundry lady is walking to the local fountain, and then she rests and chats with the other ladies. In a few minutes or so you hear it filling; she is tossing your laundry into the fountain. Then she gets tired and walks to a cafe for an espresso. Once she is hopped up on caffeine the machine runs quickly, but as the coffee wears off, it slows down and she gets another espresso. It goes on like this for oh, about FOUR HOURS. Then it all stops, but she is not done. She is walking back from the fountain, so the machine just sits there. Locked. Eventually, she gives you your clothes back and you hear this soft *click*. Chances are you are asleep when that happens. When you finally wake up you are treated to a big mass of wet clothes that you must then lay on the drying rack to dry in the heat of the day.

On to part 2.

I go to the supermarket and get a box of what looks somewhat like laundry detergent, but not quite. I look at the directions and there is a pictogram of one of the tablets being tossed in, then clothes being tossed in. I do a load of whites, then a load of shirts and pants. They all dried hard as a board. What I thought was laundry detergent, was laundry machine decalsium tablets. So I am once again waiting for the laundry lady to get back from the fountain.

Later