Man-kinis are the great equalizer at a public pool. The man-kini forces men to just put it all out there and be proud of their package. American men do little more than wear tight shirts to show off their pecks and biceps. While Popeye arms are nice, women deserve a little something more that makes their eyes pop! In a sense, the man-kini is an equalizer because it forces men to bare it all and leaves nothing to the imagination. European men aren't afraid of sexuality and are proud of their bodies. And for that, I thank them! It made my afternoon at the pool a little more exciting.
Women's bathing suits have left little to the imagination since about the 1960s. But, European women's bathing suits are a whole other ball game! As most of you know, I grew up around water. Summers were spent living in a bathing suit at Lake Raystown. Because we were active swimmers, I came to love the Speedo type suits (they don't fall off when tubing or water-skiing). Even my years as a lifeguard were spent in a one piece. The girls have (thankfully) taken to my style and both are more comfortable in a Speedo than a bikini. So, today we were the only three people at a pool filled with hundreds in one-piece bathing suits. Women of all shapes and sizes were sporting the two pieces. The more daring style for women's bottoms were of the half-thong variety - Scarlett said it looked like people had a wedgie. There were also a number of topless little ladies running around - so we saw some baby boobies too!
We made a number of other observations at the pool today. We noticed that everyone between twenty-five and forty has at least three tattoos. Now, Tom and I both have a tattoo so that isn't necessarily a bad thing in my eyes. But, Italians like their ink and it isn't uncommon to see someone with full sleeves. If I was a tattoo artist, I would definitely move to Italy because you could make a mint here. Scarlett also noticed that everyone had darker skin and dark hair. I was definitely the only red-head and freckle face in town.
The danger of putting yourself in a bathing suit is exposing your body to consumption by mosquitos. If you have traveled to Florence in the summer, you know that the mosquitos are stealth and will eat you alive. Poor Scarlett, who isn't really bothered by them at home, has been a blood donor for the past week. She seriously looks like she is suffering from chicken pox because of all of the mosquito bites on her body. A complicating factor to all of this is that windows do not have screens in Italy. You welcome the outdoors into your home when you open your windows, and that includes all of the little flying things too. Air conditioning isn't commonplace in Italy, and we are fortunate to have it in our flat. But, the weather has been so comfortable that we are just suffering through the mosquito attacks and keeping the windows open.
Another little sting to our heart has been the realization that city dogs just don't care about strangers and walk right past us. It is no small secret that the Zarcones love dogs (that is a HUGE understatement). And, we miss our dogs terribly. We thought we would be friends with every dog in the hood by now. But, city dogs are so desensitized to the hustle and bustle of daily life they don't even notice our puppy-dog eyes adoring them and begging to pet their heads and kiss their wet noses. Our saving grace has been the daily FaceTime sessions with Tom where we spend more time making him walk around the house so that we can talk to each of the dogs than we do talking with him. I don't think he minds too much because he says that our expressions (and simultaneous outbursts of "awwww") when we see the dogs are hysterical. There is nothing like a tail thump and perked up ears from our fluffy friends. Scarlett keeps saying that she misses the feeling of Star's fur and hopes she doesn't forget what it feels like until we get home. Bella is also missing her nightly snuggle sessions with Ferb, who sleeps with her and provides much comfort. I just miss them all - every dog has some special moment that we always share during the day. Some are more pushy with their desire for affection and some just like to be in my presence. But, I love them all and can't wait to get licked all over when I walk in the door.
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