This morning a letter arrived by recorded delivery: I opened it to discover that I am "invited" to pay 25 euros to the Azienda Sanitaria for the visit I made to Casualty [ER] in May. It is normal to pay for such a visit here and you also have to pay a nominal sum for outpatient appointments. I should point out that there would be no question of paying a fee if you were rushed to Casualty following an accident or other emergency and / or were subsequently admitted. I have no objection to paying this charge as I am grateful to be covered by the Italian health service at all, but I do wonder how much money is being spent on sending all such letters out by recorded delivery.
On my way out today I did the very thing that drives me crazy when I see the Italians doing it: I queue-jumped, reader! Yes, I ignored the ticket system in the post office and marched up to the counter to ask for a form for a recorded delivery letter of my own. This was duly handed to me despite the customer already at the counter, the notices about respecting customer privacy and all the people sitting waiting for their number to appear on the display boards. No one batted an eyelid but the Brit in me felt ashamed!
As I write, we are waiting for the water lorry yet again. I phoned the Comune to order a refill on Wednesday and I'm sure we are about to run out.
Saturdays seem to be Caffè Consorzio day, so yet another relaxing lunch was enjoyed there: interesting antipasti, a salad of radicchio, rocket, pear and grana cheese plus this beautifully presented ice cream:
On my way out today I did the very thing that drives me crazy when I see the Italians doing it: I queue-jumped, reader! Yes, I ignored the ticket system in the post office and marched up to the counter to ask for a form for a recorded delivery letter of my own. This was duly handed to me despite the customer already at the counter, the notices about respecting customer privacy and all the people sitting waiting for their number to appear on the display boards. No one batted an eyelid but the Brit in me felt ashamed!
As I write, we are waiting for the water lorry yet again. I phoned the Comune to order a refill on Wednesday and I'm sure we are about to run out.
Saturdays seem to be Caffè Consorzio day, so yet another relaxing lunch was enjoyed there: interesting antipasti, a salad of radicchio, rocket, pear and grana cheese plus this beautifully presented ice cream:
Finally, there are worse places to be on a Saturday afternoon than sitting under a palm tree waiting for a friend. [A shame about the graffiti but you can't have everything.]
10 comments:
On my way out today I did the very thing that drives me crazy when I see the Italians doing it
You know what they say, when Rome do as the Romans do ;-)
I love the picture of you :-)
I was just thinking, same graffiti everywhere :)
I don't feel ashamed of queue jumping anymore.
Haven't they fixed your water problem yet Welshcakes? That would send me batty lol.
Lovely photo of you :-)
Sounds like a lovely day.
More water? My time sense is skewed, but it seems you had some recently. How long does it last? It must be a constant worry.
What a wonderful way to relax on a lovely day...love the photos!!!
I can't believe you queue jumped...well done..you have lived there long enough now to be a bit like them :-) :-)
Ah, lovely food again! And nice to see a picture of you. I like the skirt! I also hope the water truck has arrived since you posted this. Nothing worse than running out of water. It must cost you a fortune, though, have to get water trucked in all the time.
Hi, cherrypie. Yes, "When in Rome... " and thanks re the pic! You're right, Crushed. AA, I must take a leaf out of your book! Nunya, we had a water delivery today but it's a constant worry. Glad you like the pic. Thanks, dragonstar. We had a delivery a week ago Thursday and, mercifully, today. A lorryload will usually last 10 days. Hi, Anne and thanks. Yes, I must overcome my Brit scruples re queues! Hi, Chervil and thank you. Got the skirt in the UK in October! Usually we don't have to pay for water but it's a pain remembering to order it every week. Every now and then they say the service is "suspended" [because of problems with the administration in the town hall]and then we have to pay a private company. I really resent that!
Good for you Welshcakes. If they do it so must you, at least on the odd occasion.
Thanks, jmb.
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