5am notes
I'd like to start of the first 5am notes post as an introduction to my new habit I am trying to develop. Waking up at 4.50am and walking 20 minutes uphill of a beautiful Italian town to see the sunrise at 6am has weirdly had a slightly different effect on me than I was expecting. It started of as one night of insomnia that had gone on until the small hours of dawn because I had spiraled down the Youtube tunnel of watching music videos of iconic songs from the 70s until the early 90s, which btw please do do at your own risk... or perhaps the ongoing construction work in the building opposite mine was the cause of my insomnia as they had been reaching havoc for weeks from 7am until 7pm with the workers yelling out appalling jokes half in Italian and half in their own to me unknown language which makes it even more frustrating not knowing if the punchline was actually worth the cackle of 15 middle aged men weirdly dressed in old adidas velour suits as if in a post Soviet union rap video.
I've gone on my 5am sunrise walk about 6 times now this past week and a half and really enjoy the quiet morning and empty streets, however, it is starting to feel as if I have joined a fake 5am club with random members that all gather in the same place every morning at a certain time to do the same thing but separately, without having made any plans or set any intention on doing said things as a group. Yet we still find each other promptly at the same exact time and place every damn morning and if the already natural silence of it actually being 5 something am wasn't awkward enough, I bet the sight of bunch of random people walking uphill the same road at different speed and distance does the trick... so, I shall introduce you to my fellow "non club" club members. Before I begin I must say that I have left some members out of the introduction because some of them are so absurd you would simply not believe me and think I was making this up, but trust me, the sheer comedy I experience alone in silence almost every morning at 5am already makes me feel like I should have my own comedy show.
There is a scandinavian looking lady in Hunters rainboots and a Matilda Djerf dressing gown that comes to walk her German shepherd who always seems disoriented about left and right. Forgive me the lack of a better character name but second we have Mr.Hunchback who needs no visual description but his bright neon green gardening gloves deserve a honorary mention. There is a turn around point after you have walked to the highest passage where I usually stop to drink some water and then head back down, in said corner there is always an elderly man with a bright yellow Esselunga (biggest supermarket chain in Italy) bag dressed in perfect dinner attire including dress shoes, a blue suit and a tie staring at the sunrise. When the clock hits around 5.45 and I am already heading back home I encounter what I can only call the Humpty Dumpty brothers who very interestingly are always accompanied by a different lady friend who they seem to be giving the same city tour pitch every morning, might I add the brothers (or twins) do not seem to be locals. Then there is me, a 23 year old who I am not sure I should consider out of my mind for waking up at 5am to go watch the sunrise all by my lonesome although in my defense I will be continuing my walks for the pure comedy boost I get first thing in the morning.
As I continue my walk back home down the narrow cobble streets I encounter some cars heading up. Now, I would imagine it would be workers heading up to open up cafes first thing in the morning but the only people driving up the hill are what I can only refer to as "sciura" an italian slang word for older ladies with expensive taste, oversized sunglasses, a brightly colored lipstick and always, always a neck scarf of some sort, and none of those normal ones, more like an Hermes twilly kind. If you would like a visual representation I highly suggest you check out @sciuraglam on instagram for your old money outfit inspiration.
Now by the time I reach the flat path it is still early in the morning, just after 6am but most working people are starting to wake up already and are opening their street facing windows. Whatever you do I beg you do not make any sudden movements when you hear a window opening, keep on walking unless you want to be surprised or scarred with the view from below of mostly older members of our society who often times in the summer due to humidity sleep naked and do not assume people peeking into their windows at 6am. Only one single time have the gods blessed me when I have looked up during aperitivo time and to my delight been met with the sight of a beautiful man such like Michelangelos David carved out of marble in real life but better, with luscious hair and a towel around his waist that I think would have fallen off by the sheer power of gaze that came from the numerous women looking up at him.
I will report back next week on the comedic 5am club happenings!
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