first day!

I arrived yesterday about lunch time - more than a slightly fluid concept where the Italians are concerned. My boss collected me at the train station and then spent most of the afternoon with me- luch with her family first and then she took me around the town, saw useful things like where the supermarket is etc.
Reggio Emilia is quite large but still has some interesting cutoms- anyone old enough to remember half-day closing on wednesday's? (Ok so, I guess the Stansted friends may not, being in the progressive south and all but when I was growing up oop norf- oh yes we did!) Sundays are also a total shutdown apparently, none of your Sunday opening times, niente! In fact the thing that open is the church. Quite.
I have just woken up to my first full day in Italy, the night before I left I was wreck, saying goodbye to people who are very important to me and have been the back bones in my life. Needless to say- didn't get a lot of sleep, so i thought a nice lie-in on Sunday morning, catch-up on my sleep. Hmmm, apart from the bells calling mass at 8.45. Yes, that's 8.45. ... in the morning. So now I'm awake. We don't have a kettle in the flat so I have to make tea with a saucepan......