14 August 2009

Day 82


Magic Shirt, Follonica, originally uploaded by Ryan Runs Europe.

29.2 Kilometers.
In the morning, I went with Elena to the center of Suvereto, and we had breakfast together in the pretty cool medieval town. My breakfast consisted of yogurt and "focaccia with olives" that ended up being a very odd sweet bread with grapes (my mistake). I drove back to San Vincenzo with Elena, said my goodbyes and started off towards Follonica. The run was direct and along the Via Aurelia.
After grabbing something to eat and drink at a supermarket and briefly checking my email in and Internet cafe, I headed towards the center of town to seek out a running shop. Marco (from Brooks) emailed me a list of a few running shops around Italy, so I decided to go to this one and see if I could potentially find something to do and somewhere to sleep.
At "Music and Run" (a running shop that originally also sold CD's) I met Ferruccio, who was quick to offer me a place to sleep in the store for the night, and who got me a pass to use one of the nearby beach showers.
Apart from spending some time walking around the town/doing my laundry/getting food, I spent most of my afternoon and evening in the store, talking to customers and friends of Ferruccio.
The highlight of the day was definitely Ferrucio's attempts present (and sell) this new magic shirt that increases your balance. Supposedly the shirt has some mineral which emits infrared signals to the brain and encourages greater balance. Ferruccio would make a person stand on one leg and then apply pressure on their arms until they lost their balance. Then he would put the shirt around their neck and do the same thing...and the person would stay standing. He did it to me, and I watched him do it to many other people...and I am still not really sure if I believe it or not. I would love to see an actual scientific explanation of the stuff, if it exists. Regardless, a lot of people bought the shirt.
Around midnight I went across the street to a gelateria/cafe to use the bathroom. Ferruccio introduced me to the woman who was working there, and she gave me a free gelato. Afterwards, Ferruccio closed up shop and gave me the key. I locked myself in and slept on the bench that people sit on to try on shoes. It was actually pretty cool.

11 comments:

  1. Hey there...you can't beat a day that ends with gelato and free gelato at that! Did you buy a shirt?

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  2. OMG did You make it through the smell?

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  3. I could use a shirt like that. Sounds great.
    You had a good day!

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  4. See the effect u have on people? Free gelato?

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  5. Wow ... that's gotta be odd, to sleep in someone's shop over night! Can't believe he trusted you enough with the key!

    Well, it's been a while and will be another while before I write again. I've been away for a week and will prob be away for a few more weeks. TTY whenever, if not, it's been fun ... keep it up!

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  6. Nice of him to let you stay....too bad there was nothing padded to sleep on, but at least you were warm and could have used a few sweatshirts off the rack if you were not! Oh Ryan....you are a glutten for punishment..but at least you do it with a smile on your face! Love you! ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY IN TWO DAYS.....YEHHHHHH

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  7. Clearly the guy was pushing just so (one way) when the subject is on one foot without the shirt, and pushing just so (a different way) when the subject is on one foot with the shirt around them. Did you try it with someone else (not Ferruccio) doing the pushing? He sounds nice but a bit of a trickster...

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  8. What happens to your running buddy after awhile? You mean they run to someplace with you and then take the cab home or something? Have been wondering about this... :S :D

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  9. ohhhh a magic shirt, sounds interesting =)
    ~wishing you the best from saudi arabia

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  10. Hi Ryan, On this very special day,My family and I like to wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY. We miss you and love you very much. Hope you'll find a bed to sleep tonight and if not get a Hotel room for the night. I know you don't want to but, It's your B'day. Much love, Phula and family

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  11. The shirt thing could also be explained by the Ideomotor effect: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideomotor_effect

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