Last year has come and gone and where was I??? What does one do when they haven't written a blog in 6 months. Can anyone really remember every detail in the past six months of their life?? There are parts of last year that I would just assume forget. But I'll stick with the positive.
I had that trip to Italy and a beautiful memory since my last posting. Che fantastico fosse il mio viaggio!! A week in Milano....a little business and then fun. Hung out with some fellow ASW members. What a nice group of people. I didn't know what to expect after posting a thread for information; however everyone was incredibly helpful. But then again, they're Italian so I shouldn't be too surprised. Considering it was November in Milano, the weather stayed fairly nice. It was cold but not unbearable and I was prepared for unbearable. There were quite a few warm days and I just told everyone that I brought the sun with me from California. One day, I took the train to Torino. It was the first time for me to be in Torino. I promised my friends that when I was in Rome, we would see each other. I like to keep my promises. I couldn't have been happier to see my dear friends Dario and his fiance Tatiana. For the past 4 years we have grown accustomed to seeing each other in Filicudi ...this place is one of the most beautiful islands just two hours away from Palermo in Sicilia. We all tried to incorporate so much in one night. Funny!! Some other friends passed by: Roberto (Tatiana's brother) and his girlfriend Cristina who made her way to living in Torino from Spain. She speaks Italian with a Spanish accent and she told me I speak Italian with a Florence accent. Well that ought to make my Italian teacher happy since he's from the Florence area. LOL!!Guess I adapt the accent that the Italian person that I happen to be around. God, I don't think I can adapt a Sicilian accent. Besides my friend wouldn't forgive me.
I digress....Torino is a quaint town. I haven't seen such colorful leaves on the trees since I was a child growing up in Newport, Rhode Island. I could see every color on each leaf of the tree. (See photo) Che bello!! In some respects Torino appears large but on the other hand it appears everyone knows everyone else. For example. After my friend Dario came to pick me up from the train station, we passed by the building where he works and he waved to a man walking down the street. It turns out to be his boss. He joked about not wanting to go to work the next day because I was visiting but now he would have to since his boss saw him. His plot of calling sick was temporarily ruined. Tatiana (D's fiance) arrived shortly at their home. We had probably been at the house 15 minutes. She came in and said, "Dario your boss called me and told me you were in the car with a woman with curly hair! And she looks at me and says "Ciao Bella Amica!!!" Well clearly news travels fast in this town. D & T took me on a tour of the city and then we picked up their beautiful daughter Greta from school. I have never met a little girl who looked like a star before. This little girl looks like a star from the 40's. Her features are absolutely beautiful. At Greta's school, I felt like the jolly green giant because the nuns were barely as tall as the 5 year olds. This was the first year Greta wasn't shy to talk to me. I was so happy. I'm sure she was more comfortable in "her territory" and she was very happy to let me have her bed to sleep in for the night. We ordered Chinese food in Torino for dinner. I have to say it is still strange for me to be in Italy and see Chinese people speaking Italian. The food was good!! Different from the Chinese food I know but still very good. After dropping Greta off at school the next morning, we went to the Film & Television museum. It's a fairly new museum and D & T were very interested in seeing the museum. We regressed to children in the museum and has the best time together. I'm happy for the fact that our friendship maintains a closeness no matter how much time has passed by and the distance that separates us.
It's always hard to say goodbye to my dear friends but I promised to go back and visit again as long as Greta was a willing participant in allowing me to be a guest in her room. I still had a few people left to spend time with Milano. I won't get to everyone this trip; unfortunately.
My last night in Milano, I went to an opening of an art gallery with my friend Paolo. The gallery owner is an ex-soccer player from France. It was a very "red carpet" event. There were a lot of important people, all of the art gallery owners support each other. In fact I bumped into a gallery owner that I had met in Rome two years ago. We discovered at that time that he knew my friend Paolo. It's a small world. After the gallery gala there was a reception held at the Four Season Hotel and Mamma Mia.... what a spread of food they had. I ate slowly and had just a teaspoon of as much as I could. Along with good food, the conversation at my table was great. I am proud that I impressed everyone with my Italian; especially the very upscale Milan women. When I shared that my next destination was Rome; some of the women at the table did confess to me that they really liked Rome. AH!!! It's public knowledge now that Milan people secretly wish they could be in Rome where it's much easier to get around; however the names of those who spoke are withheld to protect the innocent. I have some very fond memories of this trip to Milano. It appears that my circle of friends in Milano has now grown so perhaps I will frequent there a bit more in the future. Next stop Roma!!
