It's official. In my past life I was Italian. I can feel it in my bones, my fingers, my heart and my eating habits!! An lo and behold - by absolute synchronous fortuity - my name is Gina....a gorgeous Italian name!!!
I am now back from my Italian adventures for 5 days now...and I am STILL bleak. I would love to have been on holiday forEVER...but I am NOT a lady of leisure unfortunately...and besides - next holiday needs to be paid for too!
I have not gone on holiday on my own since August 2008...where I spent an idyllic week in Mauritius soaking up the sun and hanging out on the beach. I did manage to make some 'friends' for that week - but actually when I look back - I kinda wish I had spent more time being on my own. Now I am no random, closet introvert...but I have learnt as I have got older that spending time on my own is important and necessary. So few people I meet these days spend time reflecting on their life, their progress and just spending time with their own best friend...themselves. I have a couple of friends who were in awe of me going off to a foreign land for 11 days all on my own. They all exclaimed how they could never do that themselves. Well I did. And I am glad I did. And even though there ended up being one surprise day when I got to hang out with the Bobster....for 10 solid days I spoke broken Italian to good looking waiters, I met old people in art galleries who had interesting stories to tell me, I watched American and Japanese tourists go past by the TRUCK load...always following some tourguide and never straying off the beaten path. And each day I lived inside my own head and my own heart. I was calm, I was peaceful. Now don't get me wrong - by the time poor old Bobs saw me 8 days into my hols I was desperate for a complete conversation that had a beginning, a middle and an end! And in English - simple joy!
I started my journey in Venice. Home to lovers and romantics. Now even though I am a 'tough cookie' (thanks J friend of B for that happy description recently), I am undoubtedly a romantic at heart. I would love to be proposed to in a small alleyway in Venice, with rain gently enclosing us under one of those transparent umbrellas. I do not need lavish...I only need sincere and simple. I am after all a Bulawayo girl at heart. Anyway - I wandered through Venice taking it all in. For 3 solid days it rained. For 3 solid days I walked and walked and walked. I didn't use a map. I used the river as my guide. I lost track of time. I ate when I was hungry. I had cocktails when I felt like it. The first day I felt as though there needed to be a schedule - Type A personality that I am. And then day 2 brought a respite from my holiday guilt - I could do WHAT I wanted, WHEN I wanted...and so bloody what if I did not go and see the inside of the 927 gazillion churches that dot the Italian landscape. I was redeemed from my own guilt. And from then on it was like time stood still. Venice is truly the most mesmerising city I have ever been to. It does not have lots of tourist sites to see and tick off in your 'Top 10'. But it has life and soul and a gentle kind way about it that I could just have given a great big hug to. When I told Bobs about Venice he proclaimed it was a 'shit' place. Well - I beg to differ. Venice is a patient place...and you have to come and be patient and calm and contemplative there. There is nothing hair-raising about Venice. It is the essence of La Dolce Vita. I read an entire book in Venice in 3 days. Sitting in cafe's, drinking hot chocolate and watching the rain drops hit the glass. I met a HOT chap in a bar recommended by my friend 'Nige'...he had his wife with him but he totally befriended me...we spoke about random nonsense for hours...frivolous fun with randoms to make the holiday complete!
Then it was off to Cinque Terre. Land of sea and sand and slow living. A perfect place to continue my slow pace. I arrived in Riomaggiore to the BIGGEST, HUGEST, ENORMESTEST (I know there is no such word!!!) hill to climb in the whole wide world. Flark. Anyway, I managed. And I am so glad I stayed where I did...just gorgeous. Waterfall by my bedroom window. I arrived to sunshine...the first I had seen in over 2 months...I was ecstatic. I spent the next few days resting, reading, walking, exploring and train riding. It was fun and so much a part of the experience. I people watched the day away on the Wednesday...so sunny I had a t-shirt on! I had calamari off boats that had come in hours before, I licked gelato off my sticky fingers. And I just basked in the silence inside my head. It is not often the bees in my head are silent, so it was a welcome change.
One of my days in Cinque Terre I made the journey to Alassio. My gramps, darling gramps, was stationed here in WW2. He was not a well travelled man - he was a simple chap at heart. In fact as I type this I wonder if he ever went anywhere else overseas ever...or if his sole travel was to South Africa outside of his time in WW2 in Italy. I have always wanted to go to Alassio. Just to be able to understand some of the love and affiliation my Gramps always had for this seaside town. Gramps made me love Italy with all his stories before I had ever visited there...you see now, the Italian blood is strong! Alassio was wonderful. I could begin to imagine him here. I cast back my mind to the movie Pearl Harbour and remembered the days of bikes and girls with pretty frocks and red lips doing their best to look good for the chaps. I could imagine him there - there was a gentleness about the place that my papsie would have loved. Such a special day that gave my heart a hug.
And then the calmness dissipated and it was time for Rome. Place where love affairs blossom and architecture rules supreme. I was not disappointed. But before Rome could delve too deeply into my heart, I had the most wonderful and unexpected adventure....Bobs and I had had drinks a few weeks ago and I mentioned I was off to Italy on hols. Well as the universe would have it - so too was he. And luck was on our side...we were to be in the vicinity of one another. He was staying with his folks in a stunning part of the world called Bolsena. Decision made - I was going to Bolsena for a night!
So one slow tatty train ride later there was the Bobster waiting for me in his uber-stylish rental car (not!!) I kindly asked if I could drive...after all - I have never driven on the right side of the road...but the answer was a firm and resounding NO! Scaredy cat! We went exploring from the minute he fetched me...to this amazing little town called Bagnoregio. Gorgeous, quaint and so cute. We wandered around and had a good poke amongst the buildings...decided which one we would like to live in and had a hot choc to ward off the rain.
Then we hopped back in the car and headed off to the Lake that Bolsena is on. Spectacular. We drove through miles of hills and valleys, windy roads, viewpoints with amazing vistas. All the while chatting, nattering, monkeying around. Just like old friends do. Bobs has more energy than a 2 year old in a sweet shop - so we had words...slow down and BP (be patient!!!). It became our mantra for the 24 hours we were together. We passed the happy field filled with sheep and olive trees and lazy ladders leaning against the trees. This was the real Italy. Bobs took me to see the graves of his grandparents who were all from Bolsena - what a treasured moment standing high on that hill, listening to the wind whistle through the pine trees and talking about his relationships with his grandparents...I don't think he will ever know the depth of my gratitude for that moment with him...immeasurable.
Then it was onwards to lunch...in a quaint restaurant on the lake where the service was local and the welcome friendly. Where all the old buggers had gathered in the bar and were shooting the breeze...about car insurance! Bobs and I sat there for 3 hours...nattering, reminiscing, sharing. My friendship with him is like the blankie you have as a child. Familiar, comforting, attentive and always filled with smiles. After lunch we headed off to see his mom and dad - such amazing memories of Ramona in Galaxy...and she is still a gorgeous, brave woman...just like I remember her. The fondness on her face for her middle baby was incredible to witness. She lights up from the inside when she sees her little boy - and as much as he needs to BP with her, so too is there a gentleness in his spirit when he interacts with her. A wonderful sight to see. We went for a walk, we explored, we went to the lake, we went to his Aunts house, we went to see the house he would like to buy, we climbed to Bobs favourite bar in Old Bolsena, went for the LARGEST pizza I have ever clapped my eyes on, had battered pumpkin flowers as a starter (amaze balls!) and drank some red wine. The conversation flowed. I was getting my fair share of beginning, middle and end like I had wanted...and then some! Ironically - since I have been in London, I have been reflecting on how 24 hours in a friends company can eclipse the experience of 11 days of holiday in a country so vividly jawbreaking. And the only conclusion I can come to is that my friend Bobs is an intimate and welcome reflection of both the person I was in my youth and the person I have become. Friends like him are the roadmap on your journey of life...they remind you of the places you have been and they help you to remind yourself of the places you are going. Someone who is so integrally linked to my last memories of Bulawayo in its hey-day. Who whipped my mother's friends around the dancefloor at my 21st, boogied like he was an epic legend at Granada and Catch 22, stayed with my sister and I went my mom went on holiday...these kinds of friends and the memories they have in their hearts...not often are we treated to their presence in this crazy, busy world. I know I use my words to express things in my heart - sometimes I get it right, sometimes I don't. But I know with certainty that my friendship with him has a special place in both of our hearts. And I also know we learnt things from each other that day. Good things. Thank you for making my Italy experience even more awesome BP xxx
After an epically late night and a way too early morning where I got told off for not drying my hair as I was going to get sick (it was the first thing Bobs said to me when he saw me in the morning - as much as it sounded like he was my mom, I could not help but grin at how comforting it was too!!) it was off to the train station and back to Rome. The train was on Italian time...so I was late...so with a random last minute dash back to my hotel to drop my bag I flung myself onto the Metro and hurtled up to the Vatican for my 3 hour walking tour. Well fan-my-brow...the Vatican has to be one of the most inspiring and calming places I have ever been. I am not religious, but you cannot be anything by humbled and in awe. The Sistine Chapel was mesmerising. I stood with my mouth open just staring and staring. I saw gorgeous things that I never even though possible. And standing looking out over the square in front of St Peter's Basilica...I have no words. I walked and walked and walked my way around Rome...in fairness it is a great city to walk in...flat and easy to traverse. I went to the Trastevere, over the Isola Bridge, wandered through Campe dei Fiori, fell in love with Piazza Navona, entered so many gorgeous churches, went to the Pantheon, the many monuments, around the Colosseum, the Forum. In Rome, pretty much every building is a feast for the eyes. You keep wondering if it is possible for a place to be this steeped in history on every sidewalk. But I saved the best for last. Undoubtedly. The Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. I spent hours sitting, watching, wondering and eating Gelato in the blazing 26 degree sunshine on Sunday. I loved it. I did not rush, I did not hurry. I just looked and watched. I seldom give myself the gift of slowing down and absorbing the place I am in, so this felt like Christmas. And sadly...that was the end of the road for me. I took a leisurely stroll back to my hotel. Through a park with a REALLY cute guy sitting on a park bench...if only. I watched kids playing soccer, riding their bikes, roller skating and having picnics. I waved goodbye to Roma...to Italy...gave my last touches and that was it. Ciao my sweet lovely companion.
And having been back 5 days in London..with rainy weather...still...I cannot deny that I have had post-holiday blues. Today I am getting over them. I can enjoy the weekend. And I have more trips in store, so there is much to be excited about. Tonight I am going through the 900...yes, that is 2 ZEROS you see behind that 9...photos from my trip...it will be a time consuming process. But I know it will be wonderful to remind myself of this trip of a lifetime, to have a laugh at some of the photos and to share them with friends and loved one's on FB..watch this space! Ciao Bella!
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