Italy: Day One

In case anyone out there is interested in hearing about a personal account of my holiday to Italy, I am sure the next dozen or so posts will fill everyone in. When you hear the term "La Dolce Vita," it is truly an accurate phrase describing my journey....BUT....none of it would have been possible without the kindness and generosity of one man in particular, and I owe him so much; but at this time can only offer my gratitude. Without Andrea I would not have experienced Italy on such a personal, beautiful and insightful note. Mille grazie Andrea!!!

The flight to Venice was quite long and tiresome. While on the plane I had conversation with an older gentleman and his wife. During about half the flight he fell asleep and then proceeded to fall over onto my shoulder..lol...I did not really mind. Although there were meals and movies and people watching to distract oneself, it was too uncomfortable for me. I was REALLY glad to see that we were arriving in Venice. This was the only part of my holiday I did not enjoy although I guess it was an ends to means.

I arrived in Venice on schedule and then proceeded to take the bus to the Mestre train station. I accidently went to the bus ticket window and could not find my way to the train(bigliaterri) ticket window. I dare say I must have called Andrea 10 times before I actually got on the train. I have never ridden a train before and it was quite confusing for me...now, I am like a pro. I was lucky to have Andrea there to help me through my little disaster..lol.

My nerves finally relaxed and I took in all the beauty and mysteriousness of a strange land. I finally arrived at the last stop, in Udine. I got off the train and received a phone call and was told to turn around and...there he was.....a beautiful man waiting for me. We walked towards each other and embraced and then walked to Andrea's flat which is in the centre of the city. As we walked I was not only listening to him but soaking in all the sights and sounds and smells of the vibrant city which would become even more lively in a short few hours. We arrived at his flat on Via Valvason (it is a very nice living space about 80sqm) I was so tired I took a nap. I awoke and we went out for a walk through the center of town because they had a wine and food festival for the weekend and he showed me points of interest. We stopped at a clothing store and he told me he thought my sport jacket was too big for me(the cut of the jacket) so we looked around and found a versatile jacket with a removable liner to be either dressed down or up. My first piece of European clothing...lol., and then after a couple hours we wound up at a tent where he introduced me to two of his friends who are artists (they make fashion wear out of felt wool) and who he met while attending school. Their names are Barbara and Emanuela. Barbara was able to speak in English but Emanuela knew very little, we communicated anyway between Andrea. Everywhere I looked was beauty...the landscape, the buildings, the people, the shop windows...the quality and attitude of life was especially beautiful!

We went back to his flat and he proceeded to cook me dinner of fresh orrechiette pasta with red onions, peas and olive oil. YUM! Something so simple yet so delicious. We sat up and watched a little television and then went to bed. I had a full day in so it was heaven to finally go to sleep and especially with a living dream :-) ANGELO