The year 2011 so far has been an amazing(touching wood) travel period. I couldn't have asked for a better start of my new year. I went in India for the Christmas/Winter from Delft, after being royally spoilt by my folks for more than two weeks, I was still looking forward to new year's eve.I flew back to the Netherlands on the 30th evening. I was invited to Italy, and I was so dearly excited about meeting Luca at the Milan Malpensa arrivals gate, and was counting my lucky stars hoping not to miss my early morning plane from Schipol on the 31st. And there he was, gleefully smiling at me exactly the way I imagined, and it was so hard to contain my enthusiasm, as I had to struggle slowly through the relaxed Italian crowd to reach the exit(uscita). I loaded my stuff into the car that Luca rented for my visit, and we hit the highway towards Torino, which took about 2 hours. Torino, not as famous as Rome or Venice is a beautiful city. It is the birthplace of Fiat, Lavazza and Martini( so to say, carries a big chunk of Italian legacy). We drove to the highest point of Torino , colle della Maddalena and enjoyed a foggy yet beautiful view of the city. My lack of sleep coupled with jet lag, made my head explode and stomach churn like a whirlpool, but I was determined to enjoy the new years' eve, not matter what. We met a friend Samy,from Eindhoven in the city center, and went for a coffee at the famous Cafe Fiorio, and bought some powerful painkillers in the pharmacy nearby to aid my new year celebrations.
We were so lucky to have Luca's friend Stefano living in a nice apartment right in the Piazza Vittorio, the largest square in Europe after the Vatican. It would be preposterous to say we had a party in the apartment when the whole city came to the square at midnight to witness the firework display over the river. Nevertheless the party at Stefano's turned out to be great, and we were located so strategically that we could just climb down the stairs to walk into the ocean of happy people welcoming the new year at midnight. After the fireworks, our big gang comprising of ale and ale, Riccardo, Stefano, Silvea, Samy, jurek, Emily, Matteo, Laura and many more returned to warmth, to continue the party until early morning. We woke up around brunch time , and got ready to explore the city . We met Guido, Luca's uncle and walked around the city and the landmarks and had a nice cup of coffee in between. It's almost blasphemy to drink cappuccino in the afternoon for Italians, but I feigned ignorance for I have a great love for that beverage anytime.Guido was a cheerful and energetic man, who spoke good English, thanks to his one year stay in San Francisco. I din't have to the time to visit all the monuments but I promised myself that I would visit the city again would also buy a I heart Torino tee, for I really loved the city and especially the people. Dinner time was approaching and we were invited to Reano, a lovely town 20km from Torino where Angelica, Stefano's mother lives. Italian cuisine needs no introduction to the world, but I was surprised to discover a traditional Piedmont delight,called bagna couda , not as famous as pizza or pasta but very delicious. Angelica was really an angel and was an amazing host. We spent the night at Reano and woke up quite early to leave to Bologna, to meet our fantastically crazy friend Francesca. Angelica was ready with cookies and tea for breakfast , after which we said bye to enter the highway again.
We were in Quarto( near Bologna) at Fra's house for lunch. It was heavenly to have an authentic home made lasagna bolognese. Fra enthusiatically took us around the city in her brand new car, that she got as her graduation present. Bologona is the city of porches, and people of the city are well shielded from sun and rain. We also visited Basilica di San Luca, a famous church of the Virgin on Monte della Guardia. We returned to Bologna for a brief aperitif with Simone, and returned to Fra's home to have yet another authentic tortellini dinner. Her parents were fine hosts and knew ho to entertain young people. After a brief, but nice stay at Fra's we hit the road again, now towards Florence, or in a more sexy way, Firenze. Italian is a lovely language!
Florence- to add more adjectives to the existing list of qualifiers for this amazing city would be just not too possible. If not for the biting January cold, I would've loved to stay outside more and absorb the art dissolved in the Florence air( I have the right to be cheesy , when in Florence :P). Nevertheless, the sun showed some mercy and shone us a little warmth, just to make sure we don't miss out a lot . We walked in and around the center, I was completed stunned by the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore and amused by David, and we manage to slip the coins through the lucky boar's mouth into the grill. We did have coffee at Cafe Gilli, a fancy place in Florence, which was more interesting as it was the namesake of Luca's last name. I was so comfortable, all along because Luca was Italian, I would be so lost if I din't know the language.
After bidding adieu to the beautiful Florence, though a bit tired of driving so much( I never drove!! but was so exhausted), we had to revive our excitement as we were heading to the most important destination- The Tuscan valley.
We drove past Pisa, into little towns neatly embedded in a cosy place among the mountains, and witnessed some beautiful sceneries , some hunters behind wild boars.. I could feel the Tuscan essence. After our delightful sight seeing we headed to another nice town Capanolli, in Tuscany as well, to meet Luca's parents. I was a bit queasy, both from the ride and the anxiousness of introductions. They turned out to be the most lovely hosts and we got along instantly and I had a fantastic time, and dinner was a decorative affair. With the smell of hand ground olive oil of Tuscany, the light dinner was delicious. We had some guests too, and I showed a little of my Indian side, which amused the company. Overall, my apprehension turned into smiles and stories. Luca was endlessly translating the dialogue, and sometimes swallowed half the words, and would re-translate only if admonished. It was a fun evening, and Gisella was such a sweetheart. The next morning started quite late, and was our last day in Italy, so the parents treated us well for lunch at a restaurant close by, after which we packed our bags to head back to Torino.
Luca was a fantastic driver, and I tried my best to entertain him while driving. We missed an exit, so when I saw an opening in the highway( non-railed) , I suggested as if it would be the most obvious thing to do- to take a U turn. I suppose he got the shock of his life. That there was another country that could beat the reckless driving of the Italians!! I said come on.. we do it all the time, he decided not to reply. After the major discovery of our cultural differences, we reached Torino. Ale and Ale(Alessandro and Alessandra), a beautiful couple invited us and the gang for dinner. My stomach couldn't stand the strong espresso I had during lunch, so with great disappointment I decided to skip dinner and just give them company. I loved her red and white apartment and quite inspired about the perfect housekeeping( guess the inspiration dint stand too long, as my room is a mess now). The funniest part was that I was hallucinating that Riccardo was present, while everyone denies it. I still believe he was there. After the smiles, chatter and aberrations we hit the sack quite late.
It was so hard to believe that we metered more than 2000km in 4 days , and still we had to drive to Milan to fly back to Netherlands. With fantastic memories, we said bye to our friends and returned the car in Milan and flew back to Holland. I just couldn't believe the trip turned out to be this extraordinary and amazing than I ever expected. Everything and everyone were at the right place, at the right moment and the right mood. I think i can never forget this trip for a million reasons, that I cannot put in words . Just blissful.. A billion emotions, that made a precious memory, that would never fade. ...My best Christmas present ever!!
