The End of the Best Friends' Tour 🍝
Letter #52: Hil departs for NYC and I head to Reggio Calabria.
8/28/23
The maître d' at Cucina del Teatro sat us at a table near the street. Hil and I opted for the risotto and a steak as our final dinner together in Italy. She ordered white wine, I of course had red. The prices were a bit higher but we didn’t mind as it was a great way to celebrate the end of our trip. The service was wonderful and when the maître d' came over to ask if we wanted an espresso and dessert, we perused the menu but both agreed we were too full an opted out of a dessert—we did, however, take him up on that espresso.
Shortly, after we received the espresso, the pastry chef stopped by our table. She told us how she, personally, makes all the desserts, and we were impressed she took the time to introduce herself. She proceeded to provide a description of each dessert—in Italian, with a few English words sprinkled in here and there. Her descriptions were amazing. The violet mousse recommended if you were feeling feminine. The dark chocolate cake if you were feeling sexy…or the pistachio mousse as her personal favorite. Hil and I were cracking up at her theatrical delivery. She was over the top and incredibly expressive as she described, with passion, exactly what goes into the creation of each dish. Hil and I were so enamored by her that we purchased two desserts—the pistachio mousse and the lemon millefeuille. She DID NOT oversell herself. Both were excellent and, overall, it was quite extraordinary to experience that type of hospitality at an unassuming alleyway restaurant.
The pastry chef gave us a big hug as we left, a bit teary-eyed as she said goodbye. Somehow, over the love of food, we had made an emotional connection with her, and she was grateful for our happy energy.
Hil and I walked around a while in search of a nightcap. Many of the bars in that particular area had promoters our front trying to get people to come in from the street, much like you’d experience on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. It was obnoxious so we kept walking, our sights set on finding a relaxed wine bar. We continued to strike out, and I was remembering that the bar culture in Italy and Spain…even in Portugal isn’t quite like what we are used to in the US. The places where you can get an after dinner drink feel more like the “sit down at a table and chat for a couple hours with friends”, and less like the “belly up at the bar and chat with the bartender.”
We settled on an upscale Latin American restaurant that had a bar since it was getting late and we were running out of options. Almost immediately upon sitting down, we heard the stereotypical American tourists speaking loudly in the next room about how amazing Michigan is, offering everything that Italy has and then some. 😳 Hil looked at me with wide eyes, both of us shocked by how loud this conversation was, and how hilariously and classically pompous-American it was. We made separate drive-bys to the bathroom to see who the perpetrators were. Two middle-aged men, one tall, one short, bombarding the attractive, young Roman server with facts about the vastness of Lake Michigan (basically the ocean!), the fishing (HUUUGEEE FISH!), all the guns they have (enough for he entire family!) and the hunting they do (grrr…so manly!).
It only got worse when the loudest of the two told the server he MUST come visit. And that if the server has ANY issues with getting a visa, he knows a guy who can get it all sorted out. Pretty sure Italians don’t even need visas to be tourists in the US. 😑 It was painful to listen to his self-righteousness.
At some point I caught eyes with the server who smiled and raised his eyebrows as if to say “I know…I’m trapped”. 😂 I waved my left hand across my throat as if to say “abort abort! Do not commit to shooting guns in Michigan!” He gave me a huge smile and eventually came over to ask us about these guys. He exclaimed—a bit too loudly— “you’re also from Michigan?!” We hushed him quickly and started laughing as we were not interested in being drawn into a pissing competition conversation with our neighbors. We assured him it’s not fair for this guy to make the claim that Michigan is better than Italy, and he probably shouldn’t make it a travel priority.
Once our Midwestern neighbors left, the server came over to explain that his two guests had commented on how nice their time in Italy had been. When the server agreed, saying how Italy has so much to offer in terms of landscape—you have the sea, the Tuscan hills, and the mountains in the north—the Michiganians turned it into a competition over which place offered more.
Hil and I both shook our heads. This young MMA fighter/upscale Roman restaurant server did not deserve to get sucked into a 40 minute monologue about how great Michigan is.
We chatted with two of the servers for a while, and Hil treated them to a drink since one of the server’s birthdays happened to be at midnight that evening.
We left just after 12am and made the short walk back to our apartment. Hil was flying out the next day, but her flight wasn’t until 6pm that Saturday, so we could have a leisurely morning before heading to the train station (I’d be taking the train down to Reggio Calabria, and Hil would take the train to Fiumicino Airport.
We stopped at DHL the following morning so Hil could ship home her wine and olive oil. After off-loading the goods we bought at Begnardi Vineyard, we walked towards the taxi stand to catch a ride to the train station. Hil turned around and pointed to the right, towards the fountain along the street. I turned to look, expecting her to be pointing out another nude sculpture or something, but instead was met with the full moon view of a man’s plumber crack. A near 5 inches, while he sat on the edge of the fountain with his buddies, having a sandwich for lunch. I punched Hil in the arm for making me look, both of us cracking up at the dumb humor—the perfect way to close our trip together.
We got to the train station and decided to sit at one of the restaurants for a good 2+ hours until my 2:30pm train departed. It was SO HOT even inside the station. We had lunch and fizzy lemon sodas as we whiled the time away.
Hil and I exchanged a couple big hugs before I walked towards my train. We’d had such a fun vacation together, and I wouldn’t see her again until November when I plan to visit her and Andrei in their new home in Philadelphia. ❤️ I already started to feel lonely leaving her…
Quick update…
I’m currently back in Pari, in the Grosseto Province of Tuscany! I was so drawn to this place when Hilary and I initially visited, that I contacted the friends we’d made here and decided to come back. We just experienced the Supermoon/Blue Moon/Full Moon last night which was incredible but I can tell some minor anxiety is bubbling up for me right now. I feel a bit out of control—there is so much journaling I need to catch up on, I’m watching my bank account drop, and I thought for sure I’d have plenty of job hunting done by now. Unfortunately, even after being warned by
that a full year of traveling constantly can make it difficult to have enough time to be creative and plan for the future. It’s been amazing because I’ve met SO MANY interesting people, I’ve been learning a lot about myself, and I’ve visited some incredible places. And yet I panic sometimes because I’m still uncertain about employment for the future.But I re-read the energy forecast from The Power Path for this full moon to provide myself with some reassurance and guidance, and the following quote stood out to me, that I will continue to reflect on for the remaining time I’m in Italy. Focus more on being and less on doing…
The Full Moon energies can jump start this process for us by inviting us to allow more space for just “being” instead of the “doing” that many of us spend way too much time in.
Hey! Would you like to connect over creativity, self-growth, and problem-solving? Or just to have a virtual glass of wine or mocktail? Please book a time on my Calendly for us to chat! I can’t wait to see you. XOXO.
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You are a human being, not a human doing 🥰
Drooling 🤤 again - that sounds like the best dessert experience ever!! What a wonderful time with Hil, and who knows what adventures on the horizon!!