Rain, Cold, and No Gelato

Hello All,

Well, on Tuesday the 29th my friend Joyce and her husband Michael drove with me up to Boston's Logan Airport in my car and dropped me off for my flight to Italy. I was alarmed when I noticed that one of my front tires looked very low on air pressure, but I had enough jitters about my trip itself to worry too much, and I trusted they'd take care of the issue. Checking in and going through security took all of 15 minutes, and I had been anticipating a horrible wait due to the terrorist threat. But the airport was very quiet and while I did see more security presence, it really didn't affect me getting through the line.

Unlike United Airlines, on which I am a frequent flier and get better seats, Lufthansa treated me like common riff-raff and I did not get a window seat. At least I did get an aisle, because the seats were so cramped I'd have gone insane in a middle seat. I tried to sleep, but three children in the row in front of me kept jumping up and down and screaming for much of the 7 hour flight, and when they DID be quiet, the flight attendants invariably banged into my left arm and woke me every time I dozed off. One time they actually spilled a bunch of ice all over me. That was fun. At least the food was really, really tasty.

I changed planes in Frankfurt and then on to Milano on a smaller, less crowded and considerably quieter 1:20 minute flight.
Milano was cold and there was lots of snow on the ground as I exited the airport in my little blue Fiat Panda and headed 3 hours east to the area just outside Venice. I checked into the Junior Park Hotel in a town called Quarto d'Altino, set in a quiet, park-like area and I was so tired I showered and napped for 3 hours. I then met my friend Leo who lives in the area and we went into the city of Treviso for a nice dinner. I had only been to the airport in Treviso, which looked like a bus station with planes in the field out back, but the city itself is charming and was all lit up for Christmas. I had a pumpkin gnochhi dish doen in butter and basil sauce and they were like fluffy, pumpkin clouds. It was a nice re- introduction to Italy.

The next day was the 31st and I drove in pouring, icy rain 4 hours south into Tuscany to spend New Year's Eve with my friend Brent, who owns the Priello Bed & Breakfast. I shook my head in disgust to see that Italy's Route E-45, which has been under construction and repairs for over 3 years is STILL a mess, with potholes so big they could swallow a Honda Prius, and horrible, slow detours where all traffic must exit and follow 18 wheelers laboring up circuitous mountain roads at painfully slow speeds. There was lightening, but the rain was unbelievably hard the whole way there.

I arrived at Brent's around 7:30 PM to learn that I would have to crash on the couch as all his guest rooms were fullL 2 British couples, and French couple, and an Italian couple... all gay. We drove about 20 minutes from Brent's goat farm to his B&B at Priello, and had a group dinner, the highlight of which was a lasagna Brent made with his own goat cheese and finely ground gat MEAT as well... no waste there! There was also chicken, marinated peppers, and a homemade tiramisu, as well as all the wine you could drink. The house was as cold as a tomb, as Brent had had a gas problem, and I was so cold I had to periodically excuse myself from the dining table and sit by the fireplace to warm up. At midnight, we braved the icy rain and went outside to watch the valley below Priello come alive with fireworks. A few displays were by local towns, but it seems the majority of them were being set off from individual home owners all over the surrounding area and it was pretty amazing. On New Year's morning Brent and his partner Alessandro headed back up to Priello to fix the heat and a leak, and I slept in a bit, but I was so cold that even bundled up in my very warmest clothes, I could NOT stop shivering. Those of you who know me well know that I am never cold. I am wondering if it may be related to my blood pressure... it has dropped as low as 120/73 at some points, though it's averaging around 140/86... still a lot better than it was a few weeks back.

I couldn't do another night on the couch so I searched for a hotel with an indoor pool and jacuzzi, as all I could think of was getting warm! I booked a room at a spa hotel and drove northward through horrible rain to near Verona and Padova to a luxurious place, where I arrived at 8:30PM, only to be informed that the pool had closed at 8:00 PM. I was sorely disappointed, but tried to look on the bright side and asked at what time it opened in the morning. Um, 4:00 PM!
A SPA HOTEL that has a pool open for only 4 hours in the afternoon! I thought of a few perfect Italian curse words to utter at that point, but I refrained. Gotta think of my blood pressure! So I consoled myself with a so-so dinner and a VERY long, hot shower, and I did sleep for 9.5 hours, so that was good.

On Saturday I was not in a great mood. I have been plagued with heartburn for much of the trip so far, and it seems unrelated to what I eat. And yet when I go without eating for a few hours it gets worse. I thought some good gelato would help there, but the combination of the ugly weather and the holiday weekend has meant that everything is closed... even the gelaterias! Sigh. I took a leisurely drive south of Padova through some charming towns with walls and castles, like Mantagna and Este, and did take a nice walk around one of them, despite the cold. (At least the rain had stopped for a few hours!) I had to laugh at a common Christmas decoration you see here at about every thrird house or apartment... itàs about a 1.5 foot tall Santa doll, climbing a rope ladder up the side of the house. They are really corny and hard to photograph, as all you see is Santa with his butt to you as he is facing the wall. ANd why is he scaling a rope ladder? Hasn't Italy's Bobo Natale (Santa Claus/Father Christmas) ever heard of the chimney??? Molto strano!

I stopped at an internet place trying to make some more plans for the Israel part of the trip, and then I had a hellish time trying to find a hotel I'd booked in Padova. All of my friends in the area were busy Saturday, so it was a little lonely. I thought of going into Venice, but it was so cold and rainy out and my favorite restaurant there, La Zucca is closed till January 6. So I had another dull dinner, and then went out to a gay club where I thought Leo was going, but he couldn't make it after all. I did surprisingly run into my friend Christian there, but he was with a bunch of friends and it was hard to talk. Knowing I'd see him the next day, I just headed back to my hotel and had another difficult night's sleep. My mind is so active and I just lie awake and think of things that I need to do for the trip. It has not been relaxing.

Sunday was a better day. The sun actually came out for 4 hours and I took advantage of that to take a train into Venice and at least have a walk around my beloved city. It was very quiet there and most things were closed, but it was nice to just walk. I did dicover a new and OPEN - gelateria called GROM, at which I had extra dark chocolate, mandarin orange and pear gelati. Molto buono! I walked past La Zucca, closed up like a drum and felt sad.

I then met Christian at 4:00 and we drove about 45 minutes to Claudia and Marco's... a couple who are getting married in April and have invited me to the wedding. Claudia recently discovered she has lupus, and while her health is OK still, some doctors tell her she may have only 10 years to live! She is only 32, and is one of the warmest and sweetest people you could ever hope to meet. She is only having 50 people at her wedding and I was so touched that she invited me, but she said I am part of "la famiglia" and she is happy I will come. It was her birthday on this day, and I recalled that she collects snow globes from all over the world, so I brought her one of San Francisco and she squealed with delight when she opened it. She and Marco are planning a 2 week honeymoon in California and Hawaii, and before dinner I was at their computer getting them great airline deals and directing them where to stay on Maui, and I think in the course of 45 minutes I'd helped save them $1,000! I have also offered them my apartment for the time they are in San Francisco (Which means I guess I really need to clean!) and they were very excited. Claudia made a multi-course dinner, and we were also joined by our friend Ciube. It turned out to be a very festive night, and as usual we have great laughs over language. For example, Claudia said I might need a "wind cracker" to stay warm - she meant a wind BREAKER. Claudia always says she will "dress the table" instead of "set the table", and when corrected she admits that it sounds rather sexy to talk about UNdressing the table after the meal! Regarding staying at my place on their honeymoon, Marco said I could stay at their place in Italy while they were gone, and said, °We can change your house"... he meant EXCHANGE houses, and they laughed until they cried about the implications of CHANING my house by repainting and redecorating it in my absence! And there are those strange idiomatic expressions. While we say in English, "I am full as a tick", they say "I am as full as an egg", which doesn't have quite the same ring to it in English!

Christian has had to work throughout most of the holidays, and was so tired. He had a 2 hour drive back home after dinner, so Ciube drove me back to my hotel. He used his GPS, and though I have never owned one or wanted one, I would never get one after THAT experience. The damned thing kept telling him to turn here, turn there, turn again... all in an Italian female computer voice. But soon Ciube decided he knew short cuts and so stopped following her advice and she kept screaming for us to turn around immediately! I wanted to beat the hell out of the stupid contraption, but again, I must watch the old blood pressure.

I laid awake for almost 4 hours last night, despite a sleeping pill. I could not stop thinking about things. How will I get to my Cairo Hotel from the airport. How can I help Claudia and MArco find a better travel deal. How will I organize our time when Joyce comes to visit in California this February. Oh yes, and how will I get from Tel Aviv to Milan on the 22ns now that Alitalia Airlines has CANCELLED my flight. Yes, cancelled it with no explanation. I finally fell asleep at 4:30 and work at 10:00 just in time to get breakfast at the hotel.

And now I am at a hotel 10 minutes from Milan's airport. Had dinner in a local restaurant where a party of 12 people had 3 kinds that kept running around and screaming at pitches that I didn't think it was possible to hit while their parents ignored them. The waitresses, laden with trays full of food would have many near collisions and warn, "Bambini, ATTENZIONE!", but that did no good. I had to plug my ears with my fingers at a few points to drown out the screaming and one waitress caught my eye and flashed a HUGE steak knife at me, saying in Italian, something to the effect of it's the only solution" That really did make me laugh.

OK, my alarm is set for 5:00 AM. Ugh. I better go. I don't know how easy it will be to find internet connectiosn in Egypt, but will try to keep you updated.

Hope the new year is off to a good start for all of you!

Hugs,

Matteo