Who I've Met

I want to introduce you to some very fine people. We have some catching up to do. Let's start in Lucca, as I think we got that far in my last post from Montepulciano.

First is Saverio, the headwaiter at Ristorante Rama, near my hotel. Right away, he asked me where I was from. I told him I am Americana but live in Mexico. He disappeared for two seconds and came back wearing this.

He was lots of fun, as were the women who work at Rama.

These next two lovely women are Ketty and Sara from Lucca. They were seated beside me at Rama. They had just enough English to fill in all the gaps in my Italian. We stayed together for a good long time talking about being single women of different ages and what that's all about. They are as intelligent and generous as they are beautiful and treated me to a Sambucca as our conversation went on and on.

Here is Simona. Simona is an architect, but I found her in an obscure and charming little museum in the former wine cellar of her boyfriend Giuseppe Bolleri's home, where she has taken on the job of manager, curator and docent. There was no one there but me so Simona and I were able to dawdle, discussing this amazing discovery which came to light last year when Giuseppe decided to remodel the old wine cellar in his residence, which is part of a former palace. As they began to excavate, the ceilings being very low, they discovered the remains of a Roman home from the 1st century B.C. I spent an illuminating couple of hours with Simona. She explained the ensuing archeological investigation, the changes the structure had incurred through the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and showed me how they had preserved their discoveries. The museum is called Domus Romana Lucca.

Grazie mille, Giuseppe e Simona!

This is Mario, the owner and perfect host of Hotel Palazzo Alexander, where I had the privilege to be a guest for my five days in Lucca.

Sylvia, in the next photo, was seated beside me the following night at Bastian Contrario, a divine restaurant Mario sent me to. We hit it off right away and talked until nearly midnight. She is a Californian and a tour guide for National Geographic Tours and we just could not stop enjoying each others' company.

Here is Omero, who saved me in Florence. What happened was, I took on the impossible challenge of returning a rental car in this mostly beautiful city. Apparently, the rental car return lot has been moved recently from the airport proper to a site that nobody wants you to know is there. I drove to Florence without incident, even stopping along the way for some exploring, and arrived just when I'd hoped to. I then spent one solid hour driving around the airport vicinity trying to find the damn lot. There are no signs whatsoever for the final obscure turn.

Oh, I stopped and asked several fine men for directions, and they gave them to me, too, but it didn't do one bit of good. So I drove right on into the airport and hired Omero, first in the taxi line, to lead me there, then drive me to the glorious Hotel David where I stayed. He did all that and was friendly and informative too.

Cristina, who works at the front desk of Hotel David, is also a very knowledgeable tour guide and took me for a long afternoon at the Uffizi. A young couple from the hotel who were supposed to be with us gave up after fifteen minutes because they "really aren't that much into art". So Cristina and I had a leisurely and delicious visit with the best of the Uffizi.

From Florence, I flew to Sicily. In Ortigia, I had dinner twice at Osteria da Mariano. Mariano fed me well. It was difficult to get his photo as he is always rushing about taking care of his customers and moving yet more tables into the narrow alley that is his terrace...but I got this one when he stopped by my table to see if I was eating enough.

Sitting at my favorite outdoor cafe in the piazza with the Artemis statue, sipping another Aperol spritz, I had the great good fortune to meet Sophie from Brighton. Sophie and I are kindred souls, explorers of realms both similar and different. At twenty six, she is a stewardess on her fourth (or maybe fifth) private yacht, sailing the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic. We discussed independence, mythology, poetry and the meaning of life. Sophie is a treasure.

That same evening, still effervescing from my talk with Sophie, I wandered down to the seaside. I don't know how it happened, but these things often do. Somehow the smile on my face connected with the smile on the face of the beautiful Irma Salerno from Catania, who was having a night out in Ortigia with her husband Carlo and their friends Doctoressa Ivana and her partner Massimo.

That's Irma, second from the left. What fun we all had! It was love at first sight for all of us. We talked for an hour, asking each other questions and laughing. Massimo has the most English so he helped with translating. I still am amazed daily at the depth of communication possible without a common language, but so it goes. They are perfect warm Sicilians, full of love and fun.

I called Peppe, the taxi driver whom the owners of my Ortigia apartment had arranged to pick me up at the Catania airport when I arrived in Sicily. Could he drive me from Ortigia to Taormina? Yes, he most certainly could do that and he could hardly wait. Peppe is a character. Silent to the point of taciturnity when we first met, he talked the entire two hours to Taormina, explaining his philosophy. He's a smart one and had some very interesting insights into life and love.

Taormina is a beautiful town, carved into a mountain above the sea. It is more touristy than Ortigia and took some getting used to, but I'm discovering plenty to see and do. My first night here, a waiter at a perfectly located but expensive sidewalk bar on the main plaza sent me to his favorite place to eat, a typical Sicilian trattoria where the main dishes cost about the same as a drink at that bar.

There, at Ristorante L'Arco dei Capppucini, this Belgian family whose names I neglected to write down were seated beside me. We had our moment of connection when I brazenly asked permission to photograph their desserts because I knew I wasn't going to have room for one of my own. They said sure.

This is Gianluca, my favorite waiter at the same restaurant. He's a cutie and likes to take pictures of his guests.

You notice the people sitting there on the right side of the photo? They're Australian, and some of the funnest people I have found yet on this trip. We got to chatting because I heard Andrew say he didn't like his food, so I asked him what he ordered. Turned out it was scorpion fish, the name reason enough for me not order it, and on top of that, he described it as "glutinous". We all said "Ick", then we became friends.

That's Jill, second from the right. She is one of those fantastic women one meets in the world: funny, smart, savvy, filled with joy and love of life. Her husband Michael is on the left (he pulled a chair up for me after a bit which his family described as "out of character"). He's a dear. Their oldest son Andrew is on the far right, and the other two are James and Louise who look like twins but are actually two years apart. There's another daughter, Jessica, but she's home having a baby. What a gorgeous and delightful family they are. Kisses, you Aussies.

Thursday night, after an amazing concert I will tell you about next (really), I stopped to eat at Osteria da Rita near the hotel. Handsome Angelo from Napoli and sweet Lena from Stuttgart were happy to help me decide what to order. Angelo knows Italian food so recommended another restaurant for me to try. The couple lives in Stuttgart, where, Angelo told me happily when I mentioned my home in Mexico, he and some partners are preparing to open that city's very first Mexican burrito take-out joint. We talked salsa recipes, among other things. They are adorable.

Walking up Tour Group Avenue (Via Teatro Greco) in search of information on an open air concert in Taormina's (real) Greek Theater, my eyes were crossed from trying to ignore shop after shop of souvenirs, stands selling gawdy tourist junk, and street artists selling unbearable paintings. They uncrossed real fast when I spotted this man's work. He is Adriano Caudullo and he's the real thing. Adriano and I had a talk about art and life and such. Turns out he's shown in Rome, Los Angeles, Milan, Cambridge and lots of other places. I would've bought a piece if I could figure out how to get it to Mexico. Adriano paints in oils or in acrylics, little gems of everyday art in an unconstrained and sensuous style. And his frames make me insane with admiration.

I think that last painting is of one of you, waiting for her morning coffee to be ready.

I'd better post this now before I meet anyone else. Ooh, too late...what about Maggie and Colin from Oxford? Well, I'll get to them another time.

Happy connections and love to you all.
C

Comments

[Eileen]

Candace claims she travelled to Italy alone. Hah! She has come home with fond memories of more friends than many people make in a lifetime. Her smile's a killer but it is Candace's warmth and passion to explore which makes her the people magnet that she is.

[Saverio]

Ciao Candice, here is Saverio the guy of Restaurant Rama in Lucca. I've seen your blog: it's fantastic and going to register very soon... Ciao bella!

[Fred Feibel]

The best always a joy to find a new post!

[Char]

I am imagining you gave all these lovely people your blog info so they can see their pictures....and such fun paintings of Adrianos...are you sure you couldn't stuff one in your luggage!