About 20 years ago, Nellie and I spent three amazing weeks together in Italy. I'll never forget the day we flew over the Swiss Alps and landed in a noisy airport in Milan.
Nellie had prepared, impressively so! I had read Under the Tuscan Sun. Nellie has a wealth of knowledge in the history of Italy and art. She carried a well-studied and marked copy of Rick Steves. I didn't even know what a duomo was when she led me to the Duomo di Milano.
We were young and agile then--though we didn't know anything else. We climbed all over the many spired church, and Nellie pointed out carvings I wouldn't have noticed without her. Then we had the first of many meals of wine and cheese and bread.
In Venice, I didn't know what a vaporetto was. Nellie knew the schedules for the water taxi and the stop we'd take to get to the Hotel Danieli facing the canal. We shared a room there for five nights, near St. Mark's Square, music everywhere all hours of the day and night.
In Florence, we stayed right by the market square and museums, a few steps from the home of Dante. During the days, we (or often just Nellie) went to museums. I went to the markets and sat in outside cafes people watching. I drove a tiny car through the twisty roads of Tuscany and we were joined the last week in a vila in a Tuscan village. My only trip to Italy, it was unforgettable! Without Nellie's guidance, I might still be there wandering around the streets alone!
In the Cinque Terre, we walked through the five villages and lay on the beach. One day, I was a bit stiff from getting on and off buses and said out loud, "I would love a massage!" About that time, a young Asian woman emerged from out of nowhere with Tiger Balm in her hands asking if we wanted massages!
As a traveler, I am by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of traveler. I learned from Nellie that you see a lot more if you go prepared. Otherwise, you come home and people asked, "Did you see So-and-So?" and I have to say I missed it.
If I ever go to Italy again, I want it to be with Nellie!
I'm watching the Italian version of Paradise on PBS this week. It's set in Milan and the duomo shows up at the beginning of every episode.
The main character is a spirited young woman with thick curly hair and a big personality. I showed Elena a couple of scenes from it last night. "Does she remind you of anyone you know?" I asked.
She grinned. "Me?"
Not to be confused with the British series of the same name a few years back, this one is also about a store named Paradise--the main characters being the owner of the store and one of the salesclerks, an opinionated vivacious girl from Sicily intent on escaping an undesirable marriage back home and creating a life of her own. A girl a lot like Elena.
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