Ok this is getting silly...it's March 2011 and I'm not done this thing WHAT THE EFF! I'm pushing it now because the fog is setting in, so I gotta get this blog done...thanks for your patience, I haven't given up!
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So we all rolled out of bed late morning...feeling a little queezy after a crazy night of part-aying it up...Emilia had planned for us to meet a bunch of her friends for lunch, and Gigi was off to coach a soccer game. I don't know how he did it, he was in rough shape!
We met Emi's friend Chiara downstairs at her car; She was super nice, and a really good/aggressive driver...we were off to Bellagio, a small village up the coast of Lake Como on a peninsula. A very desirable part of the area, you need some serious cash money to live there...
So I sat in the front seat while we went up a twisty SUPER narrow road up the coast of the lake...I wish I had my GTR on this road, so fun, you can see why they would have rallies in this part of the world. Such beautiful views, reminded me alot of the Sea-to-Sky highway in Vancouver, except the coast was lined with giant classic italian-looking mansions and villas belonging to the world's richest people. Those who know me know I don't do too well being a passenger in a car for long distances. Especially twisty roads. And especially after a night of drinking....I started to get tingly in my arms and hands and my cheeks. Yeah, one should be concerned. And I was, and still am. But last summer I had a bunch of tests done, breathing capacity and efficiency tests. Turns out there's nothing wrong with me, it's just an issue related to my breathing that I can't do much about. It's brought on by heavy breathing and sometimes motion sickness from driving; probably related. Anyhoo, it didn't help I drank the night before! But I was fine, just needed fresh air :)
We made our way up the side of the mountain even narrower and twistier than before, and it started getting foggy, or cloudy rather. Chiara didn't know the way too well so we were relying on following our friends in the car in front. But they pulled ahead and got lost in the clouds so we took a couple wrong turns down some private roads. We're talking desolate farm roads. Somewhere in the mountains in Italy. I gotta say it's exciting to leave your fate totally in someone else's hands sometimes; getting lost, someone else at the wheel. I gotta say I've learned that I'm pretty trusting of other people; sometimes I get screwed, but for the most part it leads to great experiences.
We finally park the car and step out into the mountain morning mist. Right next to a field with some cows; one of Emilia's friends began to call the cow (mucca) "muuuu-cca! Mooooo-cca!" Lesson learned: animal humour is universal :D
We walked up the deserted street to what looked just like a quiet and quaint restaurant, and we stepped in the door and the place was PACKED! This was obviously the secret place to come for amazing authentic local food. We waited outside in the cold for a good half hour; I was still uneasy from the car ride, hunger, and the night before...Just peeking through the clouds I could see Bellagio; great name for a fancy hotel, the real Bellagio is a small peninsula on Como Lake peppered with multi-million dollar villas. Daaaaamn.
Finally food time. I had a DELICIOUS buckwheat pasta dish with oil and garlic and cheese called "pizzocheri". I tried a friend's polenta dish; polenta is also really famous around here. Somehow I crammed in some dessert a "gelato tartufo affogato", or "frickin delicious gelato ice cream truffle with a shot of espresso poured over top". Good lord.
So we headed back with full stomachs, and by then the clouds had lifted a little, and I was able to see the lake down below off the side of the road. We stopped a couple times and I busted out the telephoto for some sweet shots of the lake and its homes. The lake is just astoundingly beautiful; reminds me alot of Howe Sound, but warmer and sunnier. I joked that I could see George Clooney and Tiziano Ferro making out in the window of one of the palaces...can't remember if I said it before but every Italian, especially from Como thinks George Clooney is gay. Sorry ladies. And Tiziano Ferro is this mega pop star from italy, kinda reminds me of Ricky Martin...hey! Who's gay too!
We arrived back in town and headed to the grocery store for some dinner ingredients. It's like a giant version of a commercial drive deli. We got back home and it was early evening. Still waiting for Gigi to come home. So I saw a great opportunity to break out my USB drive with all the photos I took during our year in Paris. So Emilia, Chiara and I looked through them and took a trip down memory lane...
Before dinner, we went out again! This time to see a different group of friends in town. We all had spritzes again...mmm gonna have to have those again back home! The best thing about the bars here is that you always get free food when you sit down for a drink! They had little cocktail weenies and cheese and pizza squares and all sorts of good stuff. You see, italians aren't don't gorge and cram all the food in themselves as possible. You take a small plate with a couple things on it if you're hungry and that's it. If they served that much free food in Canadian bars, they would be out of business in no time flat. There's a reason italians are all skinny....of course, I did take a pretty big plateful...AHEM...
One of Emilia's friends from Paris showed up, with her husband and a cute little baby...I only met this girl once but I remembered her eyes; when I saw her this time, they weren't as intense, but when I met her on the street outside school in Paris, she had bright YELLOW eyes...like in a werewolf movie..I thought I was going crazy. I remember being so awestruck at the time. But this time it was night time and a few years later, so who knows what the deallyo...
As I write this in my bed I can smell pasta being cooked in the kitchen. I'm so tired, but so happy...
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Just had dinner, had an amazing pasta dish with tomato and ham. It's common to eat meat and cheese on its own, in french its called "charcuterie". "Meat and cheese platter" just doesn't have the same appeal. We had Bresaola and Prosciutto Crudo with Mozzarella. Yum.
We talked a bit about Canada and the differences in English words...Gigi wanted to practice so we talked about golf and soccer in english. Gigi is so damned hilarious, he tried to pronounce some swear words but I couldn't quite understand him...he points right to Emilia and in his "teacher" voice he says "She is a...'war'" "She's a what?" "You know, a 'war'"...."OH! You mean a 'whore'!" "...AH YES! Scusa...(clears his throat) 'WHOOOOORE.'"
I was pissing myself laughing. My god what a funny man.
