Dinner and Drinks
The drive to Ale's town of Massa on the west coast from Florence was amazing. Unbelievable scenery the entire way. It was so good to see Ale again. I really missed him, and for a lot of reasons we weren't able to see each other that much when we were in England so I was looking forward to spending this time with him.
Massa occupies a space directly in between the Appanine mountains and the Ligurian Sea. I think it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen. I think I must have said or thought the words "oh my god" hundreds of times before I left the place. You just can't tear your eyes away from it. Really. And Ale's response? "Oh Whatever" haha.
I have the pictures to prove it.
So Friday night when I got there we had dinner with Ale's parents and they were really great. I was very very nervous about meeting them because I felt so bad I couldn't speak any Italian at all and they don't speak English but we ended up getting along just fine. I was actually really surprised how quickly I was able to start picking up Italian because I've never had any exposure to it at all. But within a couple of days I could get the jist of conversations which made me feel really good. I started using simple words and I can swear in Italian as well which is really useful I'm sure.
After dinner we went out with a bunch of Ale's friends for coffee and drinks. Of course, the most embarrassing thing happened to me. We met up in the Piazza di Orangi (I think that's the right spelling) and then walked over to a gelateria for a coffee. I trip on one of the sidewalk stones and land on my face in front of about six people who I had never met before in my life, and Ale. Classic. I'm just so incredibly cool it scares me sometimes. But it didn't end up being a big deal. I really had fun, and I learned quickly that going out in Italy means that you begin the night at 10pm and then get home in the wee hours of the morning. It was great though, and I adore all the people I met.
It's always so interesting, travelling. Because when you meet people from different countries they are always so interested to hear what it is like where you come from. I spend a lot of my time discussing Canada and the differences between Canada and Italy (there are so many it's impossible to count). It's nice to discuss these things with people because you get a completely different perspective with respect to where you live and how your life works. It's good for a reality check every now and then.
Massa occupies a space directly in between the Appanine mountains and the Ligurian Sea. I think it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen. I think I must have said or thought the words "oh my god" hundreds of times before I left the place. You just can't tear your eyes away from it. Really. And Ale's response? "Oh Whatever" haha.
I have the pictures to prove it.
So Friday night when I got there we had dinner with Ale's parents and they were really great. I was very very nervous about meeting them because I felt so bad I couldn't speak any Italian at all and they don't speak English but we ended up getting along just fine. I was actually really surprised how quickly I was able to start picking up Italian because I've never had any exposure to it at all. But within a couple of days I could get the jist of conversations which made me feel really good. I started using simple words and I can swear in Italian as well which is really useful I'm sure.
After dinner we went out with a bunch of Ale's friends for coffee and drinks. Of course, the most embarrassing thing happened to me. We met up in the Piazza di Orangi (I think that's the right spelling) and then walked over to a gelateria for a coffee. I trip on one of the sidewalk stones and land on my face in front of about six people who I had never met before in my life, and Ale. Classic. I'm just so incredibly cool it scares me sometimes. But it didn't end up being a big deal. I really had fun, and I learned quickly that going out in Italy means that you begin the night at 10pm and then get home in the wee hours of the morning. It was great though, and I adore all the people I met.
It's always so interesting, travelling. Because when you meet people from different countries they are always so interested to hear what it is like where you come from. I spend a lot of my time discussing Canada and the differences between Canada and Italy (there are so many it's impossible to count). It's nice to discuss these things with people because you get a completely different perspective with respect to where you live and how your life works. It's good for a reality check every now and then.