Faraway Places
If there is one thing the Italian and I share, it is the love of travel.
We share an enthusiasm for discovering new places, observing the rituals of culture and embracing the adventure of new experiences and flavors. He had taught me and insists that the only way to travel is to immerse myself with the locals. He is totally belligerent to the concept of the touristic tours. He will insist that there is no way you can discover and appreciate a city or a country by hopping in and out of buses and staying just for a few hours to pose for pictures. And testa dura (i.e., stubborn is the Calabrese term) as my Italian is, there is no way to argue with him.
When I travelled to Europe, I listened to him and I did not regret it. Sit with the locals, walk with them in the squares, be broad minded about cultural differences and be forgiving with the unfamiliar. He has taught me never to use Manhattan as a gauge of comparison when learning about a new city. There is just no way you can compare the comfort of home to anywhere else.
Today in this email he told me about driving 230 kms into Greece in two hours on Saturday to enjoy a cone of ice cream by the beach (in 14 degree Celsius weather) and then rushing to do as much shopping as he can before the stores closed at 8PM. And then he reported that the only cinema in Skopje had just gone bankrupt and so he had not seen any new movies lately. His greatest find for the day in Greece had been a bottle of Australian Chiraz (which I incidentally had 4 bottles of in my wine rack at home), a box of extra long spaghetti and Tagliatelle al Nero di seppia - I had no idea what that is but it sure sounded delicious!.... small items which he couldn't find in Skopje and are now suddenly prized possessions.
With his ranting you'd think he feels cursed being in the middle of the Balkans in the frigid winter season. Instead he enjoys it. He enjoys the simplicity of life, the warmth and friendliness of the people, the craziness of a confused and diverse culture in a country that still needs to get to know its real identity. But of course he misses New York City and he took the time to heap praises on the city he will always love and miss.
And then we talked about the honeymoon destinations our friends had recently enjoyed - the Atacama desert, Valparaiso and Santiago in Chile and then the Easter Islands, all places we agreed we had to visit together.
My dream is to see as much of the world as I can before I am too old to travel and enjoy places. I asked him if this was at all possible.
Two places you have never been to a year, he recommended. You may not be able to see the whole world but you would have enjoyed the best of the ones you got to see. Collectively, that should make up for what you may have missed. My next destination: Skopje.
We share an enthusiasm for discovering new places, observing the rituals of culture and embracing the adventure of new experiences and flavors. He had taught me and insists that the only way to travel is to immerse myself with the locals. He is totally belligerent to the concept of the touristic tours. He will insist that there is no way you can discover and appreciate a city or a country by hopping in and out of buses and staying just for a few hours to pose for pictures. And testa dura (i.e., stubborn is the Calabrese term) as my Italian is, there is no way to argue with him.
When I travelled to Europe, I listened to him and I did not regret it. Sit with the locals, walk with them in the squares, be broad minded about cultural differences and be forgiving with the unfamiliar. He has taught me never to use Manhattan as a gauge of comparison when learning about a new city. There is just no way you can compare the comfort of home to anywhere else.
Today in this email he told me about driving 230 kms into Greece in two hours on Saturday to enjoy a cone of ice cream by the beach (in 14 degree Celsius weather) and then rushing to do as much shopping as he can before the stores closed at 8PM. And then he reported that the only cinema in Skopje had just gone bankrupt and so he had not seen any new movies lately. His greatest find for the day in Greece had been a bottle of Australian Chiraz (which I incidentally had 4 bottles of in my wine rack at home), a box of extra long spaghetti and Tagliatelle al Nero di seppia - I had no idea what that is but it sure sounded delicious!.... small items which he couldn't find in Skopje and are now suddenly prized possessions.
With his ranting you'd think he feels cursed being in the middle of the Balkans in the frigid winter season. Instead he enjoys it. He enjoys the simplicity of life, the warmth and friendliness of the people, the craziness of a confused and diverse culture in a country that still needs to get to know its real identity. But of course he misses New York City and he took the time to heap praises on the city he will always love and miss.
And then we talked about the honeymoon destinations our friends had recently enjoyed - the Atacama desert, Valparaiso and Santiago in Chile and then the Easter Islands, all places we agreed we had to visit together.
My dream is to see as much of the world as I can before I am too old to travel and enjoy places. I asked him if this was at all possible.
Two places you have never been to a year, he recommended. You may not be able to see the whole world but you would have enjoyed the best of the ones you got to see. Collectively, that should make up for what you may have missed. My next destination: Skopje.
Far away places, in far-away lands.
Far away over the sea.
Those far-away places with strange sounding names
Are calling, calling me.
sung by Bing Crosby
Far away over the sea.
Those far-away places with strange sounding names
Are calling, calling me.
sung by Bing Crosby