As Free as my Soul

If you’re one of those people who get made fun of by your friends for using a fork and knife to eat pizza, (yes Jonah Miller, I’m referring to you) then fear no more! Come to Italy, you have no choice but to use some utensils. The pizza is so freshly prepared that you have to choose between cutting it off piece by piece or folding its entirety in half and eating it like a sandwich. 

After the sunburn of monstrous proportions (ie I could see the perfect shape of my bikini outlined in white against my blazing red skin) I decided it was best for me to NOT lie on a beach in the scorching sun for another day and so I found myself hopping off to a solo lunch. I always enjoy my alone time, but today I absolutely relished it. I ordered a pepperoni pizza (pepperoni in Italian means the equivalent to bell peppers, not meat) and a half litre of chardonnay and while I waited, I simply observed everything that was happening around me. When the pizza arrived I chose the slightly more elegant option of using a fork and knife to eat it and enjoyed every last morsel. A young man passing on a motorcycle stopped to ask me on a date and when I politely declined, he still stayed to ask if I was enjoying Italy and Italian life before scooting off.

I polished off the last piece of stringy mozzarella cheese from my pizza, and my last few sips of wine, I headed off for some light browsing before packing up and saying goodbye to Rimini. Our almost four hour train adventure allowed us to stop in the beautiful city of Bologna (where the temperature was 33 degrees) for supper and then onto home again in Conegliano. I decided to spend my night listening to Bruce Springsteen and catching up on some writing. Even sitting by yourself is more fantastic in Italy, with the light of the lamp surrounding you in a soft glow, and the crickets chirping continuously outside. The last thing I remember before closing my tired eyes was hearing Springsteen sing "I closed my eyes and I was runnin', I was runnin' then I was flyin'" and seeing the wind blow the curtains in and out of the window; I'm sure those curtains felt as free as my soul has since I got here.