Bella Italia – 06.17.2011.

NEW Spinster's Travels #blog entry >> Bella Italia: 06.17.2011. #IBIT #Italy #expatriate #travel wp.me/pE99b-47—
Spinster's Compass (@spinstercompass) September 13, 2011

06.17.2011

I slept a lot. I probably needed it since I stayed up late the night before departure, woke up early to go to the airport, and took the trains to my destination. I woke up once to go to the bathroom but aside from that, didn’t get up until after 1 p.m. K., the hotel owner, laughed a bit when she saw me emerge from my room like a freshly arisen zombie.

“You slept a lot. You seem tired!” she said. I nodded a barely awake “yes”.

I was hungry and asked K. what was around to eat. She mentioned a store right downstairs & next door where I could buy something quick & cheap to eat. Like a zombie, I walked down the hotel stairs, made a quick right outside of the door and walked into what reminded me of the corner stores in my old neighborhood. Small sandwiches sat behind a glass-covered counter, while snacks & sundries sat behind the store owners. I slowly became excited as I saw words that I recognized from learning Italian in school years ago: formaggio, prosciutto, Parma, insalata. I bought myself formaggio & prosciutto on focaccia bread, nice & cheap, and went back upstairs.

Mangia!

The sandwich was absolutely delicious. The flavors & textures came together and melted in my mouth. It was obvious that the food was fresh, free from chemicals & preservatives. Italians pride themselves on using fresh untainted food in their cooking, which is why food in Italy is an art in itself. I was half-awake as I enjoyed my sandwich but despite that, K. & I talked for a bit.

I’d met K. online earlier this year, believe it or not, on an expatriate women’s website. She wrote a blog entry about her hotel on the website and invited people to stay at her accommodation if ever visiting that part of Italy. A few people, myself included, liked the idea and K. set up a date for those of us who expressed interest so that we’d meet in person. The price was too good to pass up, it’d always been a dream of mine to visit Italy, and this was a good chance to go. Another website member (briefly mentioned in the last entry) – A. – had already been there for about a week before my arrival, and another member – A.L. – was en route.

K. – a native from my hometown – runs the hotel with her husband Giovanni, a Livorno native whom she also met online a few years ago. They met face to face and later married. She and her son S. moved to Italy, and she & Giovanni added a new addition to the new family: a daughter who’s now 3 years old.

After we talked for a while, S. & Giovanni invited me to go to a local version of Germany’s Oktoberfest later that evening. I said “sure, it’d be a good way for me to see the area.” I laid down in my room to elevate & rest my legs, which were in major pain. Apparently my body was still tired because I unintentionally fell asleep… until after 7:30 p.m.

When I awoke, A.L. had arrived while I was asleep (more about her later). I grunted a sleepy “Hello” and readied myself to head to the local Oktoberfest. During the walk, which took a while, Giovanni & S. spoke with pride about the neighborhood: history, economics, expensive rents for small apartments, gangs, etc. It never crossed my mind that American gang culture would reach all the way to Italy, but here it was (albeit on a smaller scale than the United States), etched & weaved into the concrete that made these high-rise buildings.

While native Italians abound, a noticeable Roma population (also known as Gypsy or Traveler communities) is also in Livorno (1.2 million throughout Italy), as well as a small but noticeable sub-Saharan African population (a little over 285,000 throughout Italy). Unfortunately, neither population has a nice reputation in Italy; the Roma face much discrimination for many (substantiated & unsubstantiated) reasons, while sub-Saharan Africans are known for sex trafficking. How this affects either population isn’t this blog’s focus, but I might mention a thing or two here.

We finally got to the festival, grabbed some food, took a few pictures, and ate. The festival was small but nice, with German food & beer of course, as well as Italian food.

We stayed for an hour and walked home. While walking, we happened upon a small Roma camp in a shopping center parking lot, and the smell coming from it was strong & unmistakable – as if the camp’s inhabitants hadn’t bathed in a long time. It made me wonder if this was one of the reasons why they face such discrimination. (Whether the reasoning is right or wrong is beyond this blog’s scope.) Needless to say, we walked as quickly as possible under the circumstances – my legs were in major pain so we couldn’t walk as fast as we wanted – escaped the smell and got back to the hotel.

I gave A.L. a more official greeting, apologizing for being a zombie earlier that evening, and said that I’d speak with her more tomorrow. Not only was it late, but Giovanni planned a day trip for us early the next morning. While I wasn’t excited about getting up so early in the morning, especially on a weekend day, I knew that it’d be worth it when everything was said & done. Where was our trip, you ask? Here’s a photo hint:

Where in the world...

Stay tuned for the next blog entry. Until then…

Arrivederci e grazie.