A day in Como

I spent the next day in Como on the lake with Caterina. When we left Modena, Caterina became quiet and a little withdrawn. She buried her nose in a book and explained at the train station, "I am always a little bit depressed to leave Modena, my friends and family." This is another reason I love her so much! She is loyal and loves her family and friends dearly, and is straightforward enough to pipe up and tell her travel companion why she's a little withdrawn. I had guessed that's what it was, but I was glad to hear it all the same.

We arrived in Como that evening and took a taxi to her home. Cate studies in Milan but works in Como, so she bought an apartment in Como--Milan is exponentially more expensive and Como is exponentially more beautiful! She lives in a little top floor apartment in an old apartment building with a courtyard. The buliding is that beautiful signature Tuscan yellow, and everyone has flowers and herbs growing in windowboxes or on balconies. We trekked the 3 flights of stairs up with my 25-kilo bag (stupid, stupid, heavy behemoth of a bag... why, why, why did I pack so much?). We unlocked the door and I stepped in, and I loved it. Staying at Caterina's parents' home in Modena was wonderful--it was comforting to live with a mother and father and the normal goings-on of family life. But Cate's room was that of her childhood and had not changed much from when she was twelve. Her apartment was wonderful--it exuded her personality. There was hard wood, high ceilings, exposed brick walls, and a small but well-stocked kitchen. The ceilings had exposed wooden beams, and since the apartment was on the top of a building, many of the ceilings were slanted, as they were tucked immediately inside the slanting roof. It was cozy and inviting and filled with books, art, quotes, photographs, and sentimental trinkets. I was immediately and completely at home!

That night we boiled some pasta with pesto and lay down on the couches with the intention of watching a little TV or something... we ended up exchanging brain teaser / riddles, talking about board games, friends, family, and faith until 3am! We staggered to bed and slept well.

The next morning we woke up and went in to town. Her apartment is right in the city center, and I envy her easy walking distance to the Como lake and beautiful shops filled with Italian leather, lace, and fresh whipped gelato. We walked around the awe-inspiring lake tucked in the mountains / hills of the region. It was so gorgeous. I now see why George Clooney moved there! We strolled around the lake, looked at villas (many of which were used to shoot Ocean's Twelve, the film), window shopped, and stopped for lunch.

Now, lunch was an adventure. I hadn't eaten much breakfast and neither had Cate, but neither of us were very hungry. We decided to stop for an aperitivo first. Caterina had a flute of prosecco and I was torn between having an alcoholic drink or a LemonSoda--the world's best, fizziest, freshest, tart lemon drink (it even has lemon zest floating in it!). I soon remedied my problem when I ordered a vodka and lemon soda, with a twist of lemon.

And then the games began. I had forgotten how hard alcohol hits me when I've eaten nothing. Cate too, apparently, because after a little while sitting at a cafe on the bank of the Como lake, we were laughing, telling corny jokes, drunk dialing friends in America, and singing songs on the phone to the American friends. We had no intention of drinking much--and in fact, each of us only had one drink--but the rest of the afternoon was quite interesting and fun. At least I'm a happy drunk. Mostly I just told everyone how much I loved them. Good thing is, I mean it! As my drink was stronger than Cate's, I was drunk longer--and consequently, that much more effusive with my drunk-dialed friends. Cate couldn't stop laughing at me, rosy-cheeked, blurry-eyed and declaring my love for and peace with the world at 2 in the afternoon (which, incidentally, was all the more fun for my American call recipients--it was 10am there and I'm sure drunk dials to professional offices at 10am are just that much more amusing). The more effusive I became, the more Cate laughed, "In vino, veritas." In wine, truth. And it IS true-- I'm just that enamored of the people I love, and I'm generally just that happy with my life.

Even though we still weren't hungry--and at least one of us (an American who will go unnamed) voted to just keep drinking and forget all about food-- we did make a heavily Italian-influenced policy decision to get some lunch. Cate and I split a sandwich, and we met one of her friends from Como--ironically, named Caterina--at the cafe. Caterina 2, we will call her. Cate 2 spoke good English but excellent French, so the rest of our meal was spent with Cate 1 and me speaking English; the two Cates speaking Italian; and Cate 2 and I speaking French. It was really fun--and really challenging--to switch languages so rapidly. We got some really great stares from passers-by, who couldn't quite figure out just where we were all from.

Caterina 1 and I went to stroll around Como (and continue to sober up) and Cate 2 ran some errands. Cate 2 invited us to eat at her house with her parents that night, and we gladly accepted. She picked us up outside Como's Duomo (it is fabulously beautiful), and we got in the car to drive a little into the countryside.

The Tucci family lives in a restored 16th century villa that is beyond fabulous. There are vineyards; a 5th century church across from the grounds; an interior courtyard that used to be the marketplace in the 16th century--it was amazing. Cate2's brother, Paolo, was there as were her parents, who are both doctors. Her dad is an OBGYN and used to practice in San Fransisco (but they are all Italian by birth), and her mother is a neo-natal M.D. who also does emergency type work and just received a doctorate in homeopathic medicine. They were the kindest, most fascinating people! Once I got over the grandeur and splendor of the home, I was again immediately at home. We talked and ate until about midnight that night--it felt so nice to be with a family.

One thing that makes me feel so at home with Cate's family and friends is that all of them belong to a particular movement within the Catholic Church, the Communion and Liberation movement. Its emphasis is on experiencing Christ's love through community--spending time together, praying together, and on learning as much, both intellectually and philosophically, as you can about your own faith and other world religions. It is a beautiful balance of spirit and intellect, and questioning is encouraged. Everyone is very real and very warm and inviting, and the Puritanical repression that is so often associated with strong organized religion is markedly absent--of course, we drank wine; we told dirty jokes, even, and just enjoyed ourselves. I am not Catholic and do not profess the same beliefs as does Catholicism, but I have great respect and admiration for this movement and the people I have met who are in it. It is a beautiful thing to see communities of faith--REAL communities--all over the world.

Cate and I finally dragged home sometime after midnight, and the next morning we made a quick dash for the market and gelato before catching a train and bus to the Bergamo airport, where I would fly to Germany and then take a train into Denmark. It is always so hard to say goodbye to Caterina! I am always surprised at how easily we talk and coexist (we shared a room this entire trip), and how deep a friendship has sprung up between us. It is amazing to me that I can live with someone in the States for one semester, have very limited contact with them for several months, and then pick up as though no time has passed at all and spend two weeks in constant contact, with absolutely no tension or friction. We said a very hurried goodbye at the airport--I didn't want to cry. I will see her again soon, though, as she is studying in Baltimore some this fall. I'm lobbying to get her to spend Thanksgiving with us in Vidalia, and if she doesn't go home to Italy for Christmas, she will come to Vidalia. Friends are just magic. As sad as I am that so many of my friends live around the world--L.A., New Jersey, Washington DC, India, Denmark, France, Italy--I am so happy to know such interesting and wonderful people. Plus, I get to go visit!!!!

I took the plane to Hamburg and caught the bus to the train station. On the bus I met a very nice guy--a Swiss / French guy named Walter, who is studying environmental engineering in Germany. He accompanied me to the train station and helped me work out my schedule and ticket. He invited me even to stay with him and go to a French party in Hamburg that night, and catch the train the following morning to Denmark. I declined politely, but I was quite tempted! Europe is exponentially safer--in general personal interaction--than the States. The culture is simply not violent. I'm sure I would have been perfectly safe that night had I stayed, but I am cautious enough to avoid a situation like that as a female traveling alone. It's just not as safe as it needs to be... but it's always fun to think about a random, fun night in Germany with the college set before moving on to another adventure!

I met two Italian men (cyclists) on the plane, and they also accompanied me to the train station. We ended up sitting together on the same train into Denmark and we laughed and chatted the whole way. They work in Milan and were taking a trip to Copenhagen to cycle with a big group of Italians. I think the two of them were a couple, since they seemed to take a lot of pictures of each other and they talked about previous vacations they'd be on together before. They carried my huge, stupid behemoth of a bag, and I offered to buy them beer in exchanged. Mario refused flatly and flamboyantly. "No, no! No beer!" he said and laughed. I insisted. "No--only one beer is not enough. That bag was HEAVY." I loved it--We laughed and laughed, and I bought them each a beer.

I changed trains in a little station called Ringsted at midnight. I got off of the train with my bags and waved goodbye to the Italians, and realized that the train station was completely and totally deserted. I was the only person on the platform at midnight on a chilly Danish summer night. I was a little uneasy at first, and then it was just fantastic. Denmark is a remarkably safe country (and anyway--there was absolutely nothing I could do about being alone except wait on my train. It was coming in half an hour. And I mean, where was I going to go, anyway? So I decided that being scared wouldn't do any good and I'd enjoy the solitude and the odd situation while I was in it.). I took pictures of the deserted train station at midnight. It was really quite beautiful to sit outside alone. About 10 minutes before my train came, people started shuffling in, seemingly from nowhere. Apparently the train station is hoppin' for the 1am train! I got on the cleanest and most wonderful train I'd ever been on and continued my journey.

The train was running a little late, and I got to the Fredericia train station at about 2am. Andi and Soren--both clad in pajamas and glasses--were waiting for me on the platform. I can't believe they picked me up! I had offered just to stay the night in Germany and take the train the next day, but they were having none of it.

Andi and I talked the entire way home, and stayed up until 3h30 or so chatting. We were staying with Soren's (her husband) parents and his two younger brothers, and one of teh brother's girlfriends, Karen. The house is beautiful. Many years ago, Soren's parents bought a run-down shack in a very rural area. Each year they renovated a little more of it, and now it feels like a fabulous country retreat, with huge windows, hardwood everywhere, a lake, a garden, orchards, and wheat fields. Denmark has new legislation protecting the landscape of the area, so no more houses can be built in their area. It was like going to a little mountain bed & breakfast. Andi offered me leftovers from dinner--pasta and duck and fabulous whole grain bread and cake and wine... we stood in the kitchen and snacked, and I fell in bed. We spent the next day walking around the Danish countryside and eating.

That evening, we drove to Aalborg, where Andi and Soren live. This is my second day in Aalborg, the Athens college town -type place of Denmark. It is on the ocean and has beautiful shops and architecture. Everything is so unbelievably clean and well-designed. Their apartment is wonderful--small, but absolutely wonderful--and is in the city center. While Soren travels (guys trip to Amsterdam this week) and Andi goes to language classes, I wander around the shops. Everyone speaks English and they are very warm. Andi teaches yoga, and I went ot her class last night. Then we ate the best doner kebab in the world--it even puts Achim's to shame, and I thought that was patently impossible.

Tonight, I'm cooking dinner while she's at yoga and we're bringing the food to one of her friend's houses. Her friend's husband is traveling with Soren this week, and the girl has an injured back. We're bringing dinner and wine over and having a girls' night. And I made the meatballs Caterina's mom taught me how to make! Danish grocery stores are interesting --mostly because i have no idea what I'm buying and don't speak a WORD of Danish--but beautiful. I'm also making frissa, a southern Italian bread dish much like bruschetta.

Tomorrow, Andi and I leave for Sweden. Then I come back Thursday or Friday morning, and Friday evening I fly out for Paris. I'll then meet some friends for lunch on the 28th, and I may go to London for a day to see my friend Katheryn. On the 31st, I fly home! Life is good.

This update is so long, by the way, because Andi and Soren have unlimited internet access and I'm currently home alone, cooking and putzing around. Life is VERY good!!