Ciao Filippo!

It's my last night in the Angaroni household, and although I'm excited about the rest of my holiday, I really am sad to leave them. They are a wonderful family that have shown me such generous hospitality, introduced me to other interesting people, and have kept me very well fed and cared for.

Yesterday I spent the day with two attentive Italian men and an indifferent Canadian man. Oh the contrast between the southern Europeans and the rest of us! Where to start...

Well, yesterday Fil and I took a daytrip to Como, a small city about half an hour from Fil's village, close to the Swiss border. Filippo's old friend Marco was back in town from Paris on holiday, and had brought with him a Canadian ex-pat Patrick. They work together in Paris. So the 4 of us, 2 tourists, 2 locals spend the day wandering round Lake Como and the city, and sampling the pizzerias and gelato stands. It's a lovely place, the quaint city nestled between the mountains and a huge lake. It was a hot and hazy day, and it felt like a real holiday destination.

Marco's reputation preceded him (via Beth), but he was certainly on his best behaviour - Fil had given him a warning. Over lunch the 4 of us had a lengthy conversation about gender politics in our respective countries, and much time was spent listening to the Europeans lament that the Australian/English/Northern American men fail to make a fuss over their women. You can see where this is going...all completely above board, but let's just say I was certainly treated well all day. The Italians say that because "the market is so hard" in Italy, what seems to me like lavish attention is simply the bare minimum that they must do to make themselves eligible. Well, things are certainly different here. We went to Switzerland for the afternoon, followed by a late dinner in the garden with the Angaroni family, before heading out for a beer with Marco and Patrick, and Nicola and Serena. Again, a pleasant night with excellent company. As a bonus, I got to see the Italian meat market in action (as an observer of course) at the bar. 5 star entertainment.

Today the Angaroni boys took me to a water slide park, where the European swimwear fashions were modelled before my burning eyes all day long. I was fairly adventurous in my choice of slide, thanks to the company I was keeping. The brothers are hilarious...they push and punch and tease each other all day long. Nicola and Enrico constantly fight physically, while Fil and Nicola constantly argue, with Enrico trying to keep the peace between them. Enrico is Fil's protege and looks up to him in a major way, so you can imagine whose side he takes, which brings on more beatings from Nicola...etc etc. It was a fun day, though 2 days full of boys, and I was ready for some girl time...

In the early evening we left and stopped on the way home at a shopping centre, where I bought a lovely pair of Italian shoes from a designer outlet store, for the equivalent of about $50. Serena was admiring them this evening and could not believe the bargain I got. It was good to have this validated by an Italian woman in the know.

The last supper at Fil's...another masterpiece by Mary Angela...the Italian mamma herself. The whole family was there, and as we were eating gelato and drinking moscato Marco and Patrick dropped in for a visit. I'm so grateful to the Angaronis and the boys for the amazing time they have shown me. I hope one day Fil will come to Australia again with them in tow. I'm 1 week into my holiday, but in some ways it feels so much longer, because each day in Italy has been so far removed from my regular life. It's such a good break...psychologically, spiritually, and physically.

I leave early in the morning to catch a train to the Cinque Terre, and to meet up with my parents. Although I have to get up in 5 hours, I don't think I can sleep. I want to savour these last hours, and anyway it's very hot and hard to sleep. But I should try.