In Italy...Food, Wine and Conversation

Sorry for the lack of daily posts, but I'm traveling in France and Italy and after a day of sightseeing, food and wine I fall into bed and am asleep before my head hits the pillow! But today we slept in a bit so I have a little energy left!

When we were in Florence we had dinner at a restaurant we have been to many times before. The first time was in the summer of 2002 when it seemed no one was traveling, especially Americans. So the manager of the restaurant spent time talking with us and we found out quite a bit about him. And our teenage son found an internet cafe right next door so we spent time drinking wine and talking to our new friend every day.

We went back the next summer and he greeted us as old friends, and the summer of 2004 found us visiting with him again. By now we were "family" and we heard about his recent marriage and laughed and talked over a long dinner. Until this year we haven't been in Florence again - but after a very slight pause when we approached him he broke into a big smile and welcomed us back again, this time with our friends. But he asked about the children and remembered what we had talked about four years ago. Friendship truly does last regardless of how much time passes.

So in our conversation at dinner the other night he expressed an interest in our upcoming Presidential election. And then he made a comment that we didn't quite understand, "Politics, it's all just pasta." He laughed and said "You know, spaghetti with red sauce, spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with meat sauce...it's still just pasta!"