Feste delle donne

March 9, 2008

It was the morning after the Feste Delle Donne and I was fast asleep. In Italy, the Feste Delle Donne is the day of the woman. A day where it is common to see women carrying flowers through the streets and men, who are strangers, show warm smiles and say, "Auguri!"

To celebrate, we had stayed out well into the morning hours. So, when my phone rang at 8:30, I didn't think I would be any fun for anyone, I rolled over thankful to still be in bed. Four minutes passed, it was my phone again. I looked at the name, Mike Amodio. Ahhhh, I thought as I picked up the phone.

"What do you want!?" I said groggily.
"Well, someone had a rough night." his voice instantly harassing, sending his devious smile through the phone.

"Yeah, so what's up?" I responded as my voice continued to crack in the first moments of morning.

"Blake and I are going to the wineries. You should come!"

"Um....ok...How much time do I have?"
"We are on your way to your apartment right now, we will be there in ten minutes!"

Never having been one to need much time to wake up, and as Amy says, not one to be all that good at saying no, I jumped out of bed and said, "Okay, I will be ready, bye!" Moving through my room like a tornado, I tried to find an outfit I wouldn't later ridicule myself for wearing after only having ten minutes to get ready.

All I had left to do, was brush my teeth when my phone started ringing 14 minutes later. I was rather impressed with myself that I was ready to go! As I headed to the car, I couldn't help but smile. A day in the countryside awaited me with one of my favorite people on the planet.

I hopped in the backseat of Blake's red volkswagen and thanked them for thinking of me.

"No problem, Rebecca! This should be fun!" With that we were on our way.

We headed to a small town call Roasio and our first stop was a small winery named Azienda Agricola La Ronda. Mike and Blake had both been there before. Mike explained that the couple that owned the place were really great.

"Hope you are ready to practice your Italian!" He said with a smirk.

As we headed into the winery, the couple that stood before me were dressed in their work clothes, as they graciously shared with us their wine, cheese and bread sticks. I just stood and listened to Mike ramble in what seemed like very good Italian. It is always fun to watch Mike interact with people. His good looks and his warm smile make people feel at ease and it takes about two minutes to realize, these are the moments that Mike is his happiest. He loves the banter of life when it is about strangers talking about nothing, yet showing you everything.



I was amazed at how much I understood of the Italian being spoken. Yet, I was not nearly competent nor brave enough to try anything that I knew or more importantly didn't know. If Mike likes small talk with strangers. I love watching the eyes of people who are completely content in the moment they are living. It made me think of my parents at a Friday night dinner or on a Sunday morning when their friends show up and they get to serve them an impromptu breakfast. Or maybe I love the people who instantly take you into their hearts without contemplation or reserve. Even, if only for a couple glasses of wine and small pieces of parmesan.

I felt myself grinning through my eyes, which I knew, meant I was happy. After purchasing cases of wine, we headed to town and ate at a restaurant the Barboni's recommended. At Lo Scricciolo, we were served antipasti and I ordered an amazing risotto cooked in a robust red wine until it was a deep burgundy color. The northern part is the rice growing section of Italy and we took advantage of the specialty.

When out with Blake, you can be assured of two things. You will drink a lot of wine and you will eat good food. So dessert was insisted upon. Blake and Mike ate Tiramasu, which is a heavenly concoction that only slightly resembles what Americans call Tiramasu. I had panna cotta with strawberries, which I finished easily, though I was surely stuffed.