Jo’s Travelogue

Nothing much happened yesterday. I was hooked on ‘Lost’ and spent the rest of my time wondering what to wear to the stadium. Patrizia made a very good spaghetti yesterday night with 2 bottles of paste that Simone said was fish eggs from Orbetello. She heaped a lot of it on my plate and I ended up eating too much. We also had a sort of ham that were made from fish – swordfish and tuna.

Today I spent most of my time packing for our week-long trip to Milan and Venice. We decided on a trip to Vicenza in between, which is an hour’s train ride from Venice. Hostels seem pretty rare in north Italy, and most of them cost about 20 euros per person so we decided to just pay a little more for hotels. Tomorrow, the Italiana Supercoppa!

Simone decided it was a day for staying in and not for the beach, cos he’d already arranged with Jaba to come fix the desktop, which was ridden with viruses. I spent the day hooked on ‘Lost’ while the guys tinkled with the CPU, and Jaba eventually carted the entire CPU home to analyse it. 

Simone told me that the tickets we were getting for the Supercoppa Italiana at San Siro were VIP ones, worth 560 euros each. And the guy who got us the tickets were giving them to us gratis. Oh. My. God. I want to sell my ticket! Simone said we can’t go too casually dressed, and I’m quite concerned about being overdressed cos it’s a football match after all. Oh boy oh boy, what on earth should I wear! And Simone says there may be an after-match dinner to attend with the team. Argh! Is he bullshitting me or is this really gonna happen? If it does, I’m so gonna get a picture taken with Materazzi.

Patrizia wasn’t feeling very well so I suggested doing takeaway pizzas for dinner. Poor woman, I think she works too hard. She was having stomach pains and wasn’t very receptive to the idea of doing takeaways cos she thought I wanted the pasta with broccoli she’d said she’d make. I really think she is the most bravissima woman I know. I told her not to worry about it, and she consented to the pizza. Yay! Jaba came to pick Simone up for aperitivi, and Simone took our orders before leaving with Jaba. Franco wanted a Romana (whatever that is), Francesco a Wurstel (that’s what they call hotdogs), and I asked for a gamberetti (small prawns) with extra tomato base. Patrizia said she didn’t want anything at all, but Simone said he’d get her something anyway. He came back about 9 with the pizzas. Franco’s had capers on it, Simone got me a Diavola (salami with mozzarella and chili on a tomato base) cos they didn’t do gamberetti, himself an anchovies and onions calzone (sort of like a foldover) and Patrizia a Margherita. 25 euros for 5 full-sized pizzas is pretty inexpensive, and the pizzas were good too. I managed to finish most of mine, and Patrizia finished half of hers. Franco stuck her remaining pizza into the oven when he cleared the pizza boxes after dinner. I noticed it missing the next morning when I went for my usual Mueller yogurt. Hmm.

Jaba drove over with Ricardo and Danielle to take us to Giannella. Jaba had brought a beach brolly and a radio, and I was glad for the music. They played ball and crossword puzzles again, while I fell asleep for the longest time. Simone has turned a lovely shade of brown by now and as for me, I’m quite likely to be mistaken for a malay when I get back. Speaking of malay… how about some mee soto and Changi nasi lemak and beef rendang… Ha, I’m so gonna pig out when I get back.

The sun wasn’t very strong, but the breeze was. I ended up not staying in the shade of Jaba’s brolly most of the time. Simone played more ball with Ricardo and Danielle. A little black girl ran back to the beach for a towel and I smiled at her, cos it was a bit strange to see her amidst a group of Italians and it’s kinda like we had something in common – our skin colour set us apart as foreigners. Maybe, young as she was, she felt the same way for she smiled back at me and tried to make conversation. But she didn’t speak English, so I shook my head and turned back to watch the boys play ball. 

I started feeling hungry at the usual time… Jaba, Simone and I then walked to the bar while Ricardo and Danielle stayed in the water. I got a bag of cipster and esta the, while Simone had (no prizes for correct guesses) a beer. Jaba bought a mini tub of bite size crunch ice-cream. We sat down for a bit to eat and drink, then walked back to the beach to pack up our stuff and started walking back to the car. When we reached the deserted house, someone realised that the ball had been forgotten and Danielle doubled back to get it. Poor Danielle, he seems to be bullied all the time, maybe cos he’s a good sport and never gets mad from all the teasing.

Jaba dropped Danielle and Ricardo off so Danielle could take his motorbike. The 3 of us went to the pub in Fortezza again, but it was very very difficult to find a parking space and we parked somewhere above the pub. We walked a little to find a way down, then found a staircase that looked pretty promising. Simone and I walked down about 2 flights, then Jaba went ahead of us to check it out cos Simone was sure that the staircase wouldn’t lead us to the right road. Jaba must have gone one round cos he ended up at the entrance of the staircase again without passing us.

We changed directions and passed by the car again. Along the way, we paused twice to take in the view and I wished I had the camera with me. It’s a very different angle from what we normally see of Santo Stefano. We found a flight of steps that led into what looked like a jungle to me. Funny, cos that was a residential area. The steps led to a winding path and then to more steps. Jaba walked ahead of us at a much faster pace while Simone waited for me as I negotiated the steps… I’ve a bit of a vertigo problem. I lost count of how many dogs barked at us along the way. Simone spotted Jaba darting into a small path off the main path to hide himself, and told me to call him an imbecile when he sprang out to scare us. I made a show of not being impressed by his little trick and called him an imbecile as Simone has suggested. Sometimes it’s a bit tough to believe he’s my age. But Simone can be way younger than his years too. Maybe I should be a child once in a while too and there’ll be more fun in my life.

After the mini jungle trek, we ended up at the pub and I got a glass of water… I was determined not to get high from aperitivi like the day before. Simone says aperitifs are supposed to work up your appetite for dinner and they do that for him. For me, they seem to function quite the opposite way. Oh well, maybe I’m just not an alcohol person. I made Danielle’s bag fall down around his legs, then Jaba grabbed one of my slippers and threatened to throw it into the balcony upstairs in revenge for Danielle. I’ve the feeling that Maurizia is just like these boys in joking and playing pranks, cos I remember how she filched Danielle’s wallet. All in all, they’re pretty fun to hang out with.

It started getting dark and I told Simone we’d better get going home. As we started following Danielle to his bike, Franco came by to take us home. Dinner that night was oh-so-yummy… Patrizia made a very delicious risotto with escargots… The escargots tasted just like ‘gong-gong’ and I could eat it though I’m not crazy about it, but the risotto was so good that I had another scoop when I’d finished my plate. After that we had a aragostini (mini lobsters) soup with potatoes, but it’s really more like a stew to me. I really should pick up more of Patrizia’s recipes while I’m here.

Simone and I walked to Cantoniera beach after lunch. Simone had arranged to meet Jaba there, and we ran into Gabrielle at the bar too. Simone and I went swimming, and Jaba came to join us on the beach after. Danielle came to join us too, and we played briscola. I’ve played briscola before and it’s actually a simple game, but I couldn’t remember for the life of me how to play the game so I just flipped out my cards on Simone’s cue. 

We went to Il Buco for aperitivi after, and I chose to ride on Jaba’s bike instead of Danielle’s cos I felt that Simone’s ass was bigger so he deserved to ride on Danielle’s bigger scooter. I kinda regretted being nice, cos I bounced up and down on Jaba’s bike all the way to Buco… Lucky the distance’s short. The guy at the bar got my order wrong and gave me a frizzantino with campari. Ugh, I dislike campari. So Simone ended up with 2 drinks for himself and ordered another frizzantino for me. I’ve always liked the food that Buco displays on their bar counter. This day, they had a plate of very yummy beef carpaccio. 

Upon leaving Buco, I chose to ride on Danielle’s bike this time. Hee… I thought we were going home, then we ended up at the new pub in Fortezza for another drink. I got another frizzantino this time. The glass is a bit smaller, but they filled it to the brim. I took to a bowl with little cubes of foccacia bread this time. The thing I’ve discovered about foccacia., it’s good on its own. Combined with a spread or with prosciutto, it loses its own flavour.

Danielle and Jaba took us home after the pub, and we ran into Franco and Francesco just outside the house. The guys started a big discussion about the palio again, while I took a shower. Patrizia had prepared pan-baked vegetables consisting of potatoes, zucchini and bell peppers. She’d also bought an assortment of frozen prawn balls, octopus balls and so on which she popped into the deep-fryer. Not exactly a big show of her fabulous culinary skills, but it was still a good dinner.

Simone made fried rice for me using the leftover rice from yesterday night with hotdogs and eggs that he got from a neighbour. It wasn’t too bad, it was just Italian fried rice. It didn’t have the same taste as all the fried rice I’ve ever had back home, but who was I kidding… There was no way he could have produced the same fried rice without soya sauce. But it really wasn’t bad, just a bit bland. 

Franco and Patrizia came home after we’d eaten, then Simone told me that we are going to Milan on the 24th to watch the Italian Super Cup… Sounds weird to me, I’ve never heard of an Italian Super Cup – Simone says it’s the match between the team who won Serie A, and the team who won the Italian Cup. It’s to be Inter vs. Roma… Definitely an exciting one! Simone said not to tell Francesco that we were going cos he’d be very disappointed that he can’t go. Apparently, tickets were really difficult to get. According to Simone, tickets would first be released to fans who hold season passes (which Franco and Francesco own but he said there was some problem with their passes), and then to VIPs. Next, there would be a batch of tickets released for sale daily in Milan. At the pre-palio party in Claudio’s house on the 15th, we’d met a guy who has ‘connections’ and can get tickets to the match except he isn’t free to go. Simone had asked him if he could get us more tickets so the whole family could go, but he said he could only get 2. Simone had given him Franco’s number to contact him, because he couldn’t remember his own. 

We got dressed for the beach and Franco took us to Cantoniera on his motorbike. Danielle came to meet us, and we swam a little before returning to the beach to dry off. I sat with my back to the sun to play PSP. The sun was scorching hot so I draped a towel over my head and my entire back. Simone and Daniellle played crossword puzzles together. We went to the bar about 6pm to get refreshments… I thought the pricing was a bit funny. The snacks were 1 euro each (Cipster for Simone and I to share, and potato chips for Danielle), and the drinks (I got a bottle of apricot juice and the guys got a bottle of beer each) were 2 euro each. Hmm. Usually beer would cost a little more than juice. Give me apricot juice any day though… 

We sat down to drink and the guys continued their struggle at the crossword while I played my leftover missions on Final Fantasy. Simone suddenly smacked his head and said he’d forgotten to call the guy for the Inter tickets as he’d promised to call at 4pm to give him our details. It is mandatory for match-goers to give names and birth dates for the tickets to claim them later at the stadium (so troublemakers with a history can’t get in). Simone got antsy when he found out that the guy had called Franco earlier and Franco didn’t think of informing him, and he couldn’t get the guy despite making multiple calls. At the thought of missing the match, Simone was edgy all the time from leaving Cantoniera to Lina’s house to home, until I came out of the shower and he said the guy had called and we were all set to go. Phew.

Patrizia was making pappardelle with ragu for dinner. Just as she was about to boil the pappardelle, the gas ran out. She had to go over to the neighbour’s to cook, and was very unhappy when she came back because she hadn’t cooked the ragu enough and it was not as thick a sauce as she’d wanted. The pasta turned out more like hor-fun, but it was still edible. I totally understood her frustration though.

Simone went out after dinner to meet his friends, while I stayed home to play PSP. He said he’d met Maurizia and Jaba, and Maurizia had told him that she wanted to visit Singapore. I hope she comes over too! It’ll be fun to take her shopping. Hee…

Yet another lazy day… Simone wanted to go to the beach but I found the wind pretty cold and didn’t want to go. We lazed around till evening, when I decided to go with Franco and Patrizia to visit Manuela in the hospital and see her new little girl. Simone stayed home to make dinner. He just refused to go with us to the hospital no matter how I persuaded him. I think he just feels it’s not his thing. On the drive to Grosseto, I thought it’d be nice to visit the hospital on good tidings for once instead of associating it with sickness and death. When we reached the main entrance, we ran into Franco’s cousin whose mother had a heart attack. I couldn’t help wondering which type of patients the other visitors were there to see. 

4.32kg! That’s how heavy Baby Ilaria weighed. She was sleeping peacefully when we went to see her, and was very big compared to the other babies in the nursery. Manuela looked very tired… Patrizia said she had spent more than a day in labour before the doctor would make an incision in her tummy to take out the baby. 

Simone had cooked chicken with rosemary, potatoes with beans, and rice for me. There was also roast pork ribs and cutlets in the oven, and Patrizia set to deep-frying some french fries. After dinner, Simone, Francesco and I played poker. Simone won the first round, then Francesco and I battled it out in the second round for the longest time. We were both very defensive, though he had a lot more chips that I did. Funnily, the Italians refer to the chips as ‘fish’. Simone was playing croupier for us and got tired of it and wanted to play on my behalf. I knew he would lose it in a matter of minutes cos Francesco wasn’t about to risk anything and Simone has the rash ‘all-in’ attitude. So I made him buy my chips from me… and indeed, he managed to lose them in about 10 minutes.

When the game was over, I went out to the balcony to see if there might be any more falling stars. But they seemed tired of diving from the sky. I must come next year to make my wishes again.

Nonna Lina called in the morning to ask us over for lunch and said she would be making lasagna. She cooks very well, and her style is very different from Patrizia’s. And I can’t emphasise enough how great Patrizia cooks. Simone was sleeping when she called, so he wasn’t inclined to go over when Franco came asking. But I convinced him to go… yay!

Franco and Francesco went over to Lina’s house first, and it was about 1pm by the time we arrived. We’d stopped by a pasticceria to get a small tray of dessert pastries. She warmed up the lasagna in the oven for us, tsking over how we were late when Simone had told her 12.30pm, and now the lasagna was a bit dry. It was still good though, and she’d made meatballs in ragu for secondo, though I couldn’t eat anymore (I was guilty of snacking at home before coming out).

Franco took us home before returning to Nonna Lina’s house for Patrizia. Patrizia said she was going to visit her friend Manuela in a hospital in Grosseto. Manuela should be giving birth today. I hope all goes well with the birth and I’ll be looking at a healthy baby soon. Oh, and since we’ve extended our trip, we’ll be able to see Barbara’s little Sabrina when she’s born too! 

Simone fell asleep again after reading his comics for a few minutes. I was blogging, but fell asleep soon after as well, induced by his snoring. Today being the day after the palio, the boats are available for those who want to try rowing. Simone wanted to watch that in the piazza, but it’s already 7plus and he’s still asleep. The plan tonight is dinner at Pozzarello. I don’t remember if I’ve been there yet, I hope the food is good. Anyway, it’s time to buy dinner for the family. I haven’t done that since I’ve been here.

Valle came last in the palio. Maybe I didn’t expect them to win, but I felt rather disappointed that they should be last.

Valle’s theme for this year is 70’s disco fever. When I was here 2 years ago, the theme was viking and Patrizia bought us plastic viking hats. This year, however, we dressed simply in Valle’s colours – blue and white. We walked to Bar Il Giardinetto in Valle to meet the Bubi brothers. They weren’t there yet, so we walked to Bar del Sub and I ate a chocolate croissant before returning to Bar Il Giardinetto. Jaba and Ricardo were dressed like Arabians and looked rather funny together. We had drinks before Jaba took us on his motorbike (first Ricardo, then Simone and I) to Claudio’s house for a pre-palio party. 

We arrived to lots of beer and pizza, and 2 men painting a huge banner, picturing a huge dick dedicated to Pilarella. The men looked very funny as they dressed to the theme… These guys are mostly ‘uncles’. :p Most of them sported vests and swimming trunks with either blue or white wigs in a bob style. A few wore shimmery disco bell bottoms with open cropped vests and huge afro wigs. We hung out there for about 2 hours before heading back to Il Giardinetto.

When we got there, the place was full (predominantly Valle groupies) and they had switched to using plastic cups. We said hi to many people, and everyone chanted pro-Valle chants. Simone was out of tobacco, so we walked to buy cigarettes from Stefano. We passed by a big group of Valle groupies on the road and traffic was halted – 2 cars at first, but it became a major traffic jam snaking as far as I could see in a single lane. There were police cars there, and the groupies were chanting the usual slogans. One policewoman told a policeman (who was leaning on a police car), “C’mon, let’s clear these guys off the road!” and the policeman said “But this is really funny” and grinned. The Valle fans had started chanting that they loved the police because the police were dressed in blue too.

We walked back to Il Giardinetto, Simone had more drinks, and I took a pic of him with the Gabrielle gang in front of a Pilarella scrawling. I had beer splashed on me whenever I stood near the bar counter so I steered clear of it after a while. After Maurizia arrived, we walked with the Bubi brothers to another bar to paint ourselves in blue and white. We ran into Franco at the bar, and even though this bar was far less crowded, it was just as rowdy. Franco left to look for Patrizia, then one of his friends raised me into the air like a baby… The Valle procession came past minutes later, and we joined in behind the float. Moments later, we ran into Franco and Patrizia. In the midst of it, Sara came crashing into Simone, having not seen him for months, and the 2 of them toppled over and got entangled with each other. Later, we saw Elisabetta too. 

Simone likes to stand on the rocks to watch the palio (the view is far better than from the piazza), and walked there to stake out a spot. We spotted Ricardo standing right in front and Simone insisted that we join him though I was reluctant and thought I should join Patrizia instead. We got to Ricardo, but the waves were splashing us waist high. I was quite sure that it would get more chaotic later and we were likely to be pushed into the sea. Since I can’t swim, I left to look for Patrizia. Simone was afraid I wouldn’t find her so he accompanied me. 

We found Franco and Patrizia later, and they tried to get a drink at Il Grottino, but it was way too crowded. A small drizzle started descending, but cleared not long after. A strong wind started blowing though, and the waves were huge. We walked to where the boats were shoved off into the sea, and took our places on the steps. Simone went to rejoin his friends on the rocks, and I sat with Franco and Patrizia to wait for the palio to begin. It was a long wait before the team positions were announced… Pilarella, Croce, Valle and Fortezza. The teams started rowing for warmup… It was an even longer wait before the palio commenced, and the sky was starting to turn dark. The teams started to take up positions, then the coast guard boat went over to the Fortezza team, causing a stir in the crowd. It turned out that Fortezza’s driver had injured his waist or something and requested a substitution.

Valle had a very good start when the “gun” went off. Coming back, however, Fortezza was first though they made the first lap almost at the same time. The difference was minute, and I couldn’t tell that Valle was slower than Croce. But there it was announced, Fortezza made first in the first lap, followed by Pilarella, Croce and Valle. And that was to be the final result, as the distance between the teams widened ever so slightly lap by lap. 

The men in Simone’s family ranted and raved at the end of the race, but became subdued by the time the prize ceremony was over. Having won the palio the 3rd time in a row, Fortezza won the gold cup. Simone said that 7 years ago, they had not 1 gold cup while Valle had 2. They’ve really been doing well at palio the past few years. Simone, Patrizia and I walked up to the house while Franco and Francesco walked to where he’d parked the motorbike near Lina’s house. I must say I’ve become much better at walking up. 

Dinner that night was pretty subdued too. Patrizia made spaghetti aglio olio (very yummy with the crispy prawn chili I’d brought from Singapore) and I helped her wash up while she and Francesco went right to bed. Simone went to see if there were any good movies showing on television, and promptly fell asleep on the sofa. Franco cleaned up the house, then went to sleep soon as well. Apart from being tired, I guess no one was in the mood to do anything else too.

Simone and I woke up early and walked down to the post office to make payment to Thai Airways. Simone couldn’t make payment without an account, so he called Patrizia for his account number. Minutes later, she called back with his number and I was pretty amazed at her resourcefulness considering that she’s at work. We tried to make payment again, but then found out that it was impossible to make payment without his card (which he had lost along with his wallet in Singapore months ago). We ended up walking to Patrizia’s bar where Simone had espresso, apricot juice and water – he complained of a tummy ache later. I ate a cream pastry… yum! 

Franco arrived at the bar not long after. He’d been servicing the Valle boat all morning for the race the next day. He went back to the house with bread for Francesco, then came back at 12.45 to go with Simone to the post office. We went to fax the receipt later in a convenience store.

We went home after and I took an afternoon nap. About 10 minutes after Simone woke me up (I was still snoozing in bed), I literally jumped up to the sound of a car blaring his horn. I recognised Danielle’s voice yelling. Dang, I thought he’d be watching Lupin on TV and wouldn’t be here till at least half an hour later. I made a mad dash for everything and we left.

I love Danielle’s car – a white Mini Cooper that needs a good cleaning like 96% of the cars here. It’s a cloudy day and we ended up at Giannella. Hmm… Simone had said we were going to Porto Ercole. The boys played ball (there were already 2 poles stuck into the sand about 1 metre from shore – Giannella is a very shallow beach). Danielle and Ricardo asked if we wanted to go out to dinner that night, and so did Enrico, who called up later. We ended up having dinner with the family and one of Francesco’s friends, at Ristorante da Virgilio in Valle. Dinner was seafood, there were the usual appetizers and we ordered gnocchi with scampi, and spaghetti with mixed seafood (which I felt could do with more salt). I had a very yummy dessert after – no idea what it’s called, but it’s a creamy thing with chocolate and nuts. 

The Madonna procession passed us by as we were eating, and we stood up in respect for her. Sigh, I wanted pictures of it as I didn’t have a camera with me 2 years ago. This year, I couldn’t get a good shot while sitting in the restaurant. Oh well. 

Simone and I walked after dinner to the restaurant near La Caletta to say hi to Enrico and the party, passing by Danielle and Ricardo at Il Grottino on the way. Simone then walked me back to the street above Il Buco, so Franco could take me home with Patrizia… Upon reaching home, I went to the balcony to see if I could catch any more falling stars, but the sky was overcast and there was only 1 star twinkling visibly. I fell asleep not long after, so deeply that I did not sense Simone coming home. Tomorrow, palio!

We called Thai Airways today to change our return date to 20 September… Simone said we’ve to pay 96 euros to get the date changed via Bonifico, before our seats are confirmed on the new date. Fair enough, I’m not in a hurry to return to Singapore though it’ll soon start turning cold here. Sigh… I wish summer would last longer. I probably should have gone to the beach, but I felt lazy again and wanted to stay home. It’s probably because I’ve been lazy the past few days. Tomorrow… Tomorrow I shall not be lazy! And Friday it’ll be the palio.

I’m craving madly for rice today, so Simone and I went to search for Thai rice before going to check out the boats for palio. We visited 2 supermarkets, but there was none to be found. He cooked the basmati rice that was in the pasta drawer. It was an okay substitute and I ate lots of it.

Hmm.. I think we’ll give Verona a miss. Opera tickets are just too expensive for me right now and hotels are expensive too cos of the on-going opera festival. Hee… The money from that can buy me another bag! :p I suppose we could have visited Romeo and Giulietta’s courting spot there too, but Franco says it’s a boring town. Oh well… Anyway, it’ll be better for me to catch the opera when my italiano is better.