Thing about traveling with another person is that there’s always compromise involved. This day was the beginning of a doozy of a series of compromises that took a lot of effort and [what I thought was] patience – but of course, that’s life and relationships, right? By the end of this adventure, I’ll be curious as to what you think about the level of compromise. Remember, she knew the places and the people. I was very much along for the ride, so on that level, Maria ruled the trip and we both knew it would be that way. But read on and see what you think…
Day 3 – Friday, May 26 – Tuscany, Florence: Woke fairly early with zero jetlag and raring to go – this was our first full day from start to finish, and I was excited to get moving. Not knowing whether Maria was a late sleeper or not, I quietly got up to peek out the window (I hate blackout shades and darkness in a room when the sun is up). Maria woke shortly and wanted coffee in the room, so I rang the butler (!) and then opened the curtains to one of the balconies, exposing the most INCREDIBLE view over the river and up the Tuscan hills!
Maria’s “friend” Giorgio was going to pick us up at around 11:30 that morning, leaving us plenty of time to get ready and have a leisurely breakfast in the beautiful dining hall at the hotel. The breakfast scene was a mix of super old school (fine china, linen, and chandelier dining on a balcony overlooking the opulent first floor) and current brunch-y luxury. Several eggs, fruits, cappuccinos and mimosas, er…bellinis later and we’re ready to meet Giorgio!
The strangeness started right about then. I’d understood that he was going to pick us up at the hotel, but Maria said that there’s some kind of regulation for driving in the city center if you don’t have a car registered IN the center (Giorgio lives outside of Florence), so we had to meet him on some street corner…but she didn’t know exactly which corner, so we started walking and then waiting…and then walking and waiting. She was confused, and though they had been texting earlier, I suggested that she text or call him to make sure we were in the right spot. She ignored me flat out and continued with the pacing back and forth down the street while I followed. This went on for about a half hour and we finally found him. Crisis over. Hugs and kisses and nice-to-meet-yous.
We got in the car and off we went into the Tuscan hills and countryside. Conversation was lovely, but it felt a little date-y on the way to San Gimignano. At one point I even asked Giorgio if there was a term for “third wheel” in Italian.
[Backstory: Maria and Giorgio have known each other nearly 15 years and during that time have had a long-distance relationship where they’ve visited each other in different cities all over the world. They were never boyfriend/girlfriend, but there has always been that…tension, you know? They even sealed the deal ONCE, but that was long ago and far away. Today, they are…well, you figure it out.]
Giorgio just laughed and went on to talk about him, him, him. Granted, there was a LOT to say, as he is one of the stars of a very popular reality TV show in Italy, and he is also the most controversial figure in the show…AND he’d just finished filming the season finale the day before! He was TIRED. And he made sure we knew he was VERY TIRED. And granted, I get that, but oh…the level of tiredness. Of course, Maria and I thanked him for taking the day to show us around a couple of places in Tuscany. It was very nice of him to do. But it was also planned. He’d agreed to do this and it’s not like we sprung it on him – he knew we were coming and HE was the one who’d invited us out. So to tell us over and over that it was such a hardship was a little over the top, I think. Maria was more than annoyed. I was just hoping a fight wouldn’t erupt between the two of them.
And thus began the tone of the rest of the time we spent with Giorgio. While he walked us through the breathtaking Medieval walled villages of Tuscany, we heard about the TV drama (and even WATCHED some of his adoring fans as they approached Giorgio and asked to take photos with him!) and I saw the personal drama between Maria and Giorgio rapidly escalate. Through a wonderful wine-y lunch in San Gimignano and a spectacular walk in the tiny town of Monteriggioni, there was still an underlying tension that I tried my best to ignore.
Back into Florence at around 7:30 gave us some time to go back to the hotel suite where we were to get ready for dinner – but the finale of the TV show was going to air at 8PM, so we asked Giorgio up to our room so we could all watch together (with him translating) while we got ready for our 9PM dinner reservations.
THAT was a first!
And even with the translations, I still didn’t understand the damn show! All I could figure out was that Giorgio was supposed to be dating one old broad, but the paparazzi had taken pictures of him making out with some other woman and so he was on the hot seat! Drama, drama, drama! And then he kicked the woman he was kissing off the show (it’s one of those game show reality shows where people get eliminated), and that was like the end of the season! I don’t GET IT! And now he’s deciding whether he wants to be on the next season…
Meanwhile, I was ready for dinner (and STARVING) and Maria was not ready at all. It was already like 9:30, so we changed our reservations to 10:30 or something. Not to worry, Giorgio is friends with the owner…however, I was getting HANGRY at this point.
I’m guessing it was 11PM by the time we got to the restaurant. Luckily the owner was waiting for us with glasses of bubbly and a lovely seat! All was okay again - until we sat down and I started nibbling on the bread and Giorgio told me to stop eating bread! I mean, sure, I shouldn’t be eating bread because we were about to be served some amazing Italian seafood, but goddammit, are you REALLY telling me to stop eating? Enter HANGER again.
Okay, so the dinner was wonderful, luxurious and wine-fueled. We ended up having some fantastic and lively conversation about love and relationships and yes…even some of the conversation even revolved around ME! ;)
Really, the day and evening were nothing short of spectacular. I LOVED this day despite the little moments of tension. Everything about Italy seems magical. It wasn’t until the following day that the true drama began.
Of course, more to follow…
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