The last few days

I've been unable to post anything on fb or here for the past three or four days on account of no Wi-Fi. But I'm now back with this recap, which I'm writing from my spectacular hotel room in the city of Bucharest, Romania.

When I last wrote in fb, I commented on my lost cell phone. Strangely, for me, I had been taking pictures only with it, rather than my camera, especially since I was visiting family, friends, and re-visiting places previously photographed. Well, all those pictures are now gone, save for the few I had posted. My cousin Laura surprised me by purchasing a smart phone for me for my birthday, so I don't have to travel without being able to communicate. How thoughtful and kind. It does not take photos as well as the last one, but it has been very convenient, and I've used it for the rest of the Italian leg of my trip, which I will now summarize.

I spent the first part of last Thursday with my cousin Gianna, who is 80 years old but in terrific shape. We also visited my 98 year old Aunt Gemma.

I then met up with a friend, and together we walked for a couple of hours in the area around the train station. I wanted to take a couple of photos at the central market and she kindly accompanied me.

At long last, in the evening, it was game time. I hadn't seen Sampdoria play since my last visit almost three years ago. I was joined on the stands by friends Veronica and Davide, and there I also ran into Rossana (photo), a good friend of my sister Laura.

Sadly, the game ended in a rout 0-4 against unbeaten Napoli, the team that leads the standings.

Veronica, Davide and I then hung out till pretty late. We had a superb dinner at "A due passi dai parchi".

On Friday I saluted Genova and headed to Piedmont, to the small town of Sale, in the Po Valley, where my childhood friend Carlo now lives. He and I had been inseparable in Chicago as teenagers and we had many stories to recount. We hadn't seen each other in 45 years. His, had not been a very happy story. He is now content being a farmer. He resides in a 300 years old house in the middle of empty farmland, surrounded by ancient tile-roofed barns.

The two days I spent with him there were extremely endearing. He is well liked and cared for by the community. His sister lives nearby and she was such a gracious host to me, having me over for lunch. Carl introduced me to many of his friends and acquaintances, and I learned a lot about farming life; the rotation of crops, tilling, flattening, different attachments to tractors. The peacefulness of the area was amazing, and for two evenings, under star-studded skies, surrounded by five cats, we hung around the front of his house on two simple chairs, chatting up a storm. The best things in life are free and simple. It was a most touching experience.

The Italian leg of my trip came to an end yesterday. I flew from Milan to Bucharest, and I am now looking forward to exploring new lands. I arrived in Romania quite late, so I was only able to have dinner and walk around a bit before my tired feet commanded me to go back to the hotel. I've been walking an average of 16,000 steps per day since arriving in Europe, according to my Fitbit. But from what I've seen, Bucharest is a beautiful city of stately buildings, and also quite a hip place, full of young people and brimming with pedestrian malls laden with restaurants and bars.

My hotel (first photo below), is dream-like. I cannot believe what $80 got me for a room!

Today however, I am already leaving Romania and will be driving into Bulgaria. I will return here at the end of the week. More tonight!