Manuele, my host in Ferrara


princess posing for picture


The year of the rat, did you say?


Marek setting up the burner to cook lunch


Ekaitz teaching me how to make tiramisu, coffee flavour for me, and colacao flavour for him


Ekaitz digging in


the grand canal


gelato


Masqueraders


Marek and Raphael


Italy = Pigeons

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Ferrara, Italy


Wow, so this is what i have been missing my entire life, why wasnt i born an Italian? everything about them just feel so right! so...complete...

Well, almost complete...

Upon touching down at Treviso, i waited at the carousel for my sleepingbag that wasnt gonna show, realization hit pretty quickly and i kinda accepted the cruel fact that it's gone before i even know it for sure...

having gone through worse scenario than this, i shrugged it off and before long found myself in the enchanted dreamland of Venice...It was cold, the sky was gray, and above all, it was rainy...that didnt dampen anything at all, well, at least it didnt dampen the spirit of the masquerader...

So i didnt do much on the first day, went back to Massimo's house and met two other travelers from Poland, and boy, were they totally fun to hangout with...we ate some polish sausages, drank some wine, talked a little, you know, the usual...and in about a coupla hours know everything there is to know about each other...totally cool...

the next day, the finale of Venice carnival 2008, woke up to a brilliant sunny blue-sky day, had some italian coffee and we went costume hunting! nice outfits and fancy masks can be seen everywhere, these people clearly dress to impress! we took tonnes of pictures, went out of the way outside the tourist zone, squeezing through narrow alley and trespassing through residential area, talked to the local people and joined in the local party, it was all fun!

the boys are totally equiped with travel gears, i was very much amazed when they produced a bunsen burner from their backpack and started cooking stew by the canal, and let me tell you this, that could possibly be the best picnic ive ever had, we were in our own world, enjoying the scenery to the utmost and oblivious to curious passers-by, who were most amused by our antics...

after that we stopped by the gelateria for a much needed gelato, it was beginning to feel like summer with all that sunshine and a gelato was most welcome. When night falls, we hopped in the wine shop and got ourselves a bottle of merlot each ( we later regretted not getting two bottles each), and italian merlot is really tasty (maybe i was thirsty)...we sat at the boardwalk beside the grand canal, listening to italian music, watching people dancing, totally mesmerized...

the evening party was the major attraction...everyone gathered at the piazza San Marco to begin a whole-night dancing to end the carnival, after which everyone's gonna sober up to commence a 40-day fasting till Easter...nice...

The Italians reminded me very much of the spanish, the way they party, so much freedom, and so much joy, and gosh, everyone is so beautiful...not exaggerating here...

good things end quickly, as im very much accustomed to it already, the next day, i bidded farewell to my new-found friends of Marek and Raphael, and continued on my journey...They tried to coax me into traveling with them in another direction, but plans were made and other people are expecting me else where, so i have to wave them off at the train station...and you know what, poland is officially added to my itinerary now...

***

I got off the train at Padova and went to meet with Cris, easily the most charming lady ever...we shared so many travel tales and never ran out of conversations, i truly did enjoy my two nights with her and her beautiful kids, savoring real italian food, getting so many different ideas from her approach to life, and was totally inspired...at the end of my sojourn in padova, i knew ive found yet another soulmate...

***

so much to tell, so little time...arrived in the medieval town of Ferrara today and fell in love with it instantly, it's really that easy to fall head over toes to everything and everyone here...

will talk of my experience in Ferrara next time...stay tune!