We get up at twelve and start to work at one. Take an hour for lunch and then at two we’re done. Jolly good fun!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: there is nothing not to adore about Italy. There is even more to adore about Italy when you’re sharing it with a best friend you haven’t seen in a year. I have been craving real Italian pasta ever since I got my first taste of it in Rome nearly two years ago, but I hate eating alone, especially in a strange country where I don’t speak the language. This then, would be where I’m lucky to have chosen such great Family members. Y’see, Amras has been to this port more times than I have, he knows the layout better and – more importantly – he knows where the restaurant is that serves the most amazing pizza and spaghetti ever.
There are worse ways – much worse ways I’m sure – to spend an afternoon than sitting with your best friend, sipping rose wine and watching the world amble past you. In a café where the waiters apparently remember you from season to season, and the food is so bloody amazing that you almost want to order a second portion by you know that you’ll regret it later. Where the gellato is made with real cream and you have to eat it really quickly before it melts all over your fingertips. Amras and I had a year’s worth of catch up to do, and trust me that’s a lot , so by the time we finally sauntered back to the ship (today was my day off so I didn’t work until seven in the evening…) my throat was actually feeling a bit rough from all the talking, but it was worth it. I love my Family, and I so hate being separated from them for long periods of time, especially when I know their lives aren’t always easy.
My sleep has gone down and my social life has gone up since I finally managed to befriend the rest of the band (our singer is a sweetheart), but this is still the kind of contract I’ve so missed having. The kind of contract where I can sit out on the back deck under the Italian stars with two musicians and a party band singer and talk until we simply can’t talk any more, and I can run on adrenaline and still feel healthy for it because the energy that’s surrounding me is positive enough to carry me.
Gah! You were going to bring cookies! And you didn’t? NO FAIR!!
Wait? She makes cookies?!
Her mother does, and they’re AMAZING, they’re freakin’ legendary.
Now I really really want to stay up and do a bakery raid…
How far away do we feel from the rest of the world and people about to throw bombs at each other right now?
Totally right?
I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed that, that’s why I do this job in the first place, and somewhere along the line I lost hold of it…I lost sight of it…and that’s not a good thing. Some things, some reasons, some moments, should always remain in focus.