So we all have a bucket list, and I recently checked one off my list: seeing the Cinque Terre region of Italy. It's been on my list for the past 20 years after seeing pictures from the area in a Rick Steeves book. My goal was to see if before I was 50, but then life got in my way, as it often does. I spent my 40th birthday celebrating in Italy and intended to spend my 50th there doing the same.
Who knew that next decade would bring some many changes to my life? Certainly not me, but instead of sipping wine in Italy and toasting to my half-century status, I found myself newly single, empty-nested, embarking on a new career, and packing up my possessions for a move to Chicago. Whatever extra money I might have had to spend on a vacation was put into a down payment on my new condo, which I will own in 30 short years.
Let me start by saying that I had no idea that the origin of "bucket lists" was the concept that they include all the things you should do before you "kick the bucket." Obviously my stupidity coming into play here, but I never have thought of bucket list items as something to do before I die. This whole concept, however, makes me want to hurry up and assemble a more complete list. If anyone has ideas, please share! Time is marching forward and retirement is only seven years away, not that I'm counting.
Our initial plan was to take this trip in May 2020. I guess you all know what happened that year. The following year we couldn't go for various reasons; the same thing happened last year. This year, however, it finally happened and my daughter Laura and I spent 10 amazing days exploring Italy. Actually 11 days if you count the 6-city, 4-airline, 48-hour odyssey trying to get home from Italy, thanks to a nationwide travel strike and shit weather the day we were scheduled to leave.
It was an incredible and memorable trip. Cinque Terre was absolutely stunning and lived up to my two decades of expectations, and the area is certainly worthy of anyone's bucket list. I love active vacations and that area was perfect for that as you can hike from one village to another. One day alone, we logged 99 flights of stairs! Exhausting but certainly worth the effort for the views from one village to another.
We started in Milan, spent four days in Cinque Terre in two different villages and finished out trip in Florence, my favorite Italian city. We changed Airbnbs every two nights so it we were always packing and on the move, but we did well and packed light.
Overall we got along quite well, as we usually do. I also learned a lot about myself. Apparently sometimes I breathe very loudly, drag my feet when walking, burb entirely too much and snore. Also, I need to start dying my gray hairs, because it's no longer "working for me." All revelations my millenial daughter shared with me during our travels. I made a mental note to look into hair dying options and recommended ear plugs and the white noise app on her phone.
I suffer terribly from Direction Deficit Disorder (DDD) so going anywhere can, often inadvertantly, become an adventure. Sadly my daughter seems to have inherited that gene so it turns out she is also directionally challenged but is quite the master at Google maps, so thanks to GPS technology and the kindness of many strangers, we stayed the course...at least most of the time.
Wine country awaits
We spent one day doing a wine tasting tour out in the Chianti region of Tuscany, which is also a very pretty part of Italy. We visited a few vineyards, learning about the difference between Chianti and Chianti Classico. As a huge red wine lover, I enjoyed tasting and hearing about how the grapes are cultivated and how the different soil makes such a huge difference.
At the second vineyard, we were in a courtyard listening to the sommelier explain more about their wines. After he was done, Laura asked why he was staring at me the whole time. I had actually noticed that among the 20 or so participants, that he did seem to be focusing on me. I assumed it was because I was being attentive and genuinely interested in the topic: wine.
Next we went into the actual wine cellar and he continued his talk about how the wines are stored, etc. After taking some ribbing from a few of the others on the tour, I did take note this time that he had his eyes quite literally locked into mine. It was so obvious, in fact, that I had to look away a few times to stifle a giggle.
Well after that, the teasing escalated. It was becoming quite obvious that the sommelier, Gianni, might be a tad smitten with me. At one point, one of the guys on our tour missed out on one of the samples, a Super Tuscan that was quite good. He desperately tried to get the attention of Gianni to get his sample, but was being largely ignored. A few of them recommended that I ask on his behalf. I swear I barely whispered his name and he immediately came over.
After the tour, Laura told him I was single and encouraged me to give him my cell number, which after 8 glasses of wine seemed like a splendid idea. That night he started calling, trying to find me out in Florence, leaving multiple voicemails (that will never be deleted). They all started the same: "Hey Baby," a phrase that has been on repeat by my daughter ever since." For days, I received calls and messages and eventually we connected on Whatsap.
I am not going to lie; it's flattering. I encounter this phenomenon on the dating apps all the time. I blame Stifler's mom (American Pie reference). Most men on dating apps lie about their age, but it's typically to make them appear younger. Conversely, however, many younger guys lie and say they are 10 or more years older. Bottom line: younger guys dig me. I'm sure many of you remember I have a little experience in this area as I explained in this blog, Don't Call me a Cougar.
Back to Gianni. Rather tragically I finally had to ask the question of how old he actually was. Unfortunately, Gianni, turns out to be significantly younger than he looks. I'll blame early onset male pattern balding for this, but turns out my young suitor is the same age as my kids, so it went from flattering to yucky pretty quickly.
Despite this rather tragic reality, Gianni remained adamant and I must say this response definitely made me laugh.
So unfortunatey, this is where our story ends here. But the bottom line, and one might say silver lining to this particular story: I still got it!!! I'm not going to lie, turning 58 and being hit on by a man 30 years younger, isn't the worst thing to happen either. Did I mention how wonderful the wine was?
Ok, well I better close. Weather is predictably getting colder so the good news is this means more blogs from Barb! Talk about a silver lining, am I right?
I hope this all finds you well and ready to gear up for the final sprint to the end of the year.
Until next time, my friends.
Barb
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