Travellers:here I am!!
I travel therefore I am
martedì 17 marzo 2015
The word me
Paraphrasing a song I can't get out if my head today I've had it easy you don't know how easy I got it...
This is the reflection I am making in the last few months, in the most wonderful yet the most difficult time of my life. This is not going to be a post like the other ones: it will be about a journey but of a different kind, a journey like no other with no suggestions but only observations.
I was saying that I have had it easy and I realized to what extent only lately: my life has always been full, I have made it very full and I have always tried to live it as if there was not tomorrow. I managed to do most of things I wanted, travelled around rhe world, have been a dancer,have studied acting, have been on the stage a few times, have become a yoga teacher, have made experiences of all kind, have met thousands of people, have had my fair share of romance, learnt languages, have had some professional satisfaction being a lawyer, I have taught courses and worked at Universities, watched thousands of movies, been to many concerts around the world, lived in different countries: I have even been a drag queen. My attention was focused on me and what was going around me, my family, my friends, my experiences and years have flown by so fast and so fully. Yet up until not so long ago I had regrets on what I could have done differently or better to have made different choices in particular as far as work was concerned. I never had room for anything different in my life let alone for a family and I was one of those who were never crazy about children, or better I liked them but was not too excited. My mom, who had never lost hopes kept telling me that if I had any children of my own it would be different. Also when I saw my friends with kids I never understood fully their feelings, their worries, their happiness or pain.
It was exactly a year ago when I was standing in the corridors of the hospital holding the results of my blood test which said I was six weeks pregnant and when I met the woman who turned out to be my guardian angel during the pregnancy. I had been told that for my age and other hormonal issues I had at that time a 3% chance to get pregnant and I wouldn't have known anyway since I had never tried.
Well, there was my 3% right there in that paper. Tears were coming down my face but they were not tears of happiness at that time. I was completely lost: I had just met the person who then would have become my loving and wonderful fiance ( but I did not know this at the time) and I was not at all prepared for this. My guardian angel took me to the hospital bar for a chat and then to see a gynecologist to check that everything was alright. This last one rather abruptly said she thought my pregnancy had probably stopped and to wait for a week to have another check up.
In that very moment my world collapsed, I felt like I was being punished for being so self centered. Well I would keep my freedom, I would take a few sabbatical months around the world like I planned so why was I so heartbroken? I was shattered. My wonderful friends ( you know who you are) were very close to me in that very difficult moment and were even more closer when a week later I saw that little embryo's heartbeat in the screen and felt like I had never felt before.
Months passed by with nausea, mood swings, screenings and a lot of other pregnancy related issues but it was not until the very end that I realized what was happening to me. She came after 41 weeks of pregnancy, 16 hours of labour and an emergency cesarean. I could not see her until after they had given me stitches and checked me up because when they pulled her out of me I was sound asleep and did not even hear her crying. My boyfriend showed her to me when I was being taken to the post partum room running alongside my stretcher with the crib. When I could finally hold her I just could not believe such a perfect tiny human being had just gotten out of me. I could hardly hold her since I kept falling asleep ( I had been awake for 36 hours, in labour, under ossitocine, several epidurals, a cesarean, and on a lot of pain killers). This is why that first night I could not keep her in the room. I remember when I called the nursery the following morning asking to bring my daughter (!) in. It felt so strange to say those words and it still feels weird at times after all these years of not even thinking one day I could say such a word.
It has been for sure the most difficult and challenging time of my life. The post operational pains, the post partum depression, getting used to her presence in my life, the experience of breastfeeding. About that: I was one of those people who don't like to see people breastfeeding in public or rather it really bothered me to a point I would say I was horrified ( there. I said it.) I had always thought there was something wrong about me but my mother again kept repeating her magical mantra that if I had had my own child these feelings would magically disappear. Well seeing how non chalant I am right now in that respect, in private and in public I just can't recognize myself.
It took me a while after the wounds, the pain, the weirdness of it all but from a point onwards it all became natural and easy. It seemed impossible in the beginning. I got to the point of hoping I would not have any milk and give my baby the bottle, I read advice on how to diminish it and in the beginning especially at night I chose to give her formula notwithstanding the fact I had enough to give her. Only now I realize how easier it would have been if I had made the effort and tried to overcome the pain but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. i was one of the few mothers who went from mixed feeding to exclusive. Looking back it seems so far away and so absurd considering how easy it is now. I never thought it would feel so great to give her her nourishment and to have this contact with her. I never thought I would not care less about my breasts or about my body and the extra kilos I still have on me. I never thought I could wish for all the pain to be on me and to suffer incredibly when she got pneumonia at only one month and a half and we had to stay one week in hospital. I never thought her crying when the doctors had to take her blood for tests or take X rays would hurt me like stabs deep in my flesh. I never thought I could think to give my life for somebody else. I never thought I could show myself in a semi homeless like look those days and not give a damn. I never thought I could feel the urge to protect another person to the extent of sacrificing myself and my life. I now understand the real meaning of when in my wonderful trips to Africa and in the many safaris I have done I was told to watch out for wild female animals when they had cubs. I remember the looks female cats used to give me when I would discover them with their kittens at my aunt's house in the country. I remember the sound female elephants would make turning to look at my jeep when they closed the line of elephants with cubs in the middle. Oh yes I do understand now. I understand that all that seemed so important to me or even fundamental doesn't look so important now. I have not taken a plane in what to me seems to be ages and I am not gonna lie about it, I do miss that, but it just doesn't seem so fundamental all of a sudden. I don't know when I will take another journey and I know that when I will it will be different but I don't care. The feeling of freedom I felt for so many years travelling around the globe was fantastic. Getting in an helicopter in Machu Picchu, standing on the verge of Victoria falls, diving in the Australian Great Barrier Reef, driving alone on Us highways, getting lost in the Namibian desert, walking around temples at dawn at Angkor Wat, sitting in the back of a truck in Botswana, watching lions wake up in South African parks. Do I miss that? Yes but it belonged to another type of journeys. I know I will still travel and this time with my partner and my daughter or even alone at times and it will be different. And it's good.
My life has changed and I like it. I am not working at the moment and ehen I think back at the sleepless nights I had worried about work it makes me smile. I am not dancing, nor acting, nor teaching yoga and practising very little but I don't care.
I remember when I had to quit teaching yoga before the summer after only a year after I had started or even less and assured the gyms and centers where I was teaching that I would start again maximum two months after I had given birth. Yeah right. It makes me smile thinking how unprepared I was for what is was coming. And when I look at myself in the mirror and see all the flaws my face and my body now have I complain to my partner and relatives but then I smile again thinking I couldn't care less. My back aches constantly, I am tired and the sleepless nights now are for the anxiety of doing things right as a mother.
It's when I wake up in the morning seeing that beatiful face next to me opening her eyes and smiling that I think : me? And who is that?
martedì 22 luglio 2014
Quel ramo del lago di Como (Bellagio for you)
martedì 20 maggio 2014
Welcome to paradise (Boracay)











domenica 6 aprile 2014
Vedi Napoli e poi muori . There is no city like mine 2






martedì 11 marzo 2014
Vedi Napoli e poi muori (there is no city like mine). First part
I dare anybody in the whole world to find a city like this. There is no other. It is simply unique. I am not saying it because it's the place where I was born and raised but because it's true and anybody who's been there can say it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Judge for yourself: I got this video from Youtube which has one of my favourite Neapolitan songs of all times and images of my beautiful hometown. I have to confess I don't go there as often anymore. I used to : for years I would go back every one or two months to see my friends and some of my relatives. Having moved with my whole family to Milan almost 24 years ago I do feel like I belong there and I truly do but at the same time all these years away from it make me an expat, so that when I go back I feel like I have never moved away and a tourist at the same time. It's a very weird feeling, because I have lived many years out of Naples but I do feel and I am truly Neapolitan. I never lost my accent for one thing and I speak the slang all the time especially when I'm angry. I do have to confess that I have always had a love-hate relationship with the city. One of the reasons why my family decided to move is the fact that nothing ever changes in the good but mostly in the bad. It's always been a city ruled by inadequate and mostly corrupted administrations, where lack of work has always been a big problem since I can remember and most of all it's located in a territory where we sadly know organized criminality reigns. Moreover it's a place where the mentality of the people remains the same even after centuries and unfortunately doesn't open to the rest of the world. I know some of my fellow citizens will not agree with me but most of those who have moved away will totally see what I am saying. It's a very closed society and very difficult to deal with. Nevertheless the city has always coped with numerous problems with the so called " arte di arrangiarsi" which could be translated as art of getting by and which the Neapolitans have used to go around obstacles for centuries for survival purposes. The problem is that this habit of going around things to find a way to get by brought people not to face problems and solve them. This is why after many years the city has still the same problems.
I am saying that because people only see the obvious beauties of the city and of the people but as tourists do not get how difficult it is to live in a city like this one.
Even I when I go back for the first few days am enthusiastic and happy, but after a while I have this urge to run away. I am not the only one believe me. This is for living there but as a visitor anybody (I can bet what you want) will have a wonderful time. The city is simply fantastic, people are also unique and have a great sense of humor and are known to be a step ahead. Here are some examples:



Well, tecnically Massimo Troisi and Sophia Loren are not from Naples but from little towns close by even if they have always been considered true Neapolitans. We are in fact, very proud of our origins and of our Neapolitan culture like no one else at least in Europe. Now let's talk about a couple of advice when visiting: Naples is not dangerous as sometimes people say. Do not believe in this terroristic propaganda and yes do take care of your stuff when you're walking around. That's just common sense: you would do the same in Paris, New York, London or Milan. I got pickpocketed in all four cities and curiously enough never in Naples. I insist: don't listen when people say that because they got robbed of their Rolex or Prada handbag, Naples is a dangerous city. I guess in every city where you flash that kind of stuff in certain neighborhoods or close to the railway station you can easily become an easy target. Just use your common sense and you'll be fine.
Be prepared to spend some time in traffic when touring. There is a lot of traffic in Naples but that's just the way it is, so there is in Bangkok, Bejing, New York, or Rio. Neapolitan drivers are described to be crazy but have you ever been in a cab in one of the four places I mentioned? Crazy is all over the world my friends.
Another main thing: when you go to Naples you should probably fast for a week or two before leaving since you're gonna eat so much you won't believe it.Mind you, most of the things are healthier than most foods we eat every day, but of course pizza, sfogliatelle, taralli al pepe, paste cresciute, crocchè, biscotti all'amarena, sciù al ciocclolato and many other kinds of food can be quite heavy if you eat them everyday and I guarantee you will want to. See what I mean?


Ok now I'm officially hungry. Another thing you should do if visiting Naples if you're a man and have some (but not too much) cash is to have a tailored suit or a jacket since in Naples there is one of the most ancient traditions of men tailors of all times. To see what what I'm talking about check the trailer of my brother's movie called O'Mast.
Since "La Grande Bellezza" won the Oscar as best foreign movie if you watched it you might have noticed the exquisite clothes worn by Toni Servillo the actor playing the role of Jep Gambardella, the main character. Well they are made by one od the most famous tailors in Naples, Mr. Cesare Attolini who was thanked at the ceremony together with all the others by director Paolo Sorrentino.


And let's get to places to visit .... in the second part












lunedì 3 marzo 2014
Manila in a day











venerdì 24 gennaio 2014
Unconventional Iberia
I have been to Madrid a couple of times and always liked it although I prefer (or at least I think I do : now Madrid natives are going to hate me deeply) Barcelona. Having said that I haven't been to Barcelona in over ten years so I guess I can't be really objective. I was in Madrid recently and liked it as usual although this time it was different. I was visiting and my guide made me discover places unknown and very pleasant. Mind you this is not going to be a post about Prado, Reina Sofia or all that . Not at all. Just a few little discoveries I made in this beautiful city. When I think of Madrid the first word that comes to my mind is "maestosa". In English it would be translated as majestic but in Italian I think it gives a better idea.
I was very lucky with the weather notwithstanding the fact that it was already winter: clear blue skies, warm sun and beautiful light. I had my stroll in the center, where apart from the beautiful sites and monuments I saw the signs of the crisis we are also experiencing big time here in Italy since a couple of years ago. The difference is that at least they had the Indignados whereas in this country nobody apparently gets angry enough to do something consistent about it. Everybody says it will pass by itself probably this year but is it really true? I guess we will find out soon.
Apart from that I enjoyed very much walking in Plaza Mayor seeing the policemen with their horses, one of which was the object of attention of a beige labrador who wanted to make friends with him, and around the little calles. My friend took me for dinner at La cocina de San Anton areally nice restaurant situated in a market open during the day and partly at night. I am sure that in the summer with the open terrace it will be even more pleasant but it was pleasant enough during winter.
The day after we walked for miles over the Rio Manzanares taking advantage of the beautiful weather and came across a the beautiful Arganzuela bridge, which wasn't there or at least I don't think it was last time I was in Madrid which was about ten years ago when I went for a hen night or Espedita de soltera as they say in Spanish for a a friend of mine who although Italian has lived in Spain and loves it. I have a lot of memories from that trip especially of the late nights and the splurging. The time before that instead I had been there for New Year's Eve and as apparently all the tourists do my friends and I went to Plaza del Sol and waited for midnight with a bottle of Cava and 12 grapes for the 12 beats of the clock. The grapes you have to eat at every beat which makes it impossibile to swallow it altogether. So one of my friends and I kneeled on the floor since all the corks from thousands of bottles were being popped and managed to eat the 12 grapes although we looked like squirrels with a mouth full of hazelnuts.
At the end of the walk my friend took me to a very interesting place which was formely a slaughterhouse called Matadero, a huge space which has recently become a recreative center with a bar and a theatre and places for exhibitions. As disturbing as the name could sound since it makes come to mind the activities carried out in that place it is absolutely a place to go to. I loved it and if in Madrid I will surely go again.




In the evening my friend took me to an excellent restaurant El Pescador, lovely place and great food. The next day, always thanks to my friend, I managed to finally see Toledo a town an hour away from Madrid which I have never managed to see the other times I have been there. Well that's also a place to which the word maestoso could easily apply. But most of all what was really nice about it was the mixture between churches and synagogues which find its reasons in the religious tolerance the town had centuries ago. It was a really lovely feeling walking in its narrow streets and admiring the quiet corners of this beautiful place. Churches, synagogues, convents, little resturants and a breathtaking view. The one in the picture was taken from a Parador, of the chain Paradores of Spain (hotels) just outside the town. For reference please check out Wikipedia page about Toledo.


Maestoso right? Well what else can I say? That weekend has been important for me for various reasons and I guess it made me discover other parts of this majestic city and also beautiful Toledo. Next time Her majesty I will render more hommage to your regal self . For now I will only get this small post of admiration which I hope is enough for the time being. Hasta pronto!









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