Kate, my best friend in Germany, arrived in Italy yesterday morning and from there the hours have exploded, disintegrated and drowned in a well of gelato. Day one comprised of a complementary tour of Torino where we visited places such as Piazza Costello, Via Garibaldi, The Mole Antonelliana, Via Roma, and Parco Valentino where we had a delightful picnic and sunbath. This is also where Kate made a friend with a fellow park-goer, which is completely typical of her. What started as just some guy staring at us turned into an arrangement of towels and quilts and crude maps and bad jokes. His name was Antonio and by the end of the conversation, we had arranged to meet later for an apperitivo. I have been here for five months with little more a small sprinkling of friends to show for it. Give this girl a few hours and she'll work wonders.
At 9 we were reunited with Antonio (and friend, Christian) in the Quadrilateral. Both boys had a deeply sarcastic sense of humor which turned out to be extremely amusing. When our meal and drink were consumed, we strolled around the city so Kate could admire balconies.
Best quote of the day was in reference to Kate's skin color in which Antonio said, "You are white like mozzarella."
Before we went home, Christian and I had agreed to meet up later in September for a language exchange, making him my third tandem parter. I wrote him a text in Italian to which he responded, "ps. written Italian so so. We have to work hard on it." Spirit crusher.
Today we catch the morning train to Bologna, where I will do what I can with what I have to keep you updated.
Thoughts from Italy,
Nix
