Marina’s Bloggariffic

Its been a week now that Cartcart left Singapore. And I miss him more than I ever had before.

Saturday evening, 22nd December 07

I attended the FAQ Book on Public Speaking book launch. Even though I was a little worried since the event was so close to the time that cartcart would be landing, I thought that I’d just drop by for a while as Eric has written such a nice, personalised email inviting me to the event :)

When I arrived at Geek Terminal, I realised that I didn’t know alot of the people there. But the people at the event were very friendly and I met the writer himself and said my hello after recognizing him in his photo from his blog.

Eventually I saw a couple of blogger friends like Daphne, Herry and Brennan.

Later we were introduced to the panel whom guided and inspired Eric in the writing of his book. Andrew Zhan, Kelvin Lim as well as Irene Ang, all of whom were very experienced and passionate about public speaking.

I got my book signed by them, shamelessly asking them to sign as “To Marina with love”, hahaha!

For me, the event was like food for the soul. As much as I am interested in improving myself, public speaking being one of them, the event felt more like a group of close friends gathering together. One could really see the love between the interaction of Eric’s family and friends there and I cant help but to just soak in the love :)

I enjoyed myself so much that I nearly forgot the time and I had to quickly slip away to board the train to Changi Airport.

There were alot of people already waiting outside the arrival hall when I reached Terminal Two. I peered anxiously behind the glass to find him.

At long length I finally saw him. And my heart warmed. How I’ve missed him! We are together again :)

—

Back in June last year, while I was in Rome with Cartcart, we paid a visit to one of the mosque there to enquire about conversion and marriage processes. I was surprised to find out that there were no Islamic studies courses being conducted there

I asked cartcart if he would be willing to undertake the lessons the next time he comes to Singapore and thankfully, he was open to the suggestion. Late Sunday morning, cart, mum and I went to Darul Arqam, a muslim convert center to register him for his Islamic studies.

When we arrived there, the area seemed festive with alot of people. It turns out that they were having a sermon upstairs in liew of the aidilfitri celebrations. We sat down and I listened as the preacher was postulating about the responsibilities of a child to their parents.

I have to admit that the delivery sounded very different to me, having been used to listening sermons in Malay. But the essence and the message was still the same, in the end.

After the sermon, we met Nurul Jannah, one of the staff there whom gave a contact to a Haji Mustafa whom will be giving cart his personal lessons.

—

Later in the early evening, Cart and I headed off to Vivo City to meet Attilio, a blog reader and a friend. Call it a social experiment, but I’ve always thought that it would be interesting to see what happens when two Italians meet each other outside of their element. Thank goodness Attilio said yes!

We waded about in the human sea at vivo city and eventually found him waiting and one of the first thing I observed was how genuinely amiable they were to each other.

We stopped by starbucks and unsurprisingly, they started to converse to each other in Italian. It was like a jigsaw puzzle for me all over again. After ending my Italian language classes for some months now, I’m rather rusty. There were words that I could understand, and some which I could not. I had to concentrate hard to piece the image in my mind.

In the end, I could not keep up with the conversation and was just content to listen to their musical way of talking.

view in vimeo

After what seemed to be a short while, we were forced to say our goodbyes as Attilio was on his way to catch his flight back to spend time with his family.

We decided to have dinner at Secret Recipe. After which, I pulled Cartcart over to the area facing the sea to enjoy the breeze and the relaxing sound of the waves.

It was such a special moment for me. Just being there, enjoying each other’s company.

(to be continued)

Its been three years since we decided to commit ourselves to each other. Sometimes I am amazed at how well we get along, with our very different personalities.

But at the same time, it is our personalities are which complements each other - Your patience, kindness and rationality. My spontaneity, drive and resilience. I believe that we are good for each other. And it has been a beautiful journey since the start.

And I love you very much. And I cannot wait to see you this Saturday :)

Ti amo tanto tanto tanto. Aku cinta kamu sepenuh hati.

On thursday, Cart and I went on a road trip from Rome to Sorrento, Cart said that the journey would approximately be about 4 - 5 hours of driving.

We left at about 5pm and only reached Sorrento at about 10pm. We would have reached there earlier but we misread the sign and turned to the A30 direction rather than the A3 and thus wasted some time. I was confused to see many different direction signs pointing to the same place.

By the time we reached the resort, we were both quite tired and hungry and we headed to Il Capanno, a restaurant which was recomended by the resort manager. In Italian, Il Capanno means ‘The hut’. Once inside, I was amused by their figurines there

Cartcart tells me that the pizza in this region was one of the best in Italy. You could tell the type of region the pizza was made because the dough was thicker nearer the circumference, while thinner in the middle.

I still prefer Roma styled pizza though, as I prefer thin crust pizzas :D

Cart had Gnocchi while I really enjoyed my seafood linguine. Yum!

On our way back to the resort, cartcart told me to be careful at where I stepped. And thats where I noticed this curious creature. Cart said that it was a snail, but I’ve never seen one without a shell before. Have you?

—

Early in the morning we left the resort to head to Capri. I admired the vast amount of colourful lemon trees that was lining all around the area.

Beautiful isnt it? The bright yellow against the blue sky? Cart tells me that the people in Sorrento are very proud of their lemons. Its been said that Sorrento lemons are one of the best quality and famed ones in Italy.

We took a mini-bus to get to the port of Capri. Cart and I were impressed at the driver who was able to drive at high speed in the narrow streets of Sorrento without hitting anyone! I also cannot help to notice that the driver was wearing a pair of Gucci sunglasses.

When we reached the port, I admired the charming view of the buildings, to the clear blue sea. Wow, the water was so clear that I can even see the floor. Its probably not very clear in the video at the end of this post, but I can see the fishes swimming clearly. Its almost as clear as a swimming pool.

We paid for the tickets for the ferry ride. As we were on our journey, we were amused by a young man who was selling and calling out “Water, Coke, Coffee”, but in his thick Napoli accent, we heard “What the —-, Coffee” instead! I took some footage for posterity ;)

Some minutes later we reached the Capri jetty.

My gosh, this was such a beautiful place. Places like these only existed in postcards and cable tv! I had to pinch myself to see if I was really awake or dreaming. We exited the ferry and walked towards the village and decided to have a tour around the island.

We took a slow boat ride and what I saw for the next 2 hours was like an interactive geography text book. I am so in awe with the beauty of what was in front of me.

There is a term for the rock formation thats seen in the picture up above there. Cant remember the name though. Looks like I have to brush up on my geography ;)

One of the most spectacular views was the one at the Blue Grotto where we went into an underground cave and you could see the sun’s illumination on the blue water.The colour is intensified by the white sands below. Do watch the video journal below to see the blue grotto in all its glory :)

Cart and I should have brought our swimming attire, for most of the times, I was really tempted to jump out of the boat and just splash into the water! By this time, we both have been quite tanned from a couple of hours we were in the open boat.

After the boat ride, we explored the island of capri. The vibe of the area was very touristy. Being summer, there were a large number of tourists walking about. Things costs a lot more here. My heart felt a little pained to see cart having to spend so much on just the boat rides alone. But being a gentleman, he insisted that we have a nice time and not to worry about anything.

We decided to stop for break.

I used to dislike rucola. To me, it was bitter and evil tasting. When I saw some in my caprese, I looked with disdain and pecked at it till I decided to just try and give it another chance. I actually liked it! When I had it in my salad, I gingerly tasted it again and found out that it was actually really good! It tastes so much better when it was in a combination with other foods.

And I find myself loving my dessert so much! Cart had the Torta Caprese which is made with thick chocolate.

While I had the Pastiera Napoletana. This cake is made of orange rinds, wheat grains and several things I dont remember. Its a really refreshing treat (not cloying at all). I liked it better than the chocolate one even.

Mmm!!

—

We then went to Anacapri, where cart got a bottle of perfume for his mum. I explored the shop and noticed loads of lemon related items there, such as the limoncello and lemon soaps. The place smelled wonderfully of lemon scents

After we acquired the perfume, we headed up to the chair lift up to the peak of the mountain. Cart said that the view was spectacular there, but we reached there too late and they were already closed.

We were a little disappointed. But I saw that the clouds were already rolling in, and I think it would be too cold for comfort should we be at the top.

Unwillingly, we left Capri in the late evening and said our goodbyes to Sorrento. We had a quick drive in to Napoli to say our goodbyes to Fabrizio whom was camping there with his family and have dinner before heading back to Rome.

I looked amusedly at two adorable children in front of me, during dinner, playing some sort of kissing game and suddenly I felt very sad.

—

Saturday was my last day in Italy.

I was calm for most part of the day, but when the last few hours, I just lost it. Its heartbreaking to do this again.

We dropped by his parents place to say our goodbyes before we had to rush off to the airport where I had only 15 mins left to board the plane.

I can still see him vividly, my last mental image of him, staring at me as he stood there, outside the checkpoint. I looked back, sadly, going up the escalator.

I cried in the plane again.

When I reached back to Singapore, everything was the same again. It was as if I have never left at all. But I know for sure, I’ve left my heart with someone very special.

We’ll work it out, dearest. We can do it.

A video journal of my last 3 days in Italy

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One of the reason in my visiting cartcart was to give cartcart a form of ‘hand holding’ in introducing him to Islam. We left home early on wednesday to head visit one of the largest mosque in Rome. It was open to visitors only from 9.30am to 11.30am.

It was a very large place. We tried going there yesterday, but surprisingly, there were less than 5 people there and it didnt seem that there were anyone who could help us.

This time round, we were able to have an appointment with the ustadz. We waited about half an hour at the lounge area and I smiled at cartcart. There were alot of thoughts running through my mind. I was nervous and at the same time, raring to start the first step to overcome one of our first hurdles.

When we were called in, we walked across the corridor and entered the ustadz’s office. I saw a young lady with a head-dress, one stout looking man in office clothes whom I found out later was a translator and finally the ustadz himself in his robe.

“What can I do for you, sister?”

It was interesting to me as the ustadz was from Saudi Arabia, and he was able to speak in English but not in Italian, hence, the translator. But we were all able to speak in english, there wasnt any problems.

We spoke of conversion, he gave us a booklet pertaining the information. We spoke of marriage procedures, he asked me where I was from, then told us that I will need to have an official national marriage certificate and then have a ceremony in the mosque itself. Then I asked him if there were any courses on understanding Islam like the Darul Arqam, he said no, but he will give cartcart a contact on someone whom he could consult with.

We talked a for a little more, and then said our goodbyes later.

Cart and I both knew that there were alot of tasks in front of us. But I feel slightly better, now that at least we’ve started the first step. We looked at each other and promised that we will make it work.

—

Cartcart was adamant to cook some asian food. On our way to his parents house, we stopped by a place called the Ricercaterre where food items from around the world were sold.

I saw some interesting items and recognized a few food stuff there, like the popular Meiji Panda biscuits, Dorito chips and Nissin instant noodles. But there wasnt that much of variety of Singaporean daily foodstuff though. I dont think that I could get a dose of home here. Where can I have my daily Roti Prata and Nasi Lemak?

As this area is in a tourist spot, and you could see many different types of nationalities here, strolling and relaxing in the summer afternoon.

I liked looking at the buildings around here. As it has been around for a long time, the buildings looked rustic and full of character. I was even lucky to see a building with my name on it! :)

Beside Ricercaterre, there is a place called the Castroni which I liked to visit. Inside the shop is full of goodies like chocolates and sweets. Each time I visit, I’d be sure to get a bag of Gianduiotto chocolates and a box of Cremini Fiat. Its really delightful!

The first thing that hits you as you enter the shop is the wonderful aroma of freshly made coffee. There is one area where you could buy ground coffee or have a cuppa. Mmm! Wonderful smell!

The biscuit display and the chocolate display alone was alluring enough to make my heart stop and my mouth water!

By the way, this is my current wallpaper :D

A funny incident happened in Castello which made it memorable. I accidentally bumped into a chinese guy and we both simultaneously said “sorry!”. Immediately I knew that he was Singaporean. Its a typical Singaporean gesture, I think.

—

We took some time over at the area till Cart’s mum called him up and complained, “What’s taking you guys so long? The food is getting cold!” We rushed and then finally reached Cart’s parents house about 20 minutes later.

I have to admit that I was quite nervous meeting them again. They are future in laws after all and I do worry about what they think of me. We entered the house and I gingerly stepped and peeked in.

The only sounds I heard was from the apartment was the television. “Where’s everyone?” I asked cartcart. And thats when his mum and dad came out of the room. His mum kissed me left and right while his dad shook my hand.

I mustered the miniscule amount of Italian that I knew

“Buon Giorno! Come stai?”

They replied back to me, speaking in rapid Italian. And I looked at their face smiling, trying to fit the jigsaw puzzle with the bits that I can understand.

They were very nice to me. We had lunch together and over minestrone, they were pertinent and asked me some questions. Like how my dad was, how I liked the food they made (of course I liked it! Complimenti al cuoco!), how I liked my stay here.

We spent some time later relaxing on the sofa and watched tv. Cart’s dad wanted to rest for a while, while Cartcart joined his mum in making an espresso.

He came back with a cup of espresso and sat down beside me and held my hand while we were watching tv. I smiled sheepishly every time his mum walks in the room every now and then. Its hillarious that I am a grown woman and I still feel very self conscious.

Sometime later we said our goodbyes, and I waved to his mother as we closed the elevator door.

Cartcart : How do you feel?

Me : I’m fine, still a bit nervous

Cartcart : (Jokingly) Why? Were they mean to you?

Me: Of course not!

Cartcart : Mum was very nice to you. I think she likes you

Me : Do you really think so? Wow!

—

After the visit to his parents, we decided to stop by Gianicolo.

Gianicolo is a special place for the both of us. Cart took me here for the first time back in 2005 and we’ve made it a point to visit this place each time I was in Italy. Gianicolo was elevated, from here you can see many monuments such as the Vittorio Emanuele II below.

Click here to see a panorama view of gianicolo

There’s a little gelateria in Gianicolo where we’d have ice cream and relax while just enjoying the view. I can still recognize the guy who is serving ice cream from since I first came here in 2005.

I remember an incident last year while cart and I were in Gianicolo in the evening. We were standing by the lighthouse admiring the view and lights of the monuments below when a bus stopped by the roadside and out streamed a bus-ful of tourists snapping pictures with flash (!) at the scenery. I was stunned. They left as immediately as they came.

What odd people.

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—

We headed to Larchetto Due again for a lovely and sumptious dinner. This time I tried having the salmone pasta while cartcart had a variation of arrabbiata - Instead of chilli, it uses bell peppers. It was really delightful. I liked cart’s pasta better though, as it was tomato based. :)

The place was less lively today with no man playing the guitar and children with balloons. So it was a quieter dinner for us. It was still a lovely night, but in a way, I guess it was a reflection of what I felt.

Today’s experience was overwhelming to me. The visit to the mosque, the meet with the future in-laws. Cart even mentioned to me that he doesnt want me to become a cleaner.

Suddenly something jolted inside and everything seemed more real to me. I may actually have to stay in Italy. Have a job in Italy. Spend my life in Italy. What on earth can I work as here? Can I really leave my present life?

And I panicked

To be continued

In Rome, there is a bridge called the Ponte Milvio. Its a charming place where you can see see loads of lamp posts heavily laden with locks.

There seems to be a custom here whereby you take a lock, write your name and your sweetheart’s name, hang it on the lamp post and throw away the key in the Tiber River.

I first knew about this place when I stumbled upon Shelley’s blog and I became really curious about the place. Cart and I were along the way and decided to take a look. We stopped for grattachecca before heading to the bridge.

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When we reached the bridge, there was a tv crew resting by the benches - I saw them interviewing some couples beforehand.

It was impressive to see the amount of locks on the lamp post. There were some lamp posts which were so overladen with locks, I wondered how the posts were able to hold up!

Cart told me this funny story about how there were so many locks in one particular lamp post that it broke under the weight and fell into the river below. Initially, it was suggested that the locks and lamp post be thrown away, but there were alot of people who got upset about it. Finally the governer decided to keep it in his office as a mark of respect.

For now, according to wikipedia, a website has been created to replace the real locks with a virtual padlock.

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Cart and I didnt put a lock on. We think our love is eternal even without needing a lock! Or maybe we’re just too cranky, old and jaded :P

—

Later on, Cartcart took me to Ostia, one of the beaches in Northen Rome. It was about 9pm and the sun was starting to set.

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Its quite a different experience to have the sun set at such a late time since in Singapore, the sun always sets at about 7pm. Cartcart took me to a place called La Rotonda for dinner.

Its a nice place, you enter an African themed area with nice looking decor :

We had a seat facing the sea and in my mind, I was thinking of how romantic is was being here. And for the first time, it struck to me that I was actually on a date with cartcart. Hehehehe!

Perhaps the stop to Ponte Milvio brought out the romance after all ;)

However the food here was just meh. Although we enjoyed our appetizer, I didnt quite like my tonnarelli with lobster. The pasta was too hard and tough to be considered as al dente. And the lobster was tiny! For 21 euros (thats about $42 singapore dollars) one would expect that it would taste good. I felt so bad that I wanted to pay my share for the dinner. It was just unsatisfying.

Gah!

We went back home after dinner and on our way back, cartcart tells me that we may be stopping by his parents place. Last year, I was quite embarassed that I was not fluent enough to converse with them. I wondered how it will go this time.

To be continued

Check out this really hillarious conversation while on our way to the supermarket and listen carefully :

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Another another lazy day. After having lunch, we decided to to go grocery shopping to a hypermarket, or what cart describes ‘commercial center’.

There were so much variety of foods there! I had fun just looking at the interesting things there. So many kinds of bottles of pasta sauces, it was mind boggling. There were at least 5 refrigerated shelves just for cheese alone. I saw rows of different types of bread but Cartcart told me to be careful as some of the breads may contain strutto.

Cart introduced me to the Chinotto Neri drink which I absolutely adore. Its such a unique taste, bitter and sweet at the same time. I dont know how to describe it, it may look like but tastes nothing like a cola or root beer.

After a while, we found a shelf which was selling Asian food. This was funny to me as I’ve never seen such peculiar looking food being sold in Singapore before. Its a little dubious to me.

Indonesian satay? Where is the satay?

After the grocery shopping and it was already night time. Cartcart took me to the festa dell’unità for dinner. Cart tells me that the l’Unità is the newspaper of the former communist party which has now merged with the left wing catholics. The festa dell’unità has been a mean to finance the party for dozens of years

I guess if cartcart didnt tell me about it, I would have thought that it was an ordinary night market. There’s loads of things being sold here - from clothes to toys. I even saw the picture frame which I bought for cartcart in chinatown Singapore two years ago!

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While we were walking I noticed a stall selling ceramic dolls and I admired the beautiful items there. My eyes gazed at the faerie section and thats when I saw this adorable faerie with green and white stripey socks. It was similar to my avatar while I was in cybertown.

I MUST have her. She’s beautiful. And at 16 euros it seems a good deal.

Unfortunately, she’s also broken from the trip back to Singapore :( I’d have to get some superglue and hope that she’ll be as good as new.

—

There is a lovely little restaurant called L’Archetto Due in Trastevere, Rome. Its a really fun place to be at and you might be pleasantly surprised at what you see there. On monday, while we were there, the place was extremely lively with people - it was a lovely night atmosphere among all the charming and rustic buildings.

The food there is simply divine. I love practically every pasta that I had there. That night I had pasta alla norma which had tomato sauce, fried cubed eggplants, cubed salted ricotta cheese and grated parmigiano reggiano. Its actually really tasty even though the ingredients sounds like a strange combination.

And speaking of strange combinations, Cartcart had pasta al limone. The first time I heard about this pasta, it was very interesting to me as I’ve never seen lemon used in pasta before. Its made of milk cream and lemon zest. It had a light and refreshing taste and is really yummy.

By the way, Italians have a special way of eating spaghetti :

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For dessert cart had strufolo which is a folded pizza with warm nutella inside while I had Panna Cotta! I’m totally in love with this now. The caramel tops it off nicely. Mmm! How can a simple dessert taste so good?

The restaurant owner is a mischevious man. Sometimes, every now and then, he’d go to unsuspecting patrons and carries a toy-pizza and pretends to drop it on the patrons. Its really funny to see. And on the night, there was a gentleman with a guitar entertaining the patrons. There were so many happy, smiling faces.

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After dinner we walked around the area and enjoyed the night air. Its really lovely to walk around Trastevere during the night as the temperature was nice and cool. It was significantly less crowded during the night but still bustling with activity as you can see people lounging around, chatting with friends.

I enjoyed the night walking hand in hand with cartcart, enjoying each other’s company. It was such a lovely night.

To be continued

A quick introduction:

In October 2004, while exploring Secondlife , Cartcart and I happened to bump into each other. We became friends and then quickly fell in love. I decided to meet him in August 2005 and again in June 2006 while he came to Singapore for the first time in December 2006 .

—

I was hesitant to go to Italy this year because of several factors. One of them being my mum discouraging me to go as she believes that the flight money could be better used for our wedding ceremony. I agree with her point of view. But at the same time, I thought that it would be good to give him some form of ‘hand-holding’.

So I chickened out in telling both my parents about my plans until the day before. Which probably isnt the best thing to do as for the past weeks before my flight, I was feeling extremely guilty. When it was time to go, both of them were very concerned but resigned in the fact that I had already made up my mind in going.

Chatting with the cab driver on my way to the airport diverted my thoughts. At length, I reached the airport, checked in and passed through the security check before boarding the 12 hour flight to Amsterdam.

Amazingly this time, the flight was more bearable to me. Perhaps it was because I was more used to it and the fact that each seats on the plane had an entertainment center. The person beside me spent the entire journey playing chess while I watched some amazing movies that I didnt manage to catch. Like Happy Feet, Letters from Iwo Jiwa and Udon.

In time, I was on the transit flight and finally reached Rome in the morning and after what seemed to be an eternity waiting at the baggage carousel and then a baggage check by the curious security guards.

security guard 1 : Come here. Whats in the bag?

Me : My clothes of course

security guard 1 : Open the bag please and let me see your passport. Hmmm …

security guard 2 : Pass me her passport. Hmmm …

Me : …

After the strange baggage check, I entered the arrival hall and finally saw cartcart waiting for me. What a most warming sight. It was worth the 14 hour flight just to see him smile at me. The web just cant compare to seeing a loved one in real life. I miss his comforting hug.

We took the car to get home. As we drove by, I remember the highway, the fields, and the rustic buildings. But when turned into a lane which I did not recognize, I asked him curiously, where we were going. “Its a surprise! You’ll see!” It was when I saw this lane and I grinned.

It was a pretty lazy and relaxing day. We made lunch together and then I passed him the newspaper from where I was interviewed on Secondlife Relationships. We lounged around home and I saw the changes that he’s done. After I slept away my jetlag, cartcart took me out for a quiet dinner out at at restaurant called Il Cortile. I read somewhere that to never say no when someone asks you out for dinner in Italy. Mainly because of the really good food!

When we reached the place, there was a large range of food that you can choose from at the main table. There were those which I recognized, fritata with zucchini, potatoes with rosemary, roasted bell peppers, stuffed aubergine, all sorts of insalata and others. There was another table full of desserts. Tiramisu! Chocolate cake! Panna Cotta!

Yumness!

—

The next day, I joined cartcart with a couple of his friends. We drove to an area in Trastevere. We met Fabrizio first. He has been friends with cartcart since they were 8. I knew him beforehand from Secondlife and our chats on msn. He walked towards us and I was stunned momentarily when he kissed my face left and right. It was something that I wasnt used to. But its an Italian culture to do so between friends.

We went to an ice cream shop and I looked at the colourful ice cream being displayed and we decided to have an aperitif and gelato. I sat there completely mesmerized by cartcart’s and Fabrizio’s conversation. The Italian language really sounds melodic to me.

Fabrizio started to talk to me in Italian. I could understand parts of his sentences but I wasnt fluent enough to converse with him. I tried to use the phrase book that I carried with me but the conversation changed when Fabrizio and cart decided to ask me about Malay words instead! :)

Fabrizio had to leave soonafter. Cart and I decided to have a walk around the area before meeting up with his other friends. I liked walking around the area. Everthing seemed so peaceful and idyllic. There were people lounging around relaxedly. The temperature was noticably cooler than in Singapore.

We passed by a shoe shop and my eyes noticed an attractive pair of shoes. I looked closer.

Gah! 146€ is about $300 Singapore dollars! This wasnt even branded shoes even.*dies*

We came across a stand where magazines and newspapers were being sold. Cart wanted to buy the Secondlife Guide book. We were quite lucky as the stand was still operating at 8.30pm while most stands would have closed by 7.30pm.

We sat down on the bench and flipped though the book. It was the Italian version. I’ve seen the original version back in Singapore but it was nice to read together with cartcart as we recognized some of the residents whom were featured in the book.

It wasnt long after that we saw Paolo and then Luigi soonafter. Paolo was another person whom I knew beforehand from Secondlife, while Luigi taught mathematics in a university.

We headed to a place called La camiceria. We ordered a variety of food. From appetizers such as Mozarella cheese with artichoke and ricotta cheese with honey.

To Funghi Pizza and Camicia Pizza. I’ve left the fork and the knife as a size comparison. Yes! This is the size of a personal pizza! The Camicia Pizza was interesting to me. In Italian, camicia means shirt. Cart tells me that the cherry tomatoes on top was supposed to be the buttons. The camicia pizza was supposed to be a play with the calzone pizza as in Italian, calzone means pants. Personally for me, calzone pizza resembles a giant sized epok-epok .

We ended with desserts of sbriciolata and tortino ai cioccolato. I listened to the conversation. I was tickled to hear to Paolo and Luigi speaking in english. They tend to add extra vowels in their words and sentences, giving it a rather adorable effect.

Cartcart also tells me of a Roman culture whereby people may sound rude, but it was for the spirit of fun. I listened while the three of them poked fun at each other, some moments being over the top.

Another thing that I observed was that the Italians had a slower pace of life when I noticed the topics that they talked about. They were more attentive to the things that I’d normally take for granted. One example - I remember cartcart and Fabrizio standing next to a tree, looking up and pointing for at least 10 minutes. I found out later that they had found a bird nest and were trying to find the birds. I dont know of any Singaporeans personally who did that! :P

Paolo offered to take us to his home to see his cats and I said yes! I loved cats. When we went over, I was amazed to see three grown men being enthralled and completely entertained by two kittens.

It was an interesting night.

Here’s a short clip of the day :

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To be continued