TO ITALY, WITH NONNA. (PART 3 of 3)
My once-in-a-lifetime adventure through Italy with my Grandmother for her 80th birthday.
It’s a beautiful, heartfelt day for me, going down memory lane one final time, but all good things must come to an end. If you haven’t already, please start with Part 1 HERE.
It’s you I like.
Every part of you.
Your skin, your eyes, your feelings.
Whether old or new,
I hope you’ll remember,
Even when you’re old and blue,
That it’s you I like.
It’s you, yourself.
It’s you.
It’s you I like.
It’s you.
FLORENCE
We bid adieu to Laura, at the B&B, and took off for the Metropolitan City of Florence. Leaving the beautiful countryside, for another big city, was giving me a little bit of anxiety. After the go-go-go mentality of Rome and Venice, Tuscany was such an amazing respite, especially with GK, and I didn’t want the trip to end on a sour note.
We rented a beautiful, large AirBnB right in the heart of Florence. The AirBnB was the first place my Mother and GK were able to have their own rooms. Previous to this stay, the two of them always shared a room, and I quickly found out my Mother was on her wits’ end. On the way to Florence, before we arrived at the AirBnB, I could tell something was wrong with my Mother. When we dropped the car off, I asked if she was okay, and she said “I haven’t slept in three days!” Confused, I said “why, what’s wrong?” She said, “your Grandmother snores! Nonstop!” I laughed out loud, but then quickly realized how serious my Mother was. I never realized GK snored, and my Mother complains about my Dad snoring all of the time, so I just assumed my Mother was a very light sleeper.
We set all of our luggage down and I said “very light afternoon, so let’s do some laundry and relax a bit until dinner tonight.” My Mother immediately went to her room and slept for three hours! I, meanwhile, decided to figure out how to operate the all-in-one, only-in-Italian washer & dryer combo. After getting some help from Google, I figured out how to get the wash going, so this was an immediate success; however, after running the “dryer” three straight times, for a total of almost 3 hours, I realized the “dryer” doesn’t actually dry…it just spins. Note to self: when traveling abroad, just plan on hanging your clothes to dry, because the dryers do not work the way they do in the States1.
After some much needed rest, my Mom woke up feeling like a million bucks, so off we went. Florence, unlike Rome, Venice, and Milan, is MUCH cleaner. Although it’s a big city, it doesn’t have near as much of a touristy vibe as the other big cities in Italy, and this calmed my anxiety and made the next two days much easier on everyone.
We decided to hold off on the touristy stuff for the day, so we walked around the city, took it all in, and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. Florence is VERY walkable, and the gardens and parks on the South side of the Arno River were refreshing and brought us an appreciation for the beauty of the city.
We were walking along the river when, out of nowhere, my Mother and GK spotted a salon, so they popped in to get a manicure and a fresh blowout. Before entering, they asked me if it was okay to stop and I said, “is it okay? Of course! You’re on vacation!” There were very few times I left my Mother and GK alone; however, out all of the times I did leave them alone, the salon is the one that I felt the most at ease about.
On day 2, we decided to go to The Accademia Gallery because GK wanted to see the David statue. I wasn’t sure what to expect, since I had only ever been to art museums that featured paintings or photographs, but it was interesting to see a museum that mainly featured sculptures. I will say…the moment you see David, you realize how tiny you are; I didn’t realize how big he was going to be. The statue, itself, is 17 feet tall, but then it sits on top of a 9 foot pedestal, so when you walk up to the thing it really takes your breath away.
Florence was such a breath of fresh air, and a good backend to our trip. It felt so relaxing, and we kind of just took the city in at our own pace. Coquinarius was an amazing restaurant, and the only one on the entire trip we went to more than once! They had an amazing lunch menu, and then a separate dinner menu, and the place was very seafood heavy, which we all quite enjoyed, and we also had some of the best pasta we ate on the entire trip. Both nights, GK and I finished off the meals with some Gelato! GK loved her some vanilla bean, as well as Nutella, but I always went for any of the tart, fruit flavors like lemon or raspberry.
The last thing I recommend doing, while in Florence, is walking/climbing up to the top of Piazzale Michelangelo. Make sure to go during sunset, because the 360 degree views are breathtaking and a great way to see the city. You can take a bus, but…don’t do that, don’t be that guy…just walk, it’s good for you, and it’ll add extra room for the pasta and gelato you eat later in the day.
BACK TO ROME
We took the train back to Rome, for our final full day, and when we arrived it was a beautiful, sunny, clear day. None of us had much planned and we were all pretty wiped at this point, so the ladies chose to go shopping for all of their final souvenirs and tchotchkes.
I, on the other hand, realized the Masters golf tournament was on, and Tiger Woods was in second place, so I decided to find a spot to watch the match. In America, you could basically go to any bar and someone would be watching the Masters, but in Italy…not so much. Not surprisingly, there were some big, important futbol matches on that day, so I went into about four different bars and no one cared to put on golf; one guy even laughed at me and said, “Golf? Funny American!” The irony of it all was that Francesco Molinari, the highest ranked Italian golfer in the world, was leading the tournament! So, as one would assume, I figured it would definitely be on TV’s all over Rome. Alas, no one was watching the match.
After doing some research, I found a Scottish Pub, The Highlander Rome, and gave one last ditch effort to make this happen. Upon arriving, I realized the bar was full of soccer hooligans who were all shouting at each other over some crazy match; I scanned the TV’s and didn’t find a single one with the golf tournament on. Defeated, I ordered a beer and went and sat at the end of the bar. After a few moments, I scanned the place and realized there was a back room that only had a few people huddled inside. I walked over, and as I turned the corner into the room I saw it — THE MASTERS! It was playing on a small TV, hung in the corner, and the room only had about six people inside. As a group, they all said “come in, come in, Tiger is on pace!”
For the next few hours, I watched, with an enthusiasm that spilled out of the bar, Tiger Woods make a run at (what would become) his final Green Jacket. Next to me, enjoying the show, were the following: a Priest from San Francisco, who was on a mission trip, a father and son visiting from Minnesota, an elderly husband and wife from the Lake District in England, and a younger couple from Boston. You have to remember, at this point in his career, no one believed Tiger was going to win another Major, let alone another Masters. For a small moment in time, all of us, who had been fans since we were much younger, got a glimpse into those beautiful, shades of glory we remember from our past. As most of you already know, Tiger ended up coming from behind and winning his fifth Green Jacket. By the end, even my Mother and GK were there to see it all happen.
I had one last surprise up my sleeve for our final night in Rome. We found an incredible cooking class through AirBnB Experience’s HERE. I’m just going to flat out say it: this, hands down, was the best pasta we had on the entire trip. Personally, I love to cook, but I don’t bake, and I don’t make homemade pasta — I stick to what I know. That being said, this was an incredible, step-by-step class on how to make tagliatelle al ragù.
The evening was full of stories, mainly from “Mama”, the Chef’s mother, who ended up running the entire show, and they served us plenty of wine and antipasto throughout the evening, as well. This was one of those special moments, that I can’t believe actually happened, where I got to experience a beautiful night with my Mother and GK. By the end of the evening, GK said, “I just have never done anything like this before — what a special night.” That, my friend’s, is what we call a successful night.
I promise you, I’m not just saying this…it was the best pasta we had on the entire trip.
It was a very somber evening, on the eve of their return flight home, as the realization that the end, of the glorious trip, was upon us. I was flying back to California, and my Mother and GK were flying back to St. Louis, so their flight took off before mine. I called them a cab, we said our goodbyes, we all teared up, and off they went, back to my hometown.
It was a strange last day, for me, because even though I had a full day to explore more of Rome, I certainly felt as though the trip was already over. The goal, of this wonderful vacation, was to help my Grandmother experience a part of the world she thought she would never see.
At the end of the day, I can safely say, it was one for the books.
P.S. - When I woke up early, to call a cab and make breakfast for my Mom and GK, I walked by their bedroom and my Mom was right…GK was snoring! And it was LOUD!
This is the final voicemail I have ever received from GK. She sent me this on 2/25/22, right around her last birthday with all of us.
EPILOGUE
The voicemail above was the beginning of the end; 2022 ended up being the hardest year of our lives, as we had to sit and watch our sweet GK slowly deteriorate. The cancer, that was once in remission, came back with a vengeance. The cancer, that spurred the idea of taking my Grandma on a trip around the world, was here to stay. GK was re-diagnosed, with Stage 4 cancer, right around the same time the Covid pandemic hit, almost a year after we went to Italy. As you can imagine, that was not an easy time. Her spirits were always high, and she never stopped living life to her fullest, but the Good Lord finally took GK in his arms on December, 10th, 2022, the day of my Mother’s birthday.
It’s a hell of a thing, losing the Matriarch of your family two weeks before Christmas; you kind of don’t know what to do around the Holidays, at that point, because everything always felt like it revolved around/catered to GK.
As I look back, on all of the amazing moments we shared together, I hope you can understand how lucky I realize I was, and forever will be, to know that I had this once-in-a-lifetime experience with my #1 gal. Nothing will ever take that away from me.
I love talking about this. It’s only a beautiful thing — all of the unexpressed love. The grief will remain with us forever, because we never get enough time with one another, but I hope this grief stays with me, because it’s all of the unexpressed love I didn’t get to tell her — and I told her all the time, “I love you Grandma, you’re my #1 gal!”
We all told her how incredible she was, and she knew she was the best of us, but let’s not forget that our relationship with the people we love doesn’t end just because they’re no longer physically with us — GK’s light forever shines upon us all.
I’d like everyone to think about the people who have helped them become who they are; the people who have given them kindness and generosity without asking anything in return…
Whomever you’ve been thinking about…how pleased they must be to know the difference you feel they’ve made in your life. If these, very special, people don’t know how you feel, I hope you remember that it really doesn’t take much to let these people know how much they really mean to you. It’s nothing more than a simple act of kindness.
After the funeral, my sister and I were driving home and she said to me, “Grandma has been running a marathon led closely by her faith and her belief in God. She may have finished the race, but the best is yet to come.” The gates of Heaven have opened, and her husband and youngest son are welcoming her with a big hug and a smooch on the cheek. They’re followed closely by the rest of her family and friends, all welcoming her with open arms, a full glass of red wine, and Elvis Presley2 playing in the background.
I can see her looking down on all of us now, smiling wide, and although she was 5 foot nothin’, she stands as a giant amongst us. As Humphrey Bogart’s character says, in Casablanca, “we’ll always have Paris..”
…I say to you, Grandma, “we’ll always have Italy…”
Until we meet again…
Ciao!
Seriously…don’t try and use a drying machine, just hang your clothes.
For most of her life, GK was obsessed with Elvis. Slicked back hair, gyrating hips, perfect teeth…can you blame her?
Here I sit with tears streaming down my face from your beautiful writing about our best gal. I've been missing her terribly this last month for some reason so your stories burst thru just at the right time. If I'm lucky enough to be a Grandma one day I hope a love like this finds me. Well done buddy.
Awesome stuff, buddy.