August 5th/6th, 2011
Was finally able to meet Roberto’s daughter, Marilyn, and her three sons, Bruno, Enea, and Simone – Simone being just two weeks old! We chatted for a bit over mini prosciutto sandwiches and pineapple with cheese outside her father’s store for about an hour. Then, as she needed to head home to feed the kids, I went back to the hotel for a little skype session with my momma. Actually cried. I miss her and I miss home.
At noon Marilyn came back for me and we went shoe shopping for me (broke my sandals in Rome) and for the kids, then she took me to the farm that her husbands family owns! So neat! It was a beautiful space. They raise and milk the cows for the Parmesan cheese so the cows are kept on an incredibly strict diet. It was wonderful to have a glimpse at a clean, healthy, and happy farm.
We sat outside her mother-in-law’s beautiful farmhouse until around 6:30 chatting in Italian (as best I could) with her and her two sister-in-laws while the kids played in the yard.
It was while there I realized that I needed to leave for Rome that night rather than Saturday morning as I had originally planned. There was an 11:37pm train for just 20/25€ that would get me into Rome at 6:30 in the morning. Far less expensive than all other trains (68€ and more), and I figured I could sleep on the plane and arrive at the airport in time to try for the earliest flights to Greece. Simple, right? Wrong.
