Saturday, July 29, 2006

Italian hospitality

The thing about Italians is this: They may seem a little cold or distrusting (especially in the North) if they don't know you at first, but as soon as they have a connection or you break the ice, you're in!

Third cousin twice removed? Welcome to the family.
Friend of a friend? Let's have a drink.
Your dad vacationed in Pisa as a boy, too? Join us for dinner.

The photo below perfectly illustrates our experience of hostpitality in Italy. We hardly even know these people, and yet they invited us to their house in Milan to have lunch with them!
Here's the story: We met them while we were in Sicily (see post: Finding family) having dinner with the 'cousins'. As friends of the family, they were also at the meal. During the conversation, we discovered that we were both from the North: Us from Vicenza, and them from Milan. (about a 2 hour drive.) They took down our number, and said that they would call us for lunch sometime. We figured that they were just being friendly, but that it wouldn't really happen, since we had only just met them.
A month later, we got a call from Milan! She couldn't remember our names, and we couldn't remember theirs. But no matter, come join us for lunch!
Still not knowing names, we drove to Milan to have lunch with them. (We learned names after the meal was over.) Then they invited us for dinner! So in between meals, we took a stroll through Milan. All in all, it was a very surreal - but friendly - experience.

What the?
Jim and Amanda in Milan.

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

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