Yesterday we left France. France is full of icons, for me anyway. To see these things in real life is amazing and surreal. I wonder how it would be to see these things out your window all the time if you lived in Paris. It is the same anywhere I suppose, any big city or area with historical landmarks. Europeans grown up seeped in history and I wonder if it makes it more easily real or harder to forget because it is right there. Maybe its like our East Coast (where I have never been, besides Florida) or the South with the Civil War.
We took an over night train to Venice, which was 13 hours. I am really glad we were in a 4 person berth not 6! We shared out cabin with a very nice, tolerant British man. L had the insight to apologize twice for the level of excitement that he and O had 'exploring' the cabin. Gary, our British man, said 'I can tell there is going to be some learning' as they were going up to their beds, down, switching things on and off etc. When we left he said 'It was nice to be part of your family for a train ride'. We can think that is very nice or also read in some dry British humor there, which I did and laughed. We went through Switzerland but we were sleeping and didn't see it. Seeing the Italian countryside out of the train is as beautiful as you imagine it would be, it makes you sigh and smile.
Gesi meet us at the platform and I recognized her form from way afar! It was SO GOOD to see her! She was very sweet to meet us. We had an hour wait before the train up to her town. On that shorter ride we got to chat with a French Canadian young man. He is systematically traveling the world, I mean literally systematically. He showed me his very organized spread sheet of time, places, locations, expenditure and more for his current trip and the one he planed down, around, and back South America. The boys were thrilled when he let them play a game on his iphone.
Gesi's mom made us a tasty lunch. Fresh salad, pasta (with a fresh vegetable sauce Gesi made right before lunch) and beef shanks. Somehow she made the the beef shanks taste wonderful where as I have made them in the past and they were not wonderful, not at all. She made us a dessert and coffee too. I am looking forward to her making all their Albanian dishes for us to try. Gesi has to interpret between Albanian, Italian, and English, and back but I feel confident in her young and agile brain.
O and Gesi went off for a bike ride and L is still napping. I think I'd better wake him or he will be in that very stunned sleeping state for the rest of the night, if we aren't already there.
