Prince’s BBQ

A friend that I met this year in Ischia, Antonio (Prince), whose grandmother lives next door to me was celebrating his birthday and had invited Angie and I to join in on the festivities. It must be nice to be a prince, because he got to celebrate his birthday twice. The first night was just the guys for a barbeque at Gianni’s place, and then the second night would be a fish dinner with the girls. I, being the special guest that I have turned out to be for every event in Ischia, was invited to both. Fortunately or unfortunately for Angie she was only going to be in town for the dinner with the guys. For this dinner, the menu consisted of something like 45 sausages, 25 pork chops, 2 quails (one for me and one for Gianni), salad, wine, beer, rucolino, and two hotel pans of homemade tiramisu.



About twenty five people showed up and a great time was had by all. After hanging out and talking for hours, as usual, after dinner, Angie and I headed back to the house for some more cards and another glass of wine. Angie left the following day, and what a mess that was. Kidding Ang, but you had to know I was going to give you some shit here. Gianni and Angie had really hit it off, and Angie and I got along as if we had known each other forever. Gianni stopped by to say goodbye, just in case he couldn’t make it to the port. I walked out the back door to go out and talk with Gianni and Angie stayed at the window. Gianni said his goodbyes and gave Angie a hug and the usual double cheek kiss as I walked back around to go back into the house. When I walked in the house Angie was crying and said, “Why am I such a little bitch?!” We talked for a moment and she told me that I needed to give Gianni the going away gifts, a book, a lighter, and a note because she would lose it if she had to do it herself. We headed off to the port sometime later with the bus and Gianni met us at the port from his office. So here it was the three of us with tears, hugs, kisses, and all those things you never want to say, and sometimes don’t really even need to when you’re leaving people you have grown close to. We all made it through it and within what seemed like a moment, her boat had come and gone. Gianni and I headed up to Mama Maria’s for yet another amazing lunch, before I returned to the house to prepare for my last guest on the Island, Kristin. Again, if you don’t remember who Kristin is, you should go back to the entry about Ireland and get yourself caught up. After cleaning the house, changing all the sheets, putting out fresh towels and robes, the house was ready. I was planning on Kristin arriving that day, but she ran into some problems getting out of Greece due to the riots, teargas, train, plane, and ferry delays, and gave me a call to let me know she would be in the following day. I returned to the house, took a nap, and got myself ready for the Apertivo and dinner with the girls for Prince’s birthday. The dinner with the girls actually turned out to be dinner with me, Gianni, Emilio (Antonio’s childhood friend), and five of the most beautiful girls ever.



Needless to say, we had a great time. Emilio had cooked a feast for us that night, consisting of pizza with arugula and mussels, pasta with lobster, baked fish, and of course to finish it off, yet another hotel pan of homemade tiramisu, all accompanied by the usual wine, beers, and rucolino. After dinner we all pitched in to help clean the house and headed out to Forio for a night of dancing and celebration.



I don’t think there was one moment in the evening that I looked around and didn’t see an ear to ear smile on the face of everyone in our group. Yet another amazing night on this wonderful little island of Ischia.

Let’s Try This Again

Sunday morning after the wedding, Angie had to wake up at 5:30 to hop on one Gianni’s Company’s tours to Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. I luckily got to sleep in till ten before hopping on a ferry with Martino to head back to Naples to make the second attempt at entering Stadio San Paolo. We were better prepared this time however. First I need to tell you how the selling of the tickets work here though. You have to be a resident of the Region to buy a ticket and you have to bring your documents with you to the game to show security that the name on the ticket matches the documents. Carmela purchased my ticket a few days before the game with her brother using his documents and Martino brought me the documents in the morning, along with the ticket, so I could get in. So in all reality, though I had a real ticket in my hand there was still a chance I would not make it in to actually see the match. In Naples again, we ate a pizza close to the stadium and then got in line to enter. Success! We made it past security and quickly made our way to the area that Martino and about fifteen other friends like to sit for the games. As a lot of you know, I am a diehard Dodger fan and go to a minimum of fifteen games a season, and have also seen my fair share of football games. Still, I have to say that the experience of being at a Futbol match in Italy, especially Naples, is one that cannot be compared to. As I had mention before, you have to be a resident of the region to get a ticket, and if you are there to support the opposing team there is a little area for you to sit, that is caged and netted, for your protection. Its quite an amazing experience when the entire stadium (of nearly 45,000) is cheering for the same thing at the same time. Fortunately for us, Napoli won, and I was treated to the entire stadium singing, dancing, and celebrating the win.


After the game we made our way back tothe metro and then onto the ferry to come back to Ischia. For the evening, it was the usual Sunday night at Bar Campo for a pizza and an early night.

A Letter to Gordon

Dear Gordon,
I know this letter is going to be hard for you to read, and believe me, it is hard for me to write. I have faith and hope that I will see you again, but if there is one thing I have learned in this life, it’s that you cannot take anything or anyone for granted. In the time that I have known you, you have always made me to feel as though you cared for me like a son and I can only hope that you know how much that is and was appreciated. You always took a genuine interest in my life, and more importantly in how me and my family were. I know that when you asked me how I was doing it was never just to ask out of courtesy, it was always because you truly cared. I have found you to be a very kind, loyal, and loving person and that will never be forgotten. When I left for this trip I never thought that I might not be seeing you again, and now as I sit here writing this I’m trying to grasp that concept. It’s weird how that works…Some say you don’t know what you’ve got until its gone, well, I want to tell you that in your friendship I do know what I have and it means more to me than I think I could ever put into words. That being said let me also say this. As you know my mom lost her fight with cancer, but my best friend Gino’s dad won his. He had leukemia and at one point it was in 97% of his cells. He was 70 years old and they didn’t know if his body would be strong enough to handle the chemotherapy. He decided to go ahead with it anyway. I watched him go through hell with that chemo, and I know how it can suck the life out of you. He stuck it out and now, one year later, he is cancer free and living life exactly how he did before he had the cancer. I know you to be a strong man, and to have a positive outlook on life. Use that strength and that positivity to fight and to make it through this period so that you can enjoy the many years that are ahead of you and that you deserve. I’m not sure how this letter will find you, but I hope it finds you feeling well and with that smile on your face that I remember so well. I would like to thank you for all that you have given my life. I always looked forward to your visits to the restaurant and to the time that we spent talking. I was always happy to call you whenever I could, and believe me, you were always one of the first people I called when I could. So let me leave you with these words:
Some people are in our lives for a long time while others only make a brief appearance. The most important thing for us to remember is to always be looking for what every person we come in contact with has to offer us, and to always learn from those around us. Though the time that I have known you may have been brief, the time that we spent together always meant a lot to me, and I am a better person for having known you. Keep smiling, keep fighting, and I look forward to seeing you again…
With All My Heart,
Your “son”,
Nick