Home » Italy » 7. day. Shopping. Harry's Bar. Soccer match behind enemy lines. A wailing woman.

Shopping And Strolling
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It is the last day before we return home; time sure flies. There's a new couple at breakfast and another arrives later. It is definitely unusual to stay for a whole week.
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7. day. Shopping. Harry's Bar. Soccer match behind enemy lines. A wailing woman.

Eric
2005-12-08 19:38:51

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dining, but we can stand by the counter where another couple, middle aged and far from sober, are having huge grappas. The man says a lot in fast Italian, which we don't understand. However the repeated use of "Danimarca" and "danese" suggests that he is talking about the soccer match. Between hiccups the woman says that we must certainly be English. We deny this boldly and confess to be Danish, which was very unwise, but nobody could have predicted the woman's reaction. "Danimarca! Danimarca! Danese!" she wails loudly and dissolves in a flood of tears and snot. Oh my, what happens now?

The bartender tells them to calm down and the man leaves unsteadily. I make a strategic retreat from the wailing and go outside "to have a smoke", but soon the wailing woman follows escorted to the door by the bartender. No peace here either! While the woman sobs and regularly bursts with "Danimarca!" she explains in a drunken mixture of Danish, Italian and English that she has lived here for 34 years. She doesn't tell where she lived before that, but I do understand that her mother was Danish, so your guess is as good as mine. Finally she leaves; fortunately the alleys are narrow.

Having seen what grappa can do to people it is a must-taste. I ask the bartender for advice and he tells me that I can choose dry or sweet. That makes it easy: one of each. The drinks are huge and very strong - the dry one in particular could clear drains. One glass is more than enough and we leave for home before we start to wail "Danimarca!".

Tuesday 15th June

Check out is no later than 10.30. We have breakfast, pack and say goodbye. The bus leaves Piazzale Roma at 10.40 and we're at the airport half an hour later. There's nothing to do but wait until the check in counter opens at 12.20. In the business class line is a girl dressed in shiny black leather and a lot of metal rings and buckles; I wonder how she'll pass security - naked or on the belt like a briefcase?

Surprisingly there's a smokers' area on the top floor and of course the very presence makes a visit mandatory. Signs say in English that smoking is not allowed outside this area, while the Italian text states that it is "seriously forbidden" - maybe no Italian will respect a plain "forbidden".

We find the gate and sit down to wait. The holiday is over.