Well no sooner had I left the sprawling metropolis of Ljubljana*, I found myself in the beautiful Italian coastal town of Trieste. And all of 5 minutes later, I was inhaling some of the finest local gelato I could get my hands on, a very dangerous situation when you're yet to visit the chocolate festival being held the same weekend. Regular readers, all 2 of you, will know that I have inherited a very sweet tooth somewhere along the way, the type which is constantly on full alert for anything which may sate my appetite for sugar, even briefly. I won't say Gelato was the main reason I was looking forward to visiting Italy, but on a scale of 1-10 for importance it was sitting comfortably around 15, so I was very happy to find what I was looking for in quick time, albeit with the help of some local knowledge - thanks Nadja! In fact, if it wasn't for Nadja, not only may I have returned to Australia without experiencing an authentic Italian 'Gelateria', but I might never have been able to play a concert in Trieste in the first place. Having previously lived in Marburg (you might remember I was there a few weeks back?**), Nadja had played host to a few different Vondo artists over the years, so when Lena put the call out a few months back Nadja, having recently moved to Italy to complete a PHD, put her hand up to suggest Trieste. And the rest, as they say, is history. (Just out of interest, who says that? Who is the 'they' that is referred to when we say 'as they say'? Does anyone know these people? Do they go around making up sayings? These are important questions, and I'm afraid I don't have an answer, but it's great to sit and think about them whilst you're waiting for your clothes to dry in an Italian Laundromat, wondering if there's time to look for gelato when they're done. Of course there is. There's always time for Gelato...)
*Lovely old Slovenian capital with a quaint village feel, in no way resembling a sprawling metropolis
**One of my hosts from Marburg this year, Jan, was down in Trieste for a few days as well. Great to catch up and swap some touring tales over pizza and gelato. Safe travels!
A big thanks to Fede and Ljuba for having me to stay, and for hosting a great concert, my first in Italy, funnily enough falling 2 days after the 4-year anniversary of my being a full-time musician (a small fact I must have missed in the craziness that was Biarnica pri Marici in Ljubljana). It's funny I remember I was in a recording studio in London at the end of the first year, and a part of me didn't know what the hell I was doing. Like I wasn't connected to it all just yet. At that stage, I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to do it - I was worn out, I didn't have much money, I was lacking inspiration, and I still wasn't sure I was on the right path. But still something kept me going, call it stubborn determination, call it perseverance, call it lunacy....?! And I can't tell you what changed exactly, nor when it changed, but three years on I feel a lot more settled in my journey, I have a far greater appreciation and acceptance of the path I'm on, and I'm aware that invariably I'll end up where I need to be. I guess that's just life isn't it....
For once here I don't have any photos of the concert, a slight oversight on my part, but you know perhaps you've already seen enough pictures of me playing the guitar. So I'll leave you with a photo of the local gelato instead. Very tasty indeed. And for 1.30/cup (2 flavours) an absolute bargain when compared to the extortionate prices we all have to pay in Sydney. I'm sure if you went at the rate of one scoop per day, by the the end of the year you would have spent an amount of money which roughly equates to a return airfare to Italy. And that, my friends is food for thought....
Having a break for a few days whilst I sample Olive Oil in Umbria. Back soon x
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