Hospitality, Italian Style

I had a fabulous Italian vacation! SD and I went to Modena and visited a farm where Balsamic vinegar is made the traditional way. We went to Roma and visited the ancient sites, and brought back beans from our favorite coffee roaster. We went to Florence, along with half the United States (!), and saw Michaelangelo's David. The pictures did not do it justice. Then we went to Milano and rubbed elbows with the beautiful people.

Chivalry Is Not Dead
But what I want to tell you about was my visit with the Black Knight. He lives in Civitavechia, which serves as the Port of Rome. SD and I planned to spend the night in Civitavecchia, then take the train to Florence. I didn't know how much time Stefano would have for us. I thought maybe we'd go for a run and hoped we could go out to dinner. Instead the Black Knight and his Queen treated us like visiting royalty. Stefano graciously offered to pick us up at our hotel in Rome and drive us to his town. We were to meet him on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. We sat in the lobby and he called my cell phone, telling me he was there. We went outside with our luggage and I recognized him immediately.

As we drove to Civitavecchia, SD asked if it was an old city. Um, that's what the name means. It's also the Port of Rome, and the cruise ships dock there. Stefano helped us find a nice hotel and used his influence to bargain for a good price. The room was great--a suite right on the water! He left us to freshen up, then picked us up and took us to his home, where we met the Queen. We exchanged gifts: chocolates for the Queen and a shirt of my Running Club for the Black Knight. SD and I each received a Black Knight Army t-shirt, which I wore on my run with Stefano. But I get ahead of myself.

Stefano and his wife took us sightseeing at the old port, then we went to lunch. He invited me to run in a 10K race the next day, but it was Sunday night and SD and I had hotel reservations in Florence, so we couldn't stay even though I would have loved to run in a race in Italy. It turns out Stefano and his running group had planned to surprise me with a trophy at the finish line. Not to be deterred, we went to the home of Anna, a member of his group, and she handed me the trophy. It says, "Welcome Dori" Civitavecchia 2 June 2007. I have it here on my desk and it's a special reminder of my trip.

Afterwards, we went to the town of Tarquinia, an ancient Etruscan town. The Etruscan civilization is even older than the Roman. It's a lovely town, and turns out that's where Stefano's mother's family is from. He showed us the building that used to belong to his grandmother, who once ran a flour mill there. We visited the museum and outside the building is a statue of a naked woman. Stephano convinced SD that it was good luck to rub her, ahem, behind. I declined.

On Sunday morning we went for our long-anticipated (by me) run. SD followed on a bike borrowed from Stafano's son. Stefano asked if I wanted a training run or a sight-seeing run. I really needed a training run, so we headed out, under threatening skies. Stefano asked if we wanted to cancel since it looked like it might rain, but we said no. I've run in snow and sub-zero temeperatures; I wasn't going to let a little water stop me! The two newest warriors of the Black Knight Army wore our Black Knight t-shirts.

We ran a little bit through the town, along the beach, inhaling the fresh ocean air. Then we headed inland. We took in a few hills, but none too high. The rain started to mist, but I didn't worry since I was wearing a cap. The mist turned to downpour, but still we ran. It felt so good to run, and I thanked Stefano over and over for that. He said he was enjoying the run, too. And just as he promised, he didn't run too fast. I was admiring Stefano's form as we ran together--his back is straight and he has a beautiful gait. You can tell he's a natural runner. I've been working on my running form since I returned, trying to run more like him.

We returned to the hotel and got changed for our train trip. Stefano and his wife picked us up, but we didn't have time for lunch, so we went to their house for capuccino. We talked and she showed me pictures of their son's wedding. I had met his son and new bride on Saturday morning, because after Stefano picked us up at the hotel, we went to the airport to pick up the newleyweds, who were returning from their honeymoon in the U.S.! And we met Stefano's daughter on Saturday night, visiting her at work. She's really cute. Before it was time to go, we took this self-timed picture.
It was an incredible visit, and I can't thank Stefano and his wife enough for their hospitality. They are warm, wonderful people and it was a privelege to meet them. This visit was a highlight of our trip and to think it all came about through the Running Blog Family!