Travels

We’re on the move again!

Last week I had the flu. It also became rainy and colder, and my days were spent in a feverish mix of sleeping and waking. On the one hand, it was nice to be sick and not to have to work through it. On the other, I lost my sense of purpose for a little while. (And don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I, or anyone else, has a purpose, but I have a purpose for myself — projects, desires, plans — and I lost track of those.)

When I started feeling better, I researched another yoga teacher training. (I’d signed up for one in July but had had COVID and had to withdraw). I’ve found what looks to be a nice course in Bilboa at the beginning of March. Part of my purpose is back; one more project organized!

Today we’re on the way to Milan to spend the night at an old friend’s place. I knew her from my high school in the US.

Her older brother was my year in school, but their father allowed us kids to hang out at his place on Friday nights. We’d rent a movie (very often Monty Python and the Holy Grail, so many times we had it memorized) and the dad would fix us chili. He’d go out, but sometimes not, and as we were never sure when he was going to be back, no one got up to too much. It’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed close to that group; we just had time to hang out, talk, explore, fall in and out of love. I never dated anyone in that group, which is another reason why we stayed close, and why I have that (apparently) rare thing: male friends.

But this friend in Milan is a woman, and she’s lived in Italy since she was probably about twenty. She’s almost been in the same apartment since then. I’ve been meaning to visit for a long time, and it works out as a nice stopover on our way to the ferry in Ancona tomorrow.

I’m happy to watch the countryside roll by from the train. I’m happy to be feeling better. I’m happy to see my friend. I’m happy to leave behind the melancholy November fogs for the sunny south.