allora...

so then, eccoci qua. roma! thought poor, angelic mama was going to spontaneously combust saturday evening as we glided into the city in our tiny rented car. we managed to come in on the very northern end, in vicina da villa borghese e san pietro. as soon as we hit the river, i was euphoric. i was hopping up and down in my seat and hanging out the car window pointing out sights to hitch, who was in the car behind us, and shouting, "turn left! look there! we're here! take your next right! oh my god!" while mom shouted, "my next right!!? turn right?!!" and then turning left. she did beautifully, really, and as far as im concerned we are all just geniuses for getting into the city of rome via car. definitely an experience. best way to think of it, obviously.
so god, this trip has been insane. sure yall figured that. when i get back to cormons and have a second to collect my thoughts ill write it all down, from day one. as of right this moment, uncle jim, mom, hitch, and i have taken refuge from the FUCKING HOT roman sun in our fancy apartment. moms napping. i am having a beer and writing. uncle jim is lounging in a towel reading the paper (actually i think he just fell asleep). hitch is doing yoga and collective breathing exercises. gwynn and natalie are out at the roman forum being bedazzled by its splendor. claudia has hit the road, and is somewhere over the atlantic right now. and skip had ceased to exist. stories to follow.
i, personally, have had an ideal day so far. got this fantastic idea yesterday to make a photo documentary of all the good looking men in rome (i mean, its like im a kid in a candy shop here). i have that great camera of moms, so today i went about finding the best looking men i saw, asking them very sweetly if i could take their picture, and capturing forever on analog film the glory of this eternal city. im gonna make a coffee table book out of it and be the envy of every woman everywhere. genius. ladies, await.
we're cooking in tonight. i requested roasted chicken. fresh veggis from the market, pasta salad, bread, fruit, wine from the vineyard we visited in cormons. the trip to cormons was actually great for everyone, and i just want to brag a little bit about FL, if i may.
so. FL, right, the Friulian Lover, this man who i was hoping would stay a mystery, this weird slice of my life that i couldnt put into words exactly so i summed it up in initials, lets keep this short and sweet, you know, arms length and all that...well the second night that we're all in cormons, hitch and claudia and i went out for some drinks, and they met FL. immediately they are just like...raving about him. telling me, ele, hes amazing, hes so great, i love him, hes beautiful, hes soooooo nice! so im like...hm. yes, i agree. really, you think so? hitch has a conversation with him in italian and is totally blown away by how patient and incredibly perceptive and encouraging he is, how easy to talk to (obviouslly thats the whole point). claudia is laughing non stop at his little jokes and going on and on about how kind he is, how good he is. hitch nods appreciatively and says, you know, hes a good looking guy, too! hm. did the head tilt, as though im seeing this guy kind of for the first time. realize how right they are. the next night we all go out with him again and this night is just...indescribable. ill write it all in my recap. ill say now only that hitch and claudia came back to the hotel in the wee hours of the morning, woke their parents up, and told them how perfect, perfect, perfect everything was. life in general. and the thanks goes out to FL. and then...mom met him. when he went inside to get us drinks, and she looked at me and said, "he's hot!". at this point i just smiled and said, "i know".
so yeah, i dont know. weird. but lovely. am a very lucky girl. and the kicker? friday morning i thought he was mad at me (i had been a total bitch earlier, was grumpy and snappy and short with him) and when we were on the phone later he was short and distant. and i freaked. seriously, i about started to cry. i felt awful, i wanted to grovel and apologiize and beg forgivenes. mom looked at me with my teary eyes and stated to laugh. "ill remind you of this next time you try to act like you dont care about him". aunt gwynn took my hands and we prayed. and then he called back. turns out he was fine, he just thought i had said i was in a car wreck (loooooooong story), so when i kept saying, "are you ok" he was like, what the hell do you care about me, are you ok??!! sweet boy. so...well see how this ends up. i leave cormons in july. im trying not to think about it.
oh, btw, i think i have bronchitis.
anyway, all for now, got my bragging in. ill write soon!
love, e