Last evening, Barbara and I checked yet one more of those things off from our wish lists. We were getting ready for dinner a casa, chicken totally ready for baking and the time was right for a special aperitivo.
I wasn't going to leave Assisi this time without a visit to the charming Enoteca Bibenda Assisi. It called out to me every time I walked under the ancient pink stone archway, one of the many routes from the "upper" part of Assisi to the middle.
Nila Halum, the beautiful owner, was doing a tasting with a blindfolded gentleman, the only other occupant in her tiny emporium. At first, we thought he was a local, they seemed so comfortable together. We found out within a short time, that he was an American, from California, here in Assisi for a very special purpose.
Nila is one truly gracious woman. She knows wine and she's very faithful to the local products, intent on keeping the relationship between the friars who introduced some of the great Sagratinos and Grechettos to the area. Each of us had a lovely glass of a Sagratino blend (it was a bit too dry for our taste, but a great wine nonetheless) and a share of a bruschetta of crisp bread chunks, rosemary and olive oil (that simple).
Never missing an opportunity to make a new friend, to grab a new story, I started a conversation with the gentleman, one I will not soon forget. Without hesitation, he opened his heart and with magnificent sweetness and honesty, he told the beautiful story.
My daughter, who was a doctor, always wanted to come to Rome. She died from cancer before fulfilling that one dream and she was married to a woman who decided that she would get her wish.
I wasn't going to leave Assisi this time without a visit to the charming Enoteca Bibenda Assisi. It called out to me every time I walked under the ancient pink stone archway, one of the many routes from the "upper" part of Assisi to the middle.
Nila Halum, the beautiful owner, was doing a tasting with a blindfolded gentleman, the only other occupant in her tiny emporium. At first, we thought he was a local, they seemed so comfortable together. We found out within a short time, that he was an American, from California, here in Assisi for a very special purpose.
Nila is one truly gracious woman. She knows wine and she's very faithful to the local products, intent on keeping the relationship between the friars who introduced some of the great Sagratinos and Grechettos to the area. Each of us had a lovely glass of a Sagratino blend (it was a bit too dry for our taste, but a great wine nonetheless) and a share of a bruschetta of crisp bread chunks, rosemary and olive oil (that simple).
Never missing an opportunity to make a new friend, to grab a new story, I started a conversation with the gentleman, one I will not soon forget. Without hesitation, he opened his heart and with magnificent sweetness and honesty, he told the beautiful story.
So,their family of eleven came to Italy together to spread her ashes first in Rome, and then in Assisi.
Open, honest, kind, touching. We shared stories. I totally understood and felt a bond being formed in that room. There is no such thing as a coincidence you know. As Barbara has taught me, "Man plans, God laughs". I'm sure that God was smiling, grinning, ear to ear.
As we got up to leave, I received a warm and long embrace from Nila.
Everything is going to be all right
An angel, in a soft pink sweater. Pouring wisdom from the Earth, tasting and inviting others to do the same.
Could it be that for that short time, I was in Heaven?
Open, honest, kind, touching. We shared stories. I totally understood and felt a bond being formed in that room. There is no such thing as a coincidence you know. As Barbara has taught me, "Man plans, God laughs". I'm sure that God was smiling, grinning, ear to ear.
As we got up to leave, I received a warm and long embrace from Nila.
Everything is going to be all right
An angel, in a soft pink sweater. Pouring wisdom from the Earth, tasting and inviting others to do the same.
Could it be that for that short time, I was in Heaven?
No comments:
Post a Comment