My last day in Genoa was the simplest. No Christopher
Columbus theme, no giant aquarium. I woke up and, after two days of rainy and
gloomy weather, there was this sun glowing smack above the sea kissing the
shores beneath the apartment where I was staying. And after two days of a
malfunctioning camera, miraculously, on the third day, it started to work
again. I texted my friend that it was a perfect day to take photos before
leaving for Florence.
My last day in Genoa was the simplest. But it was on this day
that I tasted for the first time grandma’s home cooked “cima,” classic Ligurian
stuffed breast of veal. It was all of a sudden Christmas in November at lunch
with my Genoese friend’s family.
Grandma’s cima, which literally means “peak” in Italian, had brought my
short journey in this part of the Mediterranean to its rightful culmination. I
realized that all throughout my travels, I have gained enough friends and
family that home is wherever I was having lunch at any moment.
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| Photo by Roger469 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (License)], via Wikimedia Commons |
In that little weekend trip, my senses were re-opened to the
real meaning of traveling, of going beyond the comforts we built around
ourselves, and of discovering and re-discovering the world not only through the
cities we conquer, but especially through the people we meet. On that sunny
morning of my last day in Genoa, I reflected on my life as a traveler and felt
the push to write about it again.
It started to get gloomy though when my friend fetched me
for that Sunday lunch. But it didn’t stop him from taking a moment by the Garibaldi
monument, the very same spot where the Italian national hero gathered a
thousand volunteers (i Mille) on May 5 in 1860, and left Genoa to unite the
north of Italy with the south. Right after, my friend told me he wanted to show
me something else.
We walked through the sea wall, quite a long walk, but with
the sea beside me and the silence my friend allowed me to cherish, I was in my
element. Then, we entered a park, which at first glance seemed to have been
misplaced in the middle of the mountain view and the seascape. This park is
famous for squirrels, my friend said. Lots of them. When I told my friend that
I thought he was just exaggerating when he said the park was full of squirrels,
he said he too was surprised that they were that many and just as friendly that
day.
Watching my friend having what we jokingly called a
"dialogue" with the squirrels made me see a different side of him.
There is this Genoese proud of his city's history, and yet sincere enough to
share its defects. And then there is this person having a great time dialoguing
with squirrels.
They say you get to see a person in yet a different light
when he is with his family. On our way back, we had to hurry because lunch was
waiting. We had pesto, prosciutto and some sweets. But as said earlier, what
was really memorable was grandma’s cima. It reminded me of morcon and embutido
back home. It also reminded me of my grandmothers, and how they kept our family
intact when they were alive. Even up to this day, when they are already
somewhere else, the memory of their home cooking keep us together. It's also
our grandmothers that make "little boys" out of us even if we are
already 30 or 60 and beyond. And my friend, no matter how proud and strong a
Genoese he could be, he will always be a grandson to his grandma.
An African proverb teaches us that it takes a village to
raise a child. I believe that to get to know a person deeper, it takes a
country, a city, a community, a family and even a dialogue with squirrels. And
so, after meeting new friends and families and squirrels, I got to know more
about the world, my friend and myself. I also have learned a different way of
looking at things and other people. And how we find ourselves in our
relationship with the world, with others will always be home. //
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is a worldwide-eyed wanderer currently based in Bangalore, India. You may follow his musings and journeys on this blog. "All Rover the World" chronicles his continuing travels wandering about the world and stumbling upon strangers.
