The House of Gous

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After looking at the many news reports on Naples and the epic trash problem and the disease and rats it is bringing with it we decided it was best to forgo Naples and go to Pauls friends house in Montevarchi which is near Florence. On our train ride there I began to read the book I bought in Siena called A Year In the World by Frances May..i believe that is her name. It is a woman who travels throughout the world with her husband and writes her experiences. I love reading it because I read many books about men traveling and adventuring through the world and experiencing new places and people so it is refreshing to get a womans view and it is every bit as descriptive and beautiful as those other books I have read. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that this woman wrote Under the Tuscan Sun so she is wealthy and talks about all the wonderful places she eats and stays which is something us backpackers who eat fruit, cheese, and bread everyday and stay is hostels dont get the luxary of having, but its a great read so far. She is in Portugal and just left Spain and she has made me want to go there quite badly. Next destination perhaps?
The train arrived in Montevarchi and we called Gous to come and meet us. He showed up at he immediately brought to mind Devendra Banhart, but Paul calls him an Italian Kurt Cobain and I think that fits him pretty well. He gave us the standard Italian greeting, a kiss on each cheek, which I have yet to do without getting nervous and messing up, and then walked us to his house which was about 2 min. away. He knows English well enough to keep a conversation going but is not fluent. Montevarchi reminds me of an Italian version of PLacerville. Which I cant decide if I like or not. We entered Gous s apartment and right away I felt like I was in an apartment in Pville. Messy, dishes everywhere, various guitars, smoldering cigarette butts, and artsy posters and pictures strewn about. Pretty much the epitome of any male Ive known in Placervilles room. We went to the grocery store and bought some mozzarella, tomatoes, bread, and procuissto to make paninni. I wanted to buy some hair product and Gous informed me I was being deodorant. Gous taught us the correct way to make paninni and then we put them in a backpack and he strapped his guitar on his back and we headed off on a hike to his "garden" which he randomly found one day in the woods. I havent exercsised since being home and at first my body cursed me but it felt really good to be back hiking. It was a short hike and when we reached the opening at the top I saw a huge gray concrete cross that contrasted with the bright blue sky. It seemed like we had reached the end of a religious pilgramage. We sat below and chowed down. As we ate Gous told us how one day he had walked from Montevarchi to Florence( 100 km slash 80 miles) one day because he always took the train there and wondered what is was like to walk it. He then pulled out his geetar and started playing Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley and we all sang along while sitting on the highest point of Montevarchi. He then played Led Zepplin but I couldnt sing along because those songs are so waily and crazy that i can only sing them alone in my car. But I hummed. and LOVED it. Then he played his own songs. One about a girl named Susanna who is not real but he hopes she is. The other was about a party that was just like all the other parties and made him feel like a pacing tiger. They were so good. I wish he had a cd. They were in Italian and hearing that language swirl about in your ears while on a high hill in Italy was fantastic. We talked about school and he told us he is in Physics and wrote his thesis on a spinning top. He loves math and teaches it which I can never understand. People that love math. gag. Now we are back at his house and he is graciously cleaning up for us while I sit next to his roommate with a red fro and listen to his awesome jazz music which is all in English. Suprising since he doesnt speak English. We are staying here for two days then on to Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast. Tonight we are going to the lake for a BBQ where most likely no one will speak English. I cant wait.
Ciao.

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Comments

[Molly Lautamo]

you're getting me giddy
i've been reading your travel blogs religiously, hannah and i'm getting so excited for my trip to europe. i'm making notes of the amazing places you're travelling through and hoping to add them to my itinerary. by the way, i'm expecting you to woo me with your italian when you get back. i can't wait till you get to greece! (i'm living through you right now if you can't tell)