In keeping with the food theme, here’s a quick story about how we got a free lunch in a small Italian town called Carassai.
Emma and I decided to take our fourth day off after working overtime for three days. Our American colleagues from Arkansas, Lucas and Ashley, went with us to visit the local town, which has a church, a tobacco store, and two cafes.
We were walking down the street when the cops pulled over and asked for our papers—they were certainly not used to tourists in this little town. None of us spoke Italian and the two cops didn’t speak English, French or Spanish. After asking them “why” they said it was routine to check on foreigners and handed us some cigarettes as a peace offering. After 45 minutes of trying to convey the message that the street name “Golden Meadows” is not a state in the US nor any of our birthplaces, and finding the one Britsh ex-pat in town to translate, we asked them if there was any place we could have lunch. Next thing we knew it there were four of us in the back seat of the cop car being driven down the road to the one local/worker restaurant. The first room was immense and set up for “political meetings”; the second room was dotted with workers who were taking a 3 hour break for lunch. We were worried about how expensive everything could become (we were eating on a white tablecloth) and our waitress kept asking if we wanted procuitto with melon, more wine, or a dessert course. The cops were at the bar for some time and left without saying goodbye. After finishing two massive plates of pasta, bruchetta, and some vino, we asked for the bill. The waitress smiled and said the cops had paid for us. We were astonished.
Life is good.
