Daily Journal 
"Volare'...wooooowoooo, cantare...woooooo". You have just experienced the extent of my Italiano. Ciao! *chuckle* Yes, we arrived safe and sound, in one peice, or two peices if you want to get technical. The flight from Newark to Rome was long. I knew there was a reason I normally stay awake the night before a flight...so I miss out on the airplane food! *grin* While we were sitting in the ROME airport, waiting for our connection, I thought about many different things: Would there be anyone at the airport? (Monica and I wagered on it...we both won!) I haven't seen a single woman in sandals, tennis shoes or walking shoes...only heeled sandals and high-heels. What a sight Monica and I must be! Obviously, by the looks of things. How ironic that we were a couple of the largest people flying and our tickets had us sitting side by side, in the smallest space possible, on all the legs of our journey. It just wasn't happening! Trying to fit a pair of basketballs through a keyhole...it just doesn't work! *chuckle* The stewardess' were good enough to help rectify the situation. Upon our arrival, we were met by a man wearing a Fatisimo Chiccano t- shirt...the image was of a large woman with her front facing a mirror and her backside showing pink and white polka-dot undies! *chuckle* Fabritzio had men offering to buy it off his back throughout the day! Exciting! Fabritzio took us to our hotel, HOTEL LA ROTUNDA (ahhhh, the irony continues! *grin*), which is a pleasant hotel with the basic amenities. And then there's Gino, the manliest of manly men. He is the morning front desk clerk...about 6'4, 220lbs, blonde hair, brown eyes, built like a brick house, and those muscles! Ooooooo! *chuckle* When Fabritzio introduced us as the Americans, Gino exclamed," Ah! Baywatch!" *chuckle* I thought to myself, "Right, Monica is Pamela and I'm Wonder Woman!" *grin* He's a sweet man. After we freshened up, Fabritzio took us to meet "#1 man" Gianofranco. He's a very nice man who has his own barber shop, and has put together the Fatty Festival for 11 years. When he gazed upon Monica, his eyes lit up like the fourth of July! *chuckle* It was a beautiful thing. Then off to the location of the festival. "How many people attend the festival?" I asked. "Oh, about four thousand." "Excusa?!?!" "Three to four thousand." Oh my goodness! What was I thinking? Not four thousand people! *chuckle* No worries...makes it even more exciting! On the field, they were in the midst of building a large 45 ft. stage where we would eventually do our catwalk-thing. A 25 ft. runway is being built down the center of the stage. Fancy-smancy! *grin* I get the feeling this is a huge event...lots of television, radio and poster advertisement. I feel like we're the main course in a huge feast! *chuckle* We went over the itinerary for the day: 9:30a picked up at the Hotel La Rotunda...off to get hair and makeup done. 11:30a meet the press...lot's and lot's of interviews with television crews, with an interpreture. 1:30p back to hotel to freshen up (I hope lunch is here...*grin*) 4:00p make-up and prepare for the evenings festival 7:30p meet with the press, again 8:30p The Fatty Festival 1:00a the press, one last time Somewhere in this schedule, there is a huge meal where we are judged by the panel on how "enthusiastically" we eat. *chuckle* Looks like I need to get over my dislike of people watching me eat! *chuckle* Can't be shy with this group!
We stopped in town for a few personal items, then it was off to the
hotel. Aahhh...a horizontal, soft place where I can hang my head. Dinner
is at 9:00p...a little nap won't hurt....ZZZZzzzzzzzzz. *chuckle* After
missing dinner, being eaten alive by mosquito's, we awoke bright and
early this morning. We each spent some time doing our own thing...mine
was figuring out how to get this wonderful new laptop to work. As you can
see, it's up and running! Do you know how nice it would be if someone
came up with a wireless modem? Hmmmm...what a great idea! Also figured
out how the Digital Camera works, so we should have pictures galore in
the near future! Wish us luck for tomorrow...I have all the confidence in
the world that Monica is going to walk away with a title, trophy, crown
and gifts. I have so much confidence that I'm putting it out for you all
to see! *grin* No going back now!
Our first full day in Italy. Rachel and I went for a nice long walk
through the city of Pontedera today looking for a money exchange
location. We tried 3 banks before we found one that would give us Lira
for Dollars. They have these little entrances that only one person can go
through at a time. They have metal detectors so you can't carry in a
camera or a gun!
So we went back to the hotel to change to cooler clothes, and ran into
Sirenna in the lobby, so we all went to lunch together at a nice place,
where we were waited on by a real cutie named Marco. Had pasta pesto and
carne. And many many bottles of natural water with lemon.
After lunch we went and took Sirenna to meet Gianmarco, and thne got my
cell phone. A new used one, since mine was not able to be repaired.
Then Samantha (Fabrizio's fiancee'), took us out for gelato. Yummy! We
went back to dinner at the same restaurant and had Marco falling over the
furniture and blushing all night. We lingered over dinner, since there
isn't much night life in Pontedera. We went to another place and had
more gelato and lots more men staring at us. Gee, was it my black
mini-skirt, or my long blonde hair?
We sat outside enjoying the beautiful night until 1 a.m. and now it's
time for beauty sleep!
Buona Notte!
We took a stroll around this small, quaint town, trying to locate a bank
so that we may exchange money to lira. They have an amazing system over
here. You step into what looks like a transporter pod...the door closes
behind you and the machine x-rays you to see if you are armed or have
anything electrical on you. It's a very interesting concept. Now, if
you're carrying a camera and don't know why an alarm is blaring in your
ears and a woman is talking Italian to you, it could become nightmarish
really quick. *chuckle* Not that this situation has happened to
me...*chuckle*. Finally, after visiting three banks, we found one that
was big enough to exchange our money for us. Dollar meet lira...lira,
dollar.
The Italian people have been very helpful...letting us know we are
standing at a bank exit door and allowing us to take in the beauty of
that said door for about, oh, 3 minutes. *chuckle* I've also noticed that
the people of this town do quite a bit of work on their neck
muscles...lot's of excercises: strains, twists, turns, you name it.
*chuckle* I want to have a sign made up in Italian that says,"Take a
picture, it lasts longer" or "Take a picture, you won't strain your
neck." *chuckle* Ah, the life of a BBW in a small town environment.
We meet up Sirenna, and what a pleasure it's been! She's an absolutely
wonderful gal originally from Texas who's lived in Milan, Italy for the
past year and a half. What a hoot she is! The three of us went to lunch
and gabbed for hours on end. *grin* After that, Monica went with Sirenna
to meet "#1". I had the opportunity to get caught up on some journal
writing and what-not. When they returned, we all piled...and I mean piled
into a tiny car the size of a Metro and went to run an errand for Monica.
Imagine, if you would, us getting out of that car...*chuckle* It was like
a clown car...how do they fit all those people in there?!?! *grin*
We came back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. Again, we had hours
of fun and laughs. *chuckle* Sirenna is an A+ flirt with the Italian men.
I'm sure it helps to have two BBW's who are egging her on. " Sei bello,
Marco." *grin*
As I finish this up, we are chatting the night and morning away. Ahhhh,
the festival later today...we'll have fun, fun, fun till Fabritzio took
the scooter away..." *chuckle* |
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