We have met several memorable people on this adventure. You never know who you might meet and what type of greeting or treatment to expect. But - We have been very blessed by many of the people who have crossed our paths. A couple days back, we were blessed by a family in Altopascio, Italy. When we arrived at the place we had booked for the night we were met with a friendly smile of a lady who obviously knew little to no English. She had us sit in the cafe/ trattoria and called someone on the phone. Then she offered us coffee which was much welcomed. A few minutes later a handsome young man arrived and told us he would take us to our room. His name was Alessandro and he spoke some English. He took us upstairs above the trattoria and showed us our room. It was remodeled, clean and simple but retained much of the old charm of the historical building. Much of the furniture had been refurbished but maintained an antique/historical feel. Over the next 24 hours we were charmed by the family and in awe of their work ethic and obvious pride in their endeavors. Alessandro works in the trattoria which is operated by his parents. He works morning until late at night with a few breaks. He also remodeled the upstairs and established the B and B himself. He also lives there. That evening we ate in the trattoria and we were amazed at the meals they put out. We were looking at the antipastas and deciding on one (8 euros) when Alessandro explained to us that for that price you got some of everything on the list. We just looked at each other, laughed and ordered one. He gave us his recommendations and Denise got a spaghetti carbonara and I was thinking along those lines when he returned and said they had a couple helpings left of the pasta and wild boar which he thought I should try. It was all delicious. Then we had what they call apple cake (similar to strudel) and a coffee. We told him to tell his Mom that she was a great cook. "Well, my Dad cooked most of what you ate. It is his wild boar, etc." all three of them had come to our table at some point in the meal and asked us how we liked it.
All of this was the appetizer.
Before left the next day (had to wait on a bus until 2:00) we asked to take a photo of them. His Dad held up his finger to wait a minute and pulled a freshly baked lasagna out of the oven. Guess what we had for lunch before we left? When we asked to settle up for the room, Alessandro took us a few steps away from the trattoria and showed us a new room he is working on. He plans for Breakfast to be in this room, some evening entertainment, and a place to display art from local artists. It was so pleasant to see this family who works very hard together and to see the excitement of Alessandro's vision for the future. We also found out that he plays guitar ( at least) and will teach music in the schools 6 hours a day starting in October. It was a real pleasure to meet and get acquainted with them.
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