Hi Folks!
I trust this post finds everyone well! No excuses for my
lack of updates over the past couple weeks, but I will offer a bit of explanation. It's a combo of
laziness and much needed settling-in-ness that required a lot of focus on being
tranquilo and considerate of my digesting brain that naturally underwent some slight
gastritis. I’m happy to report I’m very well, thanks in a big way to many conversations I've had with some of you. I'm thrilled to be able to give
you an update now, hopefully in both an entertaining and informative way!
The following highlights two key events that actually took
place on the same day a few weeks ago that I think are worth sharing. They are:
- Politics
- Getting Naked
I hope you enjoy!
One nondescript Saturday morning we swung by a friend’s
house. Nursing a painful hangover, the result of mixing red wine with
everything, I didn’t ask many questions about this excursion and was just happy to be getting some
fresh air (yeah, it was that bad). We picked up two cards from Davide’s buddy, and continued home to
curl up with movies and, gross enough, chips, gnocchi and vegetable fingers in
bed! Terrible or spoiled? Both! Later that night, Davide told me the cards he picked up were full-day all-access
passes to Aquardens, in Valpolicella, a twenty minute drive from Verona, and that's where we'd be heading the following day. Really good job, boyfriend!
The next day was actually Feb-23; a monumental day in Italy and not just because I was going to a full day
relaxation session! Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know Italy just
went through major campaigning and elections for a new Prime Minister and
governing body. Feb-23 was Election Day. Italians casted their votes and made their
political voices heard! Very well rested, we headed to the voting station at
the local library, steps from our front door at the crack of 11am the next day. I was
shocked to see all the parties mapped out on a huge poster in front of the
voting booths because it displayed over 20 groups! They
literally ranged from Communist to Facist. These terms I’ve only ever seen
in a History book (Wikipedia) were right there, posted on the wall, whispering
the terrifying reality that it is possible for this
beautiful country to flip back in time to extremes I can’t even imagine! I
won’t pretend to know the current mandate of either of these particular groups,
and I say this solely to point out that I hope the doctrine we are used to
associating with them is strongly modified today (at the least!) but I will
say, seeing Swastikas spray painted on storefronts owned by immigrants,
particularly Africans, is not hugely uncommon here. Terrifying.
To me it further emphasized the importance of mass participation and
engagement in politics. Of course we all feel this in Canada, but I can’t say
I’ve ever felt that if I wasn’t able to vote at home I might leave room for an extreme alternative to step in and radically overhaul our basic human rights.
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| A quick review of the political alphabet before submitting votes. |
The outcome of the vote on Feb-23 wasn’t bad, but could have been much
better. I’d like to take a couple paragraphs here to briefly describe Italian
political structure, as most people I talk to back home are slightly
confused as to what happened and what it means. Here are some very important and basic things you should know:
1. The person you vote for is not necessarily the
person who will represent the party in office. It’s a coalition-based government. E.g. Beppe Grillo is the face of a coalition called the Five
Star Movement. He is a comedian and is not actually running for office. His personal
mandate is simply to open the eyes of citizens, communicate party lines clearly
and implore Italians to keep the Berlusconi (and the Right) coalition from winning the majority of seats. He
informally partnered with other Center-Left groups in these elections. So
although you vote for one group, your vote is counted as a vote for the
coalition that party is involved with.
2. There is a president in place for a 7-year term
who is appointed after a vote by government officials, which includes reps from
all parties. Obviously those with the most seats in government typically
dictate who the President is.
3. There is a parliament (with two entities;
Chamber of Deputies and The Senate). The former is voted on by citizens who are
18+, while the latter is voted on only by those who are 25+. These entities are what
Italians voted for on Feb-23. After the votes were in, 315 Senators
and 630 Deputies were appointed accordingly. Something everyone finds interesting is
there are a number of Senators FOR LIFE, appointed based on “honour” they brought to
the nation. Think of all the scandals that have riddled this nation; it's no secret here that there are participants who were guilty of engaging in national scandals who are still in office today. This is a major
point of contention with Italians and the anti-corruption mandate from the
5-Star Movement would undoubtedly want to see this overturned.
4. There is also a prime minister with a cabinet,
appointed by the Pres. and voted on by Parliament. Typically, the appointee
will be a rep from the majority coalition who won the election because that is
who is represented the most, similar to point 2.
Results:
After the votes were tabulated, parliament is now essentially
“hung”. The Centre-Left barely received the majority of votes ahead of
Berlusconi’s coalition in the Chamber of Deputies, and in the Senate, no
majority won outright, resulting in a hung
parliament, meaning political decisions will be very difficult if not impossible to make. Fail!
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| Interesting article I struggled through outlining the five major indictments Burlesconi is currently being tried for. Yes, this is one of the players still very much in the running to lead Italy. (No. 2 is everyone's favourite: underage prostitution.) |
So with the vote in, we headed home for a huge 2 hour Sunday
lunch, per usual, and then jumped back in the car to go relax. What awaited us
was beyond anything I could have anticipated. Aquardens is like going to an all inclusive, except there’s no
buffet, and instead of people getting trashed at the swim up bar, most are
actually RELAXING! Talk about culture shock!
With our all-access passes, we jumped into our suits and hit
the huge indoor-outdoor pool. Families with small children had claimed and
re-orged all the chaise lounges, just like in Dominican, Mexico, Cuba, etc. The pool was huge, and
separating it from other sections was a gigantic synthetic mountain structure
with a separate hot tub inside. This chamber was massive and almost pitch black.
We didn’t find it until late into our visit, but when we did we took the
opportunity to do some acqua therapy where individually we laid on our backs,
and let the other person gently push and pull us around the pool as we floated
on the surface. The music, that told an ambient looping emotional story full of
crescendos synced to the powerful jets and waterfalls, led us into
an introspective, detached, pensive state. Coming out of our tours around the
pool, we were both almost brought to tears. With the excitement of living
together, and the process of settling into routine, overcoming language
barriers, finding a new comfort, adapting to new foods, and all the while
trying to just be us, this moment
provided a much needed release.
After floating in lagoons and salt water hot tubs, we ventured upstairs to a secluded section of the spa.
Upon entering, one of the girls took us on a tour, explaining the ins and outs
of every room, including how to correctly use the facilities, obey the rules and
get the most out of our experience. We walked through two floors of relaxation areas, saunas and
series upon series of multi-person showers, each one with a theme option to accompany the water like tropical storm or breeze (so magical!). There were waterbeds that lit
up in different colours during your lie, circular pockets in the walls forming nooks to curl up in, rock beds that heated and contoured to your body; but the
main draw, the real attraction, was without doubt the saunas.
Either wood or synthetic interior,
every 15 feet there was a beautiful, dark, peaceful sauna, and to enjoy each experience to its fullest, we were
instructed to leave our bathing suits, and in most cases towels, at the door, enjoy the chamber for 15-20 minutes at a time, followed by a shower, repeat. After our guide left, we searched one another’s face to gauge sentiments. “Do you feel
comfortable doing this?” I asked. “Yup” he said nodding his head, but biting
his lip. “Do you?” he asked back. “I want to be”, was all I could honestly
reply. So as not to lose momentum with my partner in crime, I held strong to
Davide’s eye contact, and together we stripped down.
Each shower and partnering sauna was more than I anticipated. We hopped from room to room, level to level, breaking for naps on waterbeds
and listening to music while our hands easily intertwined and suspended
between the beds. As the bed surface heated and our minds wandered into that
special mid-synapses state between thought and dream, we were both overcome
with emotion (I know, again!) as the
gravity of who we are as a couple, how we got here, and how terrifying it is, in it’s barest, most naked, and raw
form, washed over us. Simultaneously, we were on the brink
of tears, smiling through our terror and happiness.
That day we swam with like-minded Italians, tourists,
teenagers, families, lovers and
loners. From our exclusive upstairs area, we just were. We had floated down the lazy river, grottos and hot tub caves and there was nothing left to do but do nothing. I saw a father
lounging poolside while his daughter jumped around him, told stories, lay by
his side and giggled her way on top of him, throwing her arms around his neck and falling asleep. To my amazement, this struck me as so foreign. I’ve cottaged
for a solid 26 years in one of the most beautiful Ontario towns, I’ve
vacationed in stunning ocean-side resorts, I’ve used insurance returns to buy
tickets to Mexico just to be a on a beach. I would easily consider myself an
expert in relaxation. Yet I have seldom if ever seen so many people actually doing nothing. Everyone kicked it like nobody’s business, and I mention this only to mark it as perhaps
some food for thought the next time you feel guilty for taking time to do nothing, no matter what you do for a living or how you define yourself. There is no shame in
enjoying nothing with the loved ones, for there is no question in my
mind it’s these nothing moments that
are truly everything.
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| Ready to float. |
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| We made great use of the passes, leaving well past 9pm after close to 6 hours of |
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| What would a post be without some foodporn! Obviously this was our first stop after a beautiful day of detoxing. Best Kebab in Verona, and yes, those are french fries. |
