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The story

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20. 12. 2000 Braga (PORTUGAL)

Today we visited the city of Eduarda (Pedro's girlfriend): Braga. Eduarda is a very pretty girl, sweet and polite. Perhaps a little too shy; every time I spoke to her she blushed and it made me a bit embarrassed too. The main square reminded us a little of Warsaw with its colourful buildings in the centre. Braga, all in all, is a quiet little town, tidy, clean, well organised; we wandered here and there in the "Praça da República" and then went up to the upper part of the city to the "Bom Jesus castle" where we could admire the view of Braga by night.

21. 12. 2000 Oporto (PORTUGAL)

We have lunch in the centre and taste the famous "Francesinha", a speciality typical of Oporto. In practice it's a sort of cylinder of bread, like an English pudding, filled with various layers of different meat, cheese, ham, eggs, all soaked in a really delicious little sauce... Only, for a single person, I think it's a bit too big! Right after, with a full stomach, we went to Jorge's house. He has a gigantic dog, a mastiff type, an Argentine breed. Jorge has a kind of little recording room; we spent many hours there playing and singing. He even made me a rap beat and I started rapping over it! We had a great time; he also gave me another beat to compose something on... Before saying goodbye he told me: "Don't worry, in the place you're going next (Fundão) you'll have lots of inspiration...!" After that very mysterious sentence we went back home.

What did Jorge mean? We'll find out in the next few days... At home we find lots of people waiting for us for dinner. There were various friends of Veronica: Kiko, Caterina, Sandra, Barbara etc. Towards midnight they ask me to play something on the guitar, and off with the great Italian hits until late.... Damn, I've spilled half a glass of coke on myself...:-(

24. 12. 2000 Fundão (PORTUGAL)

And like last year, this time too the worst day of the trip has arrived: Christmas Eve. We spend it at Pedro's grandparents' house in Fundão, about 400 km from Lavra. The journey isn't the best, partly because of the distance, partly because of the terrible weather, partly because of the very dangerous road. Just think that often along the roadside there were ambulances and firemen ready to intervene. Very often you'd come across road signs with numbers recalling the weekly victims of that same road, the daily accidents, the deaths in a year and many other "cheerful" things. Ofelia (Pedro's mum) is very nice, she's always in a good mood and then she's so sweet! After four hours of travelling, we finally arrive in Fundão.

We go straight to greet the grandparents, two very likeable characters; the grandmother is in a wheelchair now and the grandfather, from that moment on, takes care of the house, cleans, cooks and looks after his wife. What a couple, the two eighty-year-olds. We spent the evening in Covilhã with Pedro's cousin and his girlfriend. The city was deserted and cold... On the way back the worst night of the trip awaited me! After watching a bit of TV with Pedro, I decide to go to sleep... At least, that was my aim. I undress and, in boxers and T-shirt, as usual, I slip under the covers.... After about twenty minutes I start to feel a bit cold, then more and more. I decide to put on a pair of trousers. The situation improves but only for a little while; an hour passes and I'm cold again. The clock strikes three when I put on a sweatshirt. Then four, I can't sleep; five: same.

Six: I'm still awake. Now and then I closed my eyes but I woke with a start because of nightmares. I dreamed I was in a big room invaded by cats (an animal I hate); the only dogs there were very small and were biting my bottom... I fall asleep again after a while and... the ceramic dolls on the chest of drawers in front of me began to come to life and laugh, mocking me... What a dreadful night!

25. 12. 2000 Serra da Estrela (PORTUGAL)

We decide to go to the cold Serra da Estrela, the highest mountain in Portugal. Almost the whole climb was marked by a fog that didn't let you see anything, when suddenly it clears and a wonderful spectacle appears before our eyes! Metres and metres of snow everywhere; we didn't have the right clothes and we froze, but what fun. We rolled in the snow, pushed each other and slid.... By mistake, even, thanks to me, Pedro fell into a ditch! It was great fun. Back in town I discovered something very particular: in Portugal, to protect privacy, the intercom button doesn't show the inhabitant's first and last name but only the floor and the apartment. Same for the postboxes. How strange! Who knows how they manage when they need to find someone! Shortly before dinner we took a little stroll in the centre, deserted because everyone was busy at home for the Christmas Eve dinner.

I glimpse a kitten near a flight of steps; it was trembling and frightened. We gave it some crumbled biscuits, a little water and I covered it with newspapers. Poor thing. The Christmas Eve dinner begins, based on the inevitable bacalhau (cooked in various ways), vegetables, octopus, potatoes etc. The funny thing is that every time they brought a new dish, everyone watched every little movement of my jaw, like: "The Man of the Mountain has said: yes!" After midnight Pedro takes me outside to phone my parents and I see that kitten again; it was lying on the pavement, the newspapers were gone. I picked it up, wrapped it in many sheets of paper and we took it to Pedro's uncle's house. Despite all our care: it was too late! I should have thought of it sooner. 26. 12. 2000 Fundão (PORTUGAL) We've just watched "Life Is Beautiful" by Roberto Benigni. In Italian with Portuguese subtitles.

Watching this film I felt even prouder to be Italian. Great Benigni! Tomorrow, at last, we go back home! To Lavra.