I had the most amazing dream

Written August 2007

Last night I had a dream I was in Tuscany; it was one of those dreams that feel so real, so tangible. All of the friends and characters of my time in Italy before appeared in my dream and with them, they brought new people and things.In my dream, I saw fields of tall, dried sunflowers that were no more in bloom, but were still glorious in their tired, golden stance. The air was warm, even at night and the spirit of the Palio, the famous horse race, was surrounding Siena like it’s medieval city gates. I could hear and feel the rhythm of drums and the echo of singing around each corner. The smooth winds whispered to the flags of the contradas (neighborhoods) through the narrow streets and adorable Italian children waved flags as they sat on their Papa’s shoulders.Like most dreams, time flew by and it seemed so much was happening all at once. At one moment, I was walking down Via di Rossi, the street which leads to a gelateria, and before I knew it I was fussing over a stain on my white shorts left by the delicious arrancia rosso (red orange) gelato I delighted in …only in a dream would I wear white shorts and eat arrancia rosso gelato at the same time.Most of the time in my dream, I was in the presence of Mauro (my Italian friend) who greeted me with a “Ciao cara” (hello dear) and a tender kiss on the cheek. In the dream, we spoke to each other in Italian and English, laughed and spent time with new friends. We drank vino, ate pasta, and sang “Tanti Auguri” (happy birthday song) to our beautiful friend Sabrina.

My Tuscan dream continued … as different segments of the dream played out, I found myself in the middle of an intense crowd. I sensed the great importance and purpose of the gathering and felt privileged that I would see the great race. What a wonderful dream to have — that I am in Siena for the famous Palio and I look around in awe at the anticipation in the eyes of each person there. In the midst of the historical chaos, Mauro, led me to the center of the Piazza. Birgit, a beautiful German friend, appeared before me and we were both so delighted that we found one another. Only in a dream would two women, an American and a German, find each other amongst these thousands of Italians before the Palio race.

This dream was incredible. A deep hush silenced the cheers as the 10 horses would start in seconds. I held my breath and was even afraid to blink for fear that I would miss the start of the race. Thousands of expressions and Italian words danced around me as the horse race starts.  As the horses ran a glorious race, I wished so much that I could pause the whole scene and witness the faces of the people, the position of the horses breathing, fiercley running, and even the dust of the earth as it floated behind the hooves of the horses. After only three laps, one minute and 15 seconds later and two jockeys dramatically falling off their horses, the race was over. Magnificent. As an American, it felt like it didn’t matter which contrada won, but that the Sienese spirit was victorious overall.Now, this morning, I wake up from my sweet dream … and I unpack my bags to find the gelato-stained white shorts that I must wash. Being in Siena for just a week, was a dream … a quick flash. With all that is going on in my life and the lives of many close to me, I am grateful for my Toscana dream and for the solitude and wisdom it gave me.  Cast of Characters: I am also so delighted to have met more wonderful people, full of character, from all over the world.  They are: Roger:  An insurance agent, early 40’s, from Austria who speaks Italian well and absolutely loves American films and tv and loves to visit Hollywood and the studio sets.  Giovanna:  A cute, 20-something, student and aspiring actress from Poland.  She also speaks Italian well and aspires to go to LA for acting school.   One night walking to dinner in Siena, I found myself in between Roger and Giovanna and couldn’t have felt more “at home”  as they spoke about how much they love California and American tv and movies. Tomash & Rekah:  A great couple from Hungary who both speak Italian very well and English not so much, so I had to swallow my perfectionist attitude and listen, process and speak in Italian.  Rekah my age and Tomash in this 40’s I think, have been together for 9 years.  Tomash is an oncologist.  Mauro and I spent one evening with them for drinks and also for Sabrina’s birthday.  I talked with Rekah for several hours and she is an amazing woman, so lovely to be around.  Because of her personality, I felt comfortable enough to speak Italian.  She was wonderful and sweet and she and Tomash are a great pair. 

Nadia & Lorenzo:  Nadia and Lorenzo are good friends of Mauro.  Lorenzo is in the same contrada as Mauro (this is very important in Siena).  Nadia and Lorenzo I think are mid 40’s, a great couple and have been together for many years.  Nadia is Italian, but now teaches Italian in London to junior high and high school students.  Lorenzo I think coaches or teaches in Siena.  We watched the Palio with them and also had dinner with them after the race.  It is evident that Nadia is a teacher – she is very compassionate and sweet.  She and Lorenzo also speak English very well.  They are good, nice people and the comfort of longtime friendship with Mauro was evident.

 The Soup Man from Seinfeld:  Only Americans will understand this description I think, but basically there is the owner of a restaurant who acts just like the soup man in Seinfeld.  Nadia, Lorenzo, Birgit, and Mauro and I went to dinner after the Palio and I was warned that the owner is very cranky…in a funny way.  He is a tall, chubby man with thick glasses and a white apron on.  He takes your order, but fusses if you don’t finish your food, doesn’t like tourists (who can blame him) and everyone is very careful not to upset him.   Nicolas:  A delightful young man, mid 20’s, from Jersey who is in seminary studying to be a Catholic Priest.  He lives in the Parrish now and wants to work with people with AIDS in Milan.  I spoke with him for a couple of hours about … well, life and God.  In my opinion and even with “traditional and conservative” thoughts, he is a glimmer of hope in transforming thinking in religion, specifically Catholicism.  A true sparkle of God rests in his eyes and it was a pleasure to have a conversation with him. I also met another man from France, who Mauro told me, wrote a song about the school and sang it and played his guitar for his class.  Another man from Ireland (can’t remember all names!) who was convinced his Italian was bad, but from what I heard was great!  He had a slight dry sense of humor, which I caught on to very quickly and enjoyed!  There were other new people sprinkled throughout the week … meeting new people and hearing their stories … this is one of the things I love about traveling. Sabrina, Matteo, Giorgia and Elisa – Teachers at the school who keep me on my toes, are funny and enlightening and really passionate about the work they do.   

 

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Tags: Contrada, Flags, Italy, Palio, Piazza del Campo, Siena

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