Diana and Pierre, the French couple, invited us all for a drink at sunset.
I knew this man, Federico, from somewhere, and after a couple of drinks and watching his movements it suddenly came to me! He looks exactly like the character from a movie I worked on with Mike Meyers, The Love Guru. A real life version of a character from a movie. I suggested to Federico he should see the movie, and to his lady Bruna.
We all had a good time together, and every one of these kind people invited me to their respective homes in Italy, Spain and France; ‘No but really, we insist’.
The next morning we said our good-bye’s, and rode off the ferry. At customs while sitting on my bike, I showed my European passport, and with a look at the picture, and then a look at me, I was waved through just like that. After saying good-bye to Raul, we rode our separate ways, he to Spain and me to the camping place I booked on-line back in Egypt, Plus Camping Alba D’oro. While riding around knowing it was somewhere along the water, I stopped to ask a gas attendant and he confirmed that I just needed to stay on the road for another four kilometers. Gratzi.
By 9am I was checked in, unpacked and rolling back into Venezia to see about getting the ‘Green Card’, European bike insurance. I was nicely told by the ACI, that it was not possible for me to get insurance at their office without an Italian address. So I went back to the camping place to do some research online. I found this site,
Eligio Arturi, the owner of Mototouring, kindly and efficiently had my bike insured in just one day, after a couple of emails and a phone call. He was so nice, and even offered to drop the Green Card off here at the campsite from Milano, as he was going to be near here with his family going on a weekend getaway. In the end he could not for it was a little too far out of his way, but regardless, my bike is insured and I have a copy if I don’t want to wait around for the package to arrive on Monday. I cannot tell you how nice it is to be back in this kind of world for a change again, but please don’t call me a hypocrite if I should later say the opposite.
In the evening I met two dudettes from Portugal, staying in the room next to me, Maria and Ines. We talked, shared some wine, ate and listened to music. What a relief to hang out with some women who are both interesting and beautiful. Oh, Italy is treating me so very well already.
The next day, after receiving an email from my father, informing me that the 67th Venice Film Festival was happening, I did some research into the films that were showing. I found out that Casey Affleck, an actor I worked with on “The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford” a few years ago, had directed his own movie called, “I’m Still Here”. Anyway, I’m going to go and see his movie, and maybe Casey if he is around and not too busy, we shall see. He’s a very fine actor, and has a gifted mind so I’m looking forward to his work.
Excerpt from journal …. Day 440 More of the same as before, worked on ‘———-’, dreaming of old and new possibilities like before, staring out at Adriatic’s Sea listening to a song ‘We Never Change’, music making sounds of monotonous waves, old smokes drifting ship’s decks looking for some place to be, floating round in circles are shadows chasing tails, humming from a distance comes Adur’s naked sights, a shimmering blue’s kinda stray cat sitting on the fence, like an island or an ocean somewhat free, neither one wanting what the other one sees.
Today I was going to do an oil change, but the petrol stations were closed, except for credit card purchases of fuel. So I took the bus into Venice to have a look around, and see if I could find a map of Europe, and maybe run into the ladies Maria and Ines who had invited me along earlier.
Not a chance of running into someone you know here, for I was lost for most of the day and probably wouldn’t find a planned meeting place to begin with. I did find a European map though. Later the ladies returned for one last night of dinner and wine. They had checked out of their room in the morning, storing their backpacks in my room, and were planning to sleep outside for they were running out of cash. I offered them my room for I had an extra bed and my camping mat and sleeping bag. But when they returned I told them that the staff hadn’t cleaned their vacated room, and the door was still unlocked. So at the end of the night they snuck inside, getting a free nights accommodation, which couldn’t have been given to a more deserved two. I gave them two of Stephen’s Golden Eggs, wished them luck, kissed them good-bye, and in the morning they were already gone when I had awoken.
