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I must say that the majority of the most enjoyable evenings during my travels have these characteristics:
- I was young
- I spent them with unknown people
- these people I never saw them again
Of course there were exceptions, such as the evening in Brisbane (Australia) with my friend Rebecca with whom I later took a trip to Spain. By the way, she was theoretically the least predictable one I could have seen again. This is because she lives in one of the farthest countries from Italy. But when I met her there was already the Internet. That helps a lot with being able to stay in touch.
At the same time, the net, and particularly smartphones, have greatly limited the possibility of meeting other people. In fact, everyone is always with their eyes down, not even looking around. One of the places that used to be the best for making friends were the common rooms of hostels. Now in many of them you could walk around naked with a diver’s helmet on your head and skis on your feet and not even be noticed.
The other point is that for example in hostels, now I am an old man. In Canada, a guy who saw me playing sudoku (paper) told me that even his grandmother goes crazy with it.
The funniest evenings born in the hostel
We were an Italian, a German, two Frenchmen and a Dutchman. It sounds like the beginning of a joke, and instead it was the beginning of some of the funniest evenings I have experienced, improvised and born precisely in the hostel.
I actually don’t remember the different nationalities anymore, but in Glasgow (Scotland) I remember well that one guy suggested that we all go to a barge moored on the river that was also a dance hall. There were five or six of us who didn’t know each other and would never see each other again. The Scotsmen, (beautiful men in kilts), were engaging in traditional dances and after a while they involved us only strangers. I found myself dancing on tables and also doing much the same as in this video
Another really fun evening I spent in Jerusalem, at the New Year’s Eve party in the hostel, where I made friends with a small group of people among whom I remember a Colombian, one from New York and one from Vienna.
And those born around
I told the guy in New York about my evenings in his city, where no less than twice I found myself at parties brought to me by people I met there.
The first time a bartender brought me, on the only time in my life that I happened to make friends with someone while she was working. On the second occasion, however, the acquaintance had come about earlier, online. On a dating site I met a girl with whom I went to dinner. This one then took me to a private party in a Manhattan high-rise apartment, just like in the movies.
But the most incredible situation was that there we met another girl, Russa, who had lived in Pinarella di Cervia, a small hamlet in the town where I grew up in Romagna.
I realize that I mentioned occasions where I was the only Italian among people from other countries. In fact, it is a situation that stimulates me a lot, but I happened to meet fellow countrymen as well. One memorable evening that was followed by others happened to me in
The links where there are these anecdotes, and the general links
The cities where I spent the evenings I mention, and the link to the article where I recount:
Brisbane: Seeing animals in Australia and boyfriend for an evening
Glasgow: Visiting Scotland and Liverpool, the most fun evening
Jerusalem: Living in Palestine and New Year’s Eve in Jerusalem.
New York: Christmas in New York, the world is small even in NY parties.
Tallinn: Journey to the Baltic countries, Estonia first
Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent
Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives
Countries visited in my travel stories
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