take # 3.
the humble and impeccable English Lord showed us that life is where you are. and to testify that, during the 4-months-long trip, he carries a manuscript of the autobiography his daughter encouraged him to write a while ago. a project stopped 2 years ago (when he made it to write until the ‘70’s), so now in Sri Lanka he just “need to write only 30 years more”.
we met Jo this past Summer in Populonia, the heart of the Etruscan ruins and civilization in the south part of Tuscany. From living ”the life in the chic lane” in a remarkable residence in the British countryside, he ended up retiring in the most tranquil and sleepy antique village with original walls, alley cats fed by the only bar trattoria and an open air puppet theatre for kids magically overlooking the Golfo di Baratti. it was his birthday that night, when he told us that every other year he tours the world in some 4 months during the Winter when “in Populonia you can hear a pin falling on the floor”.
it so happened that the first stop of his world tour was indeed Miami: on his way from Madrid to San Francisco. a stunning full moon evening and a sunset that was worth millions of poems, the same night when my daughter and I recorded our profile (take #2). button down white shirt, navy blue blazer (gold buttons of course), Ascot, pleated beige trousers and penny loafers: tres chic. so here we are: an English, an Italian and an American (little bit Italian little bit Argentine) at a French brasserie, reminiscing our visit to Italy, my times in London and Manchester, his previous trips to Australia, commenting about our experience with the Dutch artists and the Venezuelan Salsa performers …
if it is real that coincidences happen for a reason, the same couple of days we vicariously did the tour of the world driving around Miami and having dinner in Miami Beach. where I happily discovered my Paradise is.
the best of all was when we said good bye, happy new year and have a great and safe trip and he departed with: “I see you when I see you”. in Italian we would say: “a myth!”