Making (re)Connections

Dedicated to my best friend, who I hope will come back, one day, with or without my efforts. And to my grandma, who I believe is looking after me from the skies. Going to Sicily is always strange to me, as paradoxically I feel a way less free/autonomous compared to everywhere else in the world , also because my parents treat me like a kid sometimes, due to our scattered and disjoint past . And I am trying to educate them and to educate myself as well. First few days were kinda weird. I had planned to do many things, but then decided to #takelifeasitcomes and rest and relax, as it has been intense traveling around the world (almost) for the past couple of months. Soon after I arrived that night, I brought mom and my cousin Aurora for dinner in the restaurant where my dad is helping out. I then went to say Hi to my famous influencer friend: Martina dell'Ombra ! We did elementary and middle school together and we were close friends at that time. We often find the way to meet up whil...

Dedicated to Geraldine, who showed me the way with her simple smile: everything was inside me and in front of me, but I was not able to see. Now it's much clearer and I will be thankful to you till death. But still a lot of work to do: it's a journey, not a destination. And to Dino, who has always a bed for me, when visiting or dropping by Barcelona! August 23 Probably this is my favorite moment, when I can wrap up my thoughts sitting at airports and think about the past, the present and the future. I am in Madrid airport now, seated at Mahoudrid , an airport restaurant named by the Mahou beer and the city of Madrid. Given the unexcellent service of Chase Travel , I had to change my plans, and while trying to find solutions for the route MAD to CTA, unfortunately - I have to stop one night in Barcelona and I am so sad about that, deeply 😎😎😎. Dino, a coworker of mine, is always so kind to host me there, so tonight guys, I will be sleeping in Barcelona. But let's start f...

Dedicated uniquely to Ale, who is my favorite "film director." Day 10: Skoura + Aid Beinaiddu It was another long drive today, however it was slit in different parts, we we didn't feel it at all. We departure Tamaloute around 8am and our first destination was  Skoura . We didn't stop in this city directly but we went visit the  Kasbah Amridil , which is one of the well preserved and best maintained kasbah around the entire Morocco. Kasbah is a "fortified family mansions ". Upon King Hassan II's will, this kasbah is reproduced also on the 50 dirham note. This building was in the oasis of Skoura, and was a destination of many carovans coming from the desert.  Kasbah Amridil was impressive. It's made by mud and clay with hay, as basically all the village houses, which host about 40% of Morocco's population. Such buildings are pretty strong, but their walls need to be taken care every 2 years. Walls are even 1 meter thick, based on the location. Mud ...

Day 7: Desert   We left around 8am this morning as we had 5h drive till the Sahara camp . We enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Ziz valley on the way, and this valley goes from high Atlantic to Algeria.   We stopped in the city of Errachidia to withdraw money and buy some food, and I got the chance to enjoy this Moroccan bread, which was super.   The route was rich with surprises at any minutes.   We arrived at this hotel in the middle of the desert which seemed really a gem: its name is Yasmina .       Our camp, organized by the hotel, was really close to the structure, as for safety reasons they needed to move it closer a couple of years back.   We spent our afternoon at 41°C enjoying the pool in the middle of the Sahara. We played in the water with 2 Moroccan kids – Yussef and Amid - who said they didn’t know English, but in reality they did know some basics. It’s so fascinating when people get together, ...

Dedicated to Mattia and Giorgia, my loves! Day 5: Fes   The day was completely dedicated to the exploration of Fes . Fes (or Fez) is one of the imperial cities of Morocco and it’s made up by 3 parts: the ancient Medina – Fes el-Bali  - built in 8 th century Fes el-Jdid – built by the French in the 14 th century Ville Nouvelle – built in 1912, during the French protectorate   We started our visit from the top, where we could observe the whole Fes in its magnificence. Fes is the 3 rd biggest city of Morocco , after Casablanca and Marrakesh and it’s a cultural capital of the country: Intellectual capital: it hosts the allegedly most ancient university worldwide, built by Fatima and where algebra was taught Spiritual capital: it hosts more than 360 mosques Artisan capital: really famous for handcrafted shops.                                           ...