NEW YORK – It really was magical.All I could of hoped for and much, much more.

Being back in the small, northern Italy town that quite literally changed my life two and a half years ago was all too perfect.

And even more perfect for me coming back at the tail-end of my 65-day adventure. 

 As the train approached Bassano del Grappa and I knew all that was standing between me and being back in Paderno was just a short bus ride away, the chills ran throughout my body, along with the smile on my face that seemed to appear instantly.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy to relive my 90 days in Paderno in just one weekend, but I must say I did one hell of a job at doing just that.

My first day back was more than perfect.

After an afternoon spent walking around campus, catching up with CIMBA employees and visiting some of my favorite places in Paderno, including the greatest Tabacchi in the world and having a panini that was made by no other than Diego, it was time for dinner. 

 Oh, and what a dinner and evening in it was.

Prior to arriving, I reached out my Italian professor when I was in CIMBA, Signora Michela Marin.

She’s an absolute sweetheart, who is from the area, and little did I know how special the night would be. 

 After scooping me up from campus, to Asolo we went. Asolo is a small town just a few minutes from Paderno, with a scenery that is more than picturesque.

With that said, it was only right to have a Spritz in Asolo’s main piazza to begin catching up.

After a relaxing time of catching up and sipping on the always refreshing Spritz, it was time to eat.

With no plans made beforehand, Signora Marin asked if I would like to go to Memi’s for dinner.

Now, Memi’s is not your typical restaurant. In fact, it’s technically not even a restaurant.

It’s an agriturismo, which means everything the place serves has been grown on its grounds. In other words, nothing can be more fresh then what you eat at one of these – it’s absolutely amazing.

Having gone to Memi’s when in CIMBA, I knew the treat I was in for.

After a delicious antipasto filled with formaggio, prosciutto and salami, it was time for the first course. 

 Pumpkin gnocchi. Without question, this was a top-three item I ate on my entire trip. It was a bit life changing. 

 Although hard to follow up after that, the second course was a steak-like meat that was absolutely to die for. As the meat was still bleeding as I dug into it, the meat literally melted in my mouth.

To compliment the entire meal with a nice coffee and then homemade lemon cake, the night was more than perfect.

Signora Marin is someone who will do anything to see the happiness in others. 

It was more than sweet and nice of her to bring me to dinner and just catch up with me for hours. A real treat for sure.

As my first day back came to a close, I could hardly wait for my second day.

Saturday morning rolled around and to the Bassano street market I went.

Never having the opportunity to go while I was living in Paderno, but hearing how amazing it is, I was quite excited.

Well, it did more than impress me.

Markets are my love. It’s my favorite thing to do while visiting a city. In my opinion, it gives you a true feel of how the locals live. 

 And as if my return to Paderno could not get even more perfect, it did just that.

A couple years back, I had the pleasure of meeting two individuals who I quickly became good friends with and two who have a relationship that I admire dearly.

These two individuals are Nicole Bartman and Travis Poley, who are more commonly known as Coley and Poley and they have been dating for just shy of three years. 

 Long story short, Coley goes to West Virginia University and knew a couple of my roommates from high school. So, this past spring one time when Poley was visiting her at school, they told me they would be studying abroad in Italy in the fall, only knowing I did the same, but not which program I did.

Well, once I found out they would also be in CIMBA, my excitement levels were raised, to say the least.

So, six months later, the three of us found ourselves reunited in Paderno, as they were finishing their first week of the program. 

 After reuniting, we headed to Bassano, where I was staying for weekend. That night, we had fun. I mean we really lived it up, shared old memories and made memories for years to come. It was a magical night, to say the least.

As the weekend continued, so did the nostalgicness of being back in my home for a few months two years ago.

Sunday morning means one thing as far as I’m concerned: the Crespano del Grappa market. Having only been once while studying abroad – and it being one of my favorite experiences in my time overseas – I could not wait to share my second time going with Coley and Poley. 

 From the food to the clothes to everything in between, Sunday morning brought back memories that gave me the chills.

I always knew I’d be back in Paderno and reliving some of my greatest memories, but I never thought it would be this soon.

As my reunion back to Paderno came to a close on Monday, I could not have been any happier with me deciding to include Paderno in my travels. 

 Coming back did more than just allow me to eat countless Tabacchi sandwiches, it put everything into perspective, something I needed to realize just how amazing this journey has been.

A few weeks back, I was not looking forward to this journey ending. But now, after going back to a town that changed my life forever, I feel complete and – in a way – okay to return to New York.

It feels that it was only appropriate to end things in the place that opened my mind up to traveling in the first place.

Ci vediamo Paderno,

Anthony

ROME, Italy – It was all simply magical.It was my favorite day of my entire trip, and that’s saying a lot.

The day was all – and only – made possible due to a wonderful gentleman named Giuseppe Parisi, introducing himself to my friends and I at a bar one night while we were staying a weekend in Palermo two years ago. 

 Signore Parisi is more than a gentleman, however, he is the definition of caring and genuine and someone I admire greatly.

Due to the power of Facebook, Giuseppe and I have been able to stay in contact over the years and once I booked the Palermo portion of my trip a few months back, he was the first person I told. 

I knew my time in Palermo would be special, but I truly did not know the extent of just how special – and that’s due to the amazing hospitality Giuseppe and his friends showed me.

To add to the specialness of it all, Giuseppe is in two bands and each of the bands had a concert while I was in town – how lucky am I!?

Well, very, very lucky – that’s an easy answer.

So, after feeling just not myself – something extremely rare for me – on my arrival day in my favorite place in the world, we finally reunited the following night at his concert and, well, that is where I was given the greatest news ever: his mother will be cooking for me on Saturday and I will be joining Giuseppe for a day as a local in Palermo.

Excuse me? Did I just hear that Signora Parisi will be cooking – what can easily be assumed as – an amazing meal and I would have the honor to join the entire Parisi family for a Saturday afternoon in paradise.

And so, Saturday arrived and I truly did feel like a kid in a candy store the second I woke up – well, while fighting through the hangover of our escapades of the night prior.

My inner Anthony Bourdain was at an all-time high and I think my fullness was also at an all-time high by the time lunch was finished.

It felt like all of Saturday was out of the perfect Italian movie, as Giuseppe rode up on his motor scooter to pick me up and bring me back to his house. 

 As the sun beamed down on us, we rode the streets of Palermo – first time I’ve ever been on a motor scooter – zigzagging between traffic and with a smile on my face that seemed to never go away, we arrived at the gorgeous casa of the Parisi’s.

After being greeted in only the utmost Italian ways, it was time to eat..and eat and eat and eat…and eat a little bit more. 

 Wow, what a meal it was. I quite literally could not move when it was all said and done. 

 From the spaghetti with mussels, to the humongous and fresh shrimp with swordfish that was cooked to perfection as it melted in my mouth to the dolce: a ricotta filled cake with a sweet ricotta frosting – one of the greatest things I have ever eaten. 

 After, Giuseppe showed me a classic Sicilian card game called scopa – man is this a fun game!

On my first try, I ended up beating Giuseppe and with that, it was back on the scooter to keep on cruisin’.

Before leaving the Parisi’s, we were able to take some great selfies and this truly shows how happy I was. Here I am, a complete stranger to them, and they really treated me like family. 

 Meeting the entire family and being able to join them for a meal and homemade wine and limoncello is something I’ll always treasure – just a wonderful experience.

In hopes of easing the fullness, we stopped for some granita – a classic Sicilian semi-frozen dessert great for digestion and man oh man was it refreshing! 

After more riding around and Giuseppe showing me his university, where he is going for his masters in engineering, it was time for him to drop me off at my hostel so he could practice with his band before the big show that night.

After a quick siesta, I was back on the cobble-stoned streets of Palermo as I headed to his show.

Joining me to his show and for most of the weekend was Vanessa, a beautiful young lady from Germany who is traveling around Italy for two months and someone I was delighted to me. 

 Also, with Saturday being my final night in my favorite city in the world, I knew the night would be extra special and that’s exactly what it was.

Being able to sit along the street with a nice cold beer while the Joopy’s performed many classic rock songs was great in itself, but that was only the beginning.

After finishing – and by this point me knowing every member of the band – I joined them on stage for some photos and some great conversations – most of which I’m proud to say I was able to have in Italian. 

 And then, after enjoying some drinks with the band and Giuseppe’s other friends in attendance, we headed for the harbour. Being able to sit on the docks as the late-night breeze hit us and wrap up what would be my favorite day of the trip and one of my favorite days of my life was priceless.

You see, it doesn’t matter how many counties I go to or the sites I see, it’s experiences like this one that will always reign supreme against the rest. A local experience is one that cannot be matched with anything else. 

 To have been so fortunate to meet Giuseppe a couple years back and for every single one of his friends to be beyond welcoming to me while I was in town again is nothing short of a blessing.

Even now, as Palermo is behind me, the smiles and laughs aren’t and it really was a day in heaven.

I love you all,

Anthony

CATANIA, Italy – It’s all hit me.As I sit on the plane from Split, Croatia to Catania, Italy, it has hit me just how lucky I am.

This is the third time I’m traveling to Italy for an extended amount of time and perhaps the most sentimental one.

This is the 11th country I’m visiting in the past 40 days and the 10th in the past 27 days and, as it comes as no surprise, I’ve seen a lot. 

 But one place will forever top all on what it simply means to me to travel and make me one happy person and that’s Italy, my friends.

Having the opportunity to spend my first time ever in Italy with my grandparents nine years ago isn’t just something I’ll always have to remember as I go through life, it’s something many cant say they have done and something I will forever have as one of the greatest memories of my life.

I could not ask for a better relationship with my father’s parents, they really mean the world to me in every sense.

It’s been a while since emotions have gotten the best of me, but the tears seem to keep on coming as I write this blog simply due to the countless memories that come to my mind when thinking about my grandparents.

No one in my life can mean what they do to me; I am one lucky grandson. 

  

 One reason for the emotions may also be flowing may be due to the fact that I was still asleep 90 minutes before my flight due to a longer night than expected on my final night not only in Croatia, but with my traveling buddy Chris, but it’s okay because I made it – as I always do.As my Italian luck would have it, I was able to cut all the lines at the airport and my seat ended up being in the first row – and as I would like to believe – just to make sure I’d be the first to touch the Italian soil when we landed and walked off the plane on to the beautiful island of Sicily.

So, I’m back, and I could not be happier. Seriously. I am the happiest person in the world right now. This is my island, this is where I belong. 

 I have seven days on this the beautiful sanctuary and that makes me feel like a kid in a candy store.

And as I finish writing this blog, I am blessed to be doing it at a delicious, picturesque cafe on one of the main streets in Catania with a scrumptious pistachio croissant and a always refreshing cappuccino to kick off the day. 

 So as the saying would have it, la vita è bella – life really is beautiful. 

Ciao for now,

Anthony

ISTANBUL, Turkey – I’m four weeks into my 65-day, 12 country journey and the first thing that comes to mind about each place more than anything else when I begin to think back on the first seven countries I’ve been in are the people I’ve met along the way.There’s been days on my trek that I have only said a few words the entire day, and it’s been when ordering food and a beer – and that’s okay.

Then, there’s been other days where I’ve talked more than usual – and that’s saying a lot. I like to talk. A lot.

Each city has provided me with a huge difference in who I’ve been meeting and in some cases, not meeting.

I’m currently in the third of four phases of my trip and that means I’m back with being with someone, my friend Chris Badenhoop for the next couple of weeks and it’s been quite refreshing. 

 But there’s something special about also being completely alone for a couple of weeks at a time, all in countries that you do not speak or understand a word of.

It makes you think. And think a lot. 

 For instance, in Copenhagen and Oslo, there wasn’t a single person that I became friends with and I did everything on my own. Just like everything in life, that was good and bad. But there’s no denying that it gets lonely and at times, that makes my drive of indulging myself into each place goes down just a little less because travel isn’t always pretty, as Anthony Bourdain has said, but the good and the bad of traveling is what changes you and makes you a better person.

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

And I believe that in places where I’ve left with memories of the places and not so much with people that I still have left my mark, but not as large of a mark as in others, such as Latvia.

Because then after going to the Scandinavia region, I moved on to Riga where I became friends with countless people and there was always a conversation to be had – and that’s where Chris met up with me, so talking was something I was doing constantly. 

 As I said earlier, this is the third phase of my trip. However, the fourth and final one will be the longest and I’ll be back riding solo for the entirety of those 25 days until I return to New York at the end of September.

Sitting down at a bar and not knowing if you’ll just been looking around the whole time and doing some thinking, which has happened to me quite a bit, or if you sit down a conversation starts that leads to going out with a few strangers for the next 10 hours, because that has also happened.

I guess at the end of the day what I’m trying to say is that this whole adventure is a mystery. A mystery of who will come into my life next and may just become a friend with for a long time. You just never know, but you can never find out without first taking the ride and see what the world has to offer.

Apologies for the delay in blogs, things have been busy in my neck of the woods,

Anthony

BUDAPEST, Hungary – 11:42 a.m. Monday, August 3 until 11:42 a.m. Tuesday, August 4 – that was perhaps the craziest, most adrenaline rushing 24-hour period that I’ve had in my life.I landed in Prague at about 11:15 a.m. Monday, two days later than I thought due to the mind boggling flight cancellation with no notice and the flight not even existing – still something that puzzles me beyond belief.

Anyways, after going through passport control, to the luggage claim I go – even though the backpack I brought with me for my trip is carry-on regulation, according to the airline, the bag weighed too much and thus it had to be checked – something I was hesitant about from the get-go, but also something that I had no say in.

So, as I wait and wait and wait for the luggages to go around, there is no sign of mine, and then there were no more luggage bags coming from the plane: problem #1.

So, to the baggage claim help desk I go.

Though very helpful, my backpack was still nowhere to be found in the Czech Republic.

Problem #2: I’m only in Prague for one day and then heading to Budapest, where – if found – will my backpack be sent there?

After understanding my situation, I left the airport to enjoy my one and only day in Prague… just me and nothing else. 

  Problems puts aside for the time being, it was time to take Prague by storm, and boy oh boy did I!

Prague is without question on the top three most beautiful cities I have ever been in. 

 Aspects of the city had me mixing Munich, Barcelona and Naples together – and only the best from each of those cities, I really was blown away. 

 I really got the most of the day largely in part due to someone I met while on my walking tour, Brad Sisneros.

During our break from the 3-hour tour, we all went to a pub where I had the pleasure to be joined by Mr. Sisernos, a successful man in many ways, if I do say so myself.

He resides in St. Thomas and owns a booming traveling company – pretty cool if you ask me.

So we clicked right away and after the tour was over, Brad became my tour guide for the rest of the day since he had already been in Prague for 5 or so days. 

 That has to be one of my favorite parts of traveling – the unexpected people you meet and become friends with and I’m not talking about having a conversation with them and that’s it. No, I mean become good friends quick because – in my opinion – you both already share something that cannot be taught – the beauty of what the world has to offer by wandering the streets of cities where you don’t speak a word of their language and relishing every moment of it. 

  It felt like I was on my own private tour, Brad had Prague down like the back of his hand, and with him being one of the most social people I have ever met, him finding the best place for dinner was not a problem at all.

And what a dinner it was. I had pork neck with fried onions on top all complimented with an onion gravy – so so tender that the pork literally melted in your mouth. With a hefty portion of bread dumpling on the side and 2 or 3 or how many beers it was later, I felt like a million bucks and ready to see what the Prague nightlife had to offer. Oh, and the entire meal cost $10, when converted back to U.S. currency. 

 Let’s give an inside to my mindset at the point: I’m blown away by Prague, Brad is on his A game and making sure that for the 20 hours I’m in Prague, I use every moment to my advantage. However, the labor backpack is still looming in the back of my mind knowing how detrimental this is could mean for the rest of the trip. 

Well, after not going to bed until 6 a.m., only to wake up an hour later to catch my train to Budapest, which I ended up missing by a few minutes and then had to wait two more hours for the next train, which was at 11:42, I’m proud to say my backpack arrived late Tuesday night and I am back in business!

If you haven’t got the point by now: Prague was amazing. Every building has detail and perfection of the Sistine Chapel – and I’m talking every building. It really is some place and beyond cheap. 

 So, as always, no blog would be complete without an Anthony Bourdain portion of the blog and this quote by the Great Bourdain I believe describes my Prague experience, because most of it was unexpected, surprising and in all the most perfect of ways.

“It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn. Maybe that’s enlightenment enough – to know that there is no final resting place of the mind, no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom, at least for me, means realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.”

And that could not be more true. The Czech Republic was only the second of 12 countries on this journey I’m taking and every day it feels as if there becomes more and more to see even though I’m seeing more and more – the list just keeps growing and that is a beautiful thing, in my opinion.

Now, let’s see what Budapest, the city called the “Capital of Freedom,” has to offer me.

Thank you my friends,

Anthony