Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Robert St. John: Friends

On March 12th of this year, I was scheduled to fly to Spain with my wife, best friend, his wife, a television production crew, and 25 travel guests. We were going to lead our guests on a 10-day trek that was to start in Madrid and end in Malaga with Barcelona, Valencia, and Seville— among others— in between. The film crew was to shoot season six of our television program, “Palate to Palette.” The guests had signed up for the guided tour to all of the places I fell in love with on my journey to Spain in 2011.


Though almost all of the people travelling with us on the Spain trip have long since passed the “guest” moniker. They are all friends, today. Most of them would have been on their third trip with us, and for several it would had been their fifth trip.

Those friends first travelled with us to Tuscany. That is when we first met. Everyone enjoyed that trip so much they asked, “Where are we going next?” So, we took them to Venice, Bologna, and Milan.” At the end of that tour they posed the question again and we took them to Rome, the Amalfi Coast, and Naples. In between all of that we embarked on a comprehensive tour zigzagging and crisscrossing my home state of Mississippi.

When these trips began, I knew I would have fun turning people on to the people and places I have met on my travels, but I never expected to make such meaningful and long-lasting friendships with the people who joined us. That was such a great bonus. We figured we must be doing something right because these friends kept wanting to pack their bags and sign on to eat and drink their way through these interesting and beautiful locales the way we do it on a locals-only basis.

Spain was not the only tour that we were hosting this year. The itinerary had us leaving Spain at the end of March and heading over to Tuscany where were we would lead three separate groups through that part of the world that we have come to know and love so well. This fall, we were scheduled to travel with three more groups, one to Rome, the Amalfi Coast, and Naples, and the two others to Tuscany.

And then 2020 happened.

Actually, had the whole pandemic thing not happened I would be typing this on a Priano balcony overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea about to lead that first of three groups on a day-long wooden boat excursion to— and around— the island of Capri, winding up with a sunset toast and a dinner on the water. But the pandemic did happen, and we regretfully had to cancel or reschedule all seven of those tours.

Two of the spring Tuscany groups were rescheduled to just after Thanksgiving of this year which, earlier in March, seemed like a safe bet. We were told by some that we could slow the spread in 30 days, and many thought this thing would likely be cleared up by Easter, then Mother’s Day, then summer, then fall. But by May we finally figured that almost everyone was wrong about almost everything to that point and seemingly no one— not even the medical experts— could predict the future of this particular virus and its impact on the world.

It’s not looking good for the two groups we rescheduled for after Thanksgiving, but my fingers are crossed and I’m hanging onto a thread of hope, while developing contingency plans over the next few weeks. There will be Spring 2021 trips to Spain and Tuscany, and Fall 2021 trips to Rome, Amalfi, Naples, and Tuscany and I am excited about getting back to some sense of normalcy as the world hopefully begins to open up in the coming months.

Travelling has been such a large part of my life over these past several years as I have found myself spending three months each year in Italy. Recently I spent some time contemplating these past several years, and the time I have spent overseas, and came to an unforeseen epiphany. European travel offers beautiful architecture, amazing history, and excellent food, but what I may appreciate more than anything is the people.

I have made such close and lasting relationships with the Europeans I have met over the last decade that those relationships seem to trump all of the typical things— buildings, palaces, museums— we originally travelled to Europe to see. It’s during these strange days that I miss my friends the most. I miss Annagloria and Enzo the owners of the villas in which we stay. They were the first Italians we met on our first trip to Tuscany years ago. We have gotten to know their children well. We have hosted them over here.

Many of these friends started out as people we hired to perform a task. But they quickly became close friends. Marina Mengelberg, a Dutch woman who lives in Tuscany, started out as a tour guide for our visits to Siena, but she and her two wonderful children have almost become a part of our family over the past few years.

As it is over here, many times friends introduce us to friends. Through Marina we met Jesse, another Dutch citizen living in Italy. It’s the ladies at the Tuscan bakery that I visit every morning and the brothers-in-law who run the small, refined country inn where we take our guests on the first meal of the first day where two sisters are cooking the food in the kitchen that I find myself thinking about these days.

It’s the loss of visits to my friend Dario Cecchini’s butcher shop and Fabio Picchi’s Teatro del Sale. It’s the pizza in the small restaurant in Tavarnelle. But it’s also the people we have come to know who work in those spots. I miss seeing our friend Paolo run himself ragged trying to serve every table in his restaurant while his mother slowly and methodically cooks all of the food in her tiny little kitchen.

The scenery is world class in every corner of Italy, but the drivers who have been working with us for years such as Fabio, Gabriele, and Federico make it fun, and even more meaningful. I am ready to see— and spend time with— all of these people again.

It’s not just the people who live over there, it’s the people who travel with us over there. As I stated earlier, some were about to spend their fifth trip with us. We have made lifelong friendships with many of our fellow travelers.

In the end, I think it’s always the people. The restaurant business is not the food business, it’s the people business. The same goes for travel. My grandfather used to say, “A rich man has his first dollar. A truly wealthy man has his first friend.” He also used to say, “You can judge a man’s wealth not by the size of his bank account, but by the depth and breadth of his friendships.” When I first heard those statements as a teenager, I thought it was a pile of bunk. Today, I know he was spot on. I am a wealthy man today— not because I have a bunch of money in the bank (I don’t), but— because I have such deep and meaningful relationships at home and abroad. I am truly blessed.

Onward.




 Annagloria’s Gorganzola Grapes

My friend Annagloria served these as a first course at a dinner party in her house one evening. I thought they were perfect.

40-50 each                  Red grapes
½ lb.                            Gorgonzola dolce
½ lb.                            Cream cheese, softened
½ lb.                            Toasted pistachios

Wash the grapes and dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel. Set aside.

Combine the gorgonzola and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until completely homogenous, scraping down the sides as needed.

Grind the pistachios in a food processor, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Coat the dry grapes completely in the cheese mixture and then roll in the crushed pistachios to coat evenly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours in an airtight container before serving.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Must be nice...

Anonymous said...

" Palate to Palette.”

That's a great show !

I would lone to take one of tours.


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Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

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In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


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This is definitely a Beaver production.


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Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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