Female Nomad: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Here’s where Blanche and Donna come back into the picture.

We had arranged to have dinner with them when we bumped into them after our trip to Positano. A couple of evenings later, after we returned from Capri, Grace went to meet them at the main piazza to guide them to Marina Grande, while I rushed back to prepare an antipasto for us to enjoy before we went for dinner.

Blanche and Donna both hold administrative positions (civilian) at a military base in Vicenza, near Venice. Blanche has only been there for three months, but I think Donna has been there for three years. They’ve both travelled extensively in connection with their jobs. They were on their way to enjoy a long weekend in Sorrento when Grace met them in the Venice airport, I think. My facts are a little fuzzy, because all this information was discussed over some wine, and I'm out of drinking shape. Meet my two new friends, Blanche, on the left, and Donna:

Anyway, these two ladies were great fun.

And my friend Grace is also great fun. Here we are at the start of the evening:

After we had our antipasto and many laughs at my apartment, we went to one of my favorite restaurants in the marina—Zintonio’s . It’s built on a pier, so you’re right on the water as you dine.

Shortly after we were seated, a couple of women sat at the table for two right next to us, and, of course, they were drawn into our evening of dining, wining, entertainment (live singer), and more laughs—lots and lots of them. Both women were from Miami—both were lawyers and one just wrote a book about the American legal system.

Meet Debbie and Lorie:

After dinner, I was surprised by my friend Grace, who had arranged for a birthday cake (with three singing waiters, all of whom gave me European style cheek kisses—one voluntarily and the two cute young ones at my request). Some pictures from this evening of revelry:

The four of us: