Exactly 3 years ago I took my second trip to Italy. Ten years had passed since my first visit at the age of 18. Back then and like any normal 18-year-old, I felt I owned the world and was the most cultured creation walking on earth. Little did I know that to be able to enjoy Italy to its full, you need to like grown-up things to. That is to enjoy wine and not only vodka sour cocktails. Have long and relaxing meals instead of binge eating a McDonalds menu on a street corner.
I have always liked Italian food and I even started making my own lasagne sauces from scratch at the age of 12 (I thank Jamie Oliver and the naked chef for this!). I bought my first lump of parmigiano reggiano at the age of 14. Despite my early passions for Italian food, my biggest gastronomic high on vacations was always the Big Mac Menu! This might come from growing up in a place where the closest McDonalds was in Oslo. It took 2 days of driving in a car or several hours in an airplane to get the big mac menu! No worries, I had my pizza, beach parties and long lunches at my first Italian holiday so it didn’t go to complete waste.
Several years had passed and with ten more years of life experience I had learned to drink coffee, enjoy wine and grown out of the McDonalds obsessions. I was ready to conquer this country again. I packed my bags and basically ran away from the cold and dark arctic life in Hammerfest. Ready to hit my very own Giro d’Italia with a personal local guide and a packed schedule.
After landing my feet on Italian ground I got to experience my first real “MAMMA MIA!” moment. This was made in the ladies’ restroom in the airport by a little girl in the stall next to me. Let’s hope the “mamma mia!” from the girl was only due to tight bathroom stalls and a really urge to tinkle. At this very moment, I knew my new Italian adventures were becoming real. I believe “Mamma mia!” is the most stereotypical Italian expression known to a foreigner like me (that doesn’t offend anyone). It basically means my mother, and is used to express surprises, fear, joy and so on. Equivalent word In English would be “My goodness”.
I had ten busy days ahead of me. Visiting Milano, Verona, carnival in Venezia, skiing in Val Gardena, road trip down to Firenze and finishing it with a wedding in Roma. I will not go in detail of all the places but I will try and give a brief touch of my first taste of the Italian “La bella vita” (the good life). So I will cut to the chase….it was all about food, wine, cocktails, relaxing, sun and make sure not do die in the car! I had at least three near death experiences in my first few days on the Italian roads with my designated Italian driver, before I started getting used to it. Hot tip, the best way to avoid accidents is to drive like a local and use the horn a lot!
Getting older I had started to appreciate food and wine to a lot greater extent than what the 18-year-old Ellen did. So the new and older Ellen had arrived heaven. I could not get enough of the food, wine, sun and the people. My first real taste of the Italian “la dolce vita” (the sweet life) was eventually only the beginning of my Italian story. My Italian adventures, both good and bad are continuing to grow every day. To be continued….
Scandinapoli 
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