10 May 2009 , Benevento – (from Sam) There is nothing like walking into a room and having everyone stop mid-drink, turn and look at you. No doubt Brad Pitt and Jaleel White get that all the time, and they’re probably sick of it by now because I can tell you from my experience on this trip that it does get old – very, very quickly.

Now it’s not that I don’t like attention, and there’s no such thing as bad publicity (just ask Noemi), but when I have to stop for more than is really necessary, feet aching, ten kilo bag weighing on my back, to practically sign autographs for locals, I start to waver. It’s like the horses in southern Lazio, once you’ve had a couple of people ask you where you come from, it gets old. I am sure that the impression you’ve got of me over the last few posts is that I am antisocial and neurotic, but I’m not, I promise. Yet, I certainly don’t take getting up close and personal with strangers as well as Eric does. He seems born for this.

Normally, we’ll be sitting down to lunch and talking away (in English, not Finnish) and one of the local Italians, who speaks English, will overhear and get a little interested. Upon waiting a few moments to hear either a) a pause in conversation or b) a topic for which the local has a funny anecdote, said local will interject with either a) “where do you come from?” or b) “funny story, I was once involved in [insert topic here].” At that point in time, your “show time” face comes into play.

Today, we had a couple of these celebrity encounters. First, and most brilliant, was Eric’s conversation with a retired Italian businessman. They discussed an acquisition the businessman had engineered and Eric had covered in his role as a financial journalist. As the two of them delved further into conversation, they discovered a mutual love of wood (no pun intended). Both men carried wooded walking sticks – Eric’s plucked from the virgin countryside of Lazio and his companion’s from who knows where. As we got up to leave, the businessman very generously offered what he called his special walking stick to Eric in exchange for one of Eric’s. Now, Eric is an extremely nice guy and his show time face stretches a long way, so he had no other option but to accept the offer. Unfortunately for Eric, the stick is about 12 inches too small for him and, as a result, forces him to walk like Yoda.

As we left the bar, Eric hunched over with his new stick, a group of twenty-somethings came over to us, albeit in a very slow, nervous, teenage girl trying to get the Jonas Brothers’ autographs kind of way, to ask where we were from. This must be what it feels like to be a celebrity. It’s worth mentioning that many locals also stare at us like we are idiots and don’t make any attempt to approach.

When we finally arrived at the train station at our final destination, Benevento, the generous Davide was waiting to meet us. I had never met Davide before, but I find it hard to think of anyone that I have known in the past that is as generous and accommodating towards strangers as he was to us. I must send out a special thank you to Davide, for not only did he offer us a delectable lunch, but he also insisted on putting us up in a very nice hotel. A perfect way to end this fun filled day.