After I walked the boys to school today, I headed toward a different neighborhood for my morning walk. I wanted to take a path along the water’s edge. I took a detour to avoid a muddy construction zone. That’s when I ventured into an alley where an old woman was having a smoke.
She could have easily passed me and said nothing. I’ve noticed a lot of Europeans don’t greet strangers in passing the way Americans do. Sometimes I say, “Bok!” and wave just to see if people return my hellos. So far, almost every “Bok!” has gotten a friendly reply. I think I just smiled at the woman in the alley, but something made her catch up to me and start talking.
We quickly established that she didn’t know English, and it wasn’t Croatian she was speaking. She was Italian, and she looked incredulous to hear I didn’t know any Italiano. Maybe she could sense I have some Italian in my blood. I could make out enough to know she was asking my name. Then she began to sing it: “Tan-yah, oh, Tan-ee-ah!” Bella something-or-other, she sang and smoked. By this time, she had looped her arm in mine and was leading me down the street.
A white-haired man on a bicycle stopped to talk to her. I could tell he was asking who I was and probably why the heck she was serenading me. “Americano.” No Italiano. Something or other. He had no time for that. “No English,” he said as he rode off.
The old woman was not deterred. She asked me more questions. She belted out more songs. She pointed toward her side door and asked me to come and sit down at her kitchen table with the rose tablecloth that matched her vase of roses.
Part of me wondered what the heck I was doing sitting down in a stranger’s house when I couldn’t even understand her. But I was so entertained, I couldn’t say no. She seemed harmless and lonely. She was the Italian nonna I never had. She made me laugh.
She said her name and it was something close to Maria, maybe Mariska, I couldn’t really be sure. Her house looked like what I would imagine my distant Italian relatives’ homes would look like, with Catholic figurines within arm’s reach.
When her phone rang, she gestured for me to stay while she went in the other room to answer it. I snapped some pictures of the room while she was gone.
When she returned, she sat down and sang some more until I sang with her.
I think she was going to get up and start making food then. She probably would have let me stay all day. But my Americano impulses didn’t have all day to stay. I felt a little guilty, like a party guest leaving too soon, as I inched out of my seat toward the door. We hugged like old friends before we parted. I felt like I should have kissed her on both cheeks, but I didn’t.
“Grazie,” I said as I began to walk away, “Thank you!”
“Very much!” she called from the door, in the most coherent English she had said yet. “Ciao!”
Then she followed me again, looped her arm in mine and walked me to the crossroads, where we said goodbye once more.
tanyatravelsdotblog.wordpress.com 
Well, that was a great story.
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I love how you are seizing every moment. Hope to visit and experience a drop of what you already have. Miss my dear friend. Wishing you many more great experiences during this adventure.
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If you can stay for a bite next time, it will be amazing!
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My Croatian friend says this nonna was singing to me in Croatian in the song in the video. “Very popular old school song,” my friend says: “Many years be happy, be happy, be happy, many years live long, long…”
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She’s wonderful! Did you adopt her? I know I would adopt her in a minute. I bet she has an array of family recipes in her head too. 🙂
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I am thinking of going back to find her again!
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Great story, southern Europeans are usually like that, especially Italians 🙂 In the North it is a different story tough
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What a beautiful story ❤ If only everyone could be so welcoming and lovely.
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What a sweet old lady. I’m surprised she didn’t insist you stay for a meal.
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Love these sorts of strories where complete strangers make a random connection. And you wonder what other times one person sat on the same bench at a train station with your distant cousin you grew up playing T-Ball with and never spoke a word. Strange small world connections like that.
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She is so sweeeeeeeeet…. I’m sure she is treasure trove…So loving 🙂
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I love this! It is these tiny instances that draw up a larger picture. It paints the life of a wanderer. There is good out there in the world. We just need to see it. I’m so glad you met her. It seems to have left you with a lasting memory. 🙂
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I liked the way you described your experience yet you kept it short and sweet! I loved the host!
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Lovely. My son made friends with Italians in Ibiza and they could not communicate. Sometimes you just don’t need to to know you can trust someone you know?
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what a lovely experience. It is amazing how easily people can invite you into their homes – i feel bad that i wouldn’t do the same thing living in london!
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That is pretty sweet! What a heart warming memory to take with you…
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What a great story! She is such one sweet old lady. I enjoyed reading this post!
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Wow, she’s truly amazing and sweet. If only stranger that we meet is sound like this, i’m sure that we will surely have a wonderful world. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story with us.
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Interesting story – it kept me held till end. I must say she was really a sweet lady and your story proves my point too – that strangers are not always bad. At times they teaches you so many good lessons in life.
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Thanks. She was a sweet woman. I am glad I ran into her.
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This was an excellent read, Tanya! Keep up the great work!
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That is some experience. You find kindness in strangers sometimes – more than you will from known folks. Glad you had this experience !
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It is one of my favorite trip moments so far!
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What a wonderful experience you had. Thanks for sharing this descriptive account!
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Thanks! It was a wonderful experience!
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This made me smile. We Greeks are very much like Italians and I can picture this taking place in any small village in Greece too. So heartwarming isn’t it?
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One of my favorite experiences here so far!
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Such a fun experience! I love that language doesn’t have to be a barrier to kindness and making friends.
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It’s a small world after all 🙂
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Overall a captivating story. However, I am back from a recent trip to Europe, And I had a different kind of experience. Almost everyone passing by smiled and said hello!! maybe the culture is changing
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Your story is touching and beautiful! It shows how you never know how your day or your morning will turn out. And something it gets to be amazing!
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I love when it’s amazing 🙂
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A beautiful story, my husband is of Italian parentage, but unfortunately he doesn’t speak Italian.
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I wish I had studied languages more in school!
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What a great story. Strangers sometimes really make an impact on us.
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She will be a lasting memory for me, that’s for sure!
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It seems like the two of you really connected. I’ve found myself instantly relating to strangers and I always wonder “why did that just happen”. One encounter was with a woman that was 101 years old. We were at Wendy’s and she talked and talked about everything. I saw her at least once a week at random places for about a month and then I didn’t see her any more. I always say she was around to give me advice because I always ran into her whenever I was trying to make a decision about something.
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I would love to run into this Nonna again!
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Aww that is lovely! Things like that just never happen in the UK and if they did it would be very strange. I wish people were more like this, you can never have too many friends
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Would be funny if it happened on the streets of the UK!
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What a beautiful story! This made me miss my nana so much! I think old women make a lovely company especially since they’re so accommodating and sweet.
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Makes me miss my grandmas, too!
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Wonderful story. I can relate also, my grandma passed away when I was young so I really never knew her.
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I told my husband the other day that I wanted to meet another old lady to sing to me. Grandmas are great, even if they’re not my grandma.
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Awww what a sweet story. You sometimes don’t need words to make a connection. She sounds like a very sweet woman.
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Absolutely!
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Yeah. I miss my grand ma too. Our grandparents our always there to spoil us. And our parents our there to spoil our own kids.
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I will just have to find someone else’s grandparents to adopt here!
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Honestly the majority of the Italians I have met are incredibly nice. I would have loved to meet this old lady. Sounds like an amazing woman!
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I am going to have to go back and wander her neighborhood!
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What an awesome story! I absolutely love that she just invited you into your home and you went with her. Here in the state, I feel like if you smile at someone in the grocery store line, they are automatically taken aback and don’t know what to do with you haha
Michelle | She’s Not So Basic
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I probably wouldn’t have done this back at home, but it was just another adventure here 🙂
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I love this story. Its amazing that it even happened. And now look, you have an amazing story. haha
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I know. Still can’t believe that happened!
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Idk anyone who speaks croatian. Nonetheless, older people can be so sweet by making an effort to speak.
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What a beautiful story. I love that you took a chance and chatted with her. Older people are sweethearts and they’re not even trying to be.
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That’s for sure!
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I love meeting friendly older women!
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Oh my gosh, I love her too! I married into an Italian family so I understand some of the things they speak to me but they all speak english too so that helps. They have a translation app called iTranslate or something similar!
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I love Google Translate. I even pulled it out with this Nonna, but she didn’t really care for technology. She was a sweetheart in any language.
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