Giovanni

“We have BBQ and wine if you want to join us for dinner!”

A meeting at reception in the Grampians. Continued messaging and ongoing Instagram friendship (typically commenting on beautiful views and food pictures - the unifying force around the world). One weekend in Melbourne before lockdown, aka COVID-19. The beauty of travel connections and reconnections.

Master of Primary Teaching. Italian. Australian permanent resident working towards citizenship. Lover of sunsets, the facepalm emojii, hikes and bikes, and yoga tights.

Giovanni and his friend Marcello came to the Grampians for a one night trip away from the city. After striking up a conversation during check-in, the evening continued with dinner where I contributed a sad container of hummus but greatly enjoyed the prepared sausages and manicotti, a fire paired with dancing around to Lizzo (Becs had to rep her Minnesota gal), and drinks late into the evening. At least I can say the lack of sleep when I got called into the cafe last minute the next morning was well worth it.

Over the weekend in Melbourne, I got to know him even more - an avid biker both for enjoyment and transportation to work, a man with a van (but currently renting to others until he has more time), and a creative force in the kitchen. We shared our love of personality assessments, learning we’re both ENFP. Working all day, everyday, he tutors kids during the week and works as an optician in retail on the weekends.

Once the world turned to lockdown, we continued messaging. With potential road trips thwarted by lockdown, we talked about travel dreams, the art of a hover on website images for school, the need to use a food thermometer on all things including vegetables (I don’t understand this…), and how to design the perfect bitmoji. He celebrated a birthday and a graduation, I celebrated the hostel dog’s birthday and my art of wordplay (yeah, his milestones were a bit more exciting).

We’ll see when and where our paths will cross again!