Farewell Dinner in Assisi

Tuesday evening, we have our last meal in Assisi.  We head down to the grassy area where we’ve spent hours every evening having light, tapa style dinners and bottles of lovely, Italian red wine.  When we arrive, we note that there is only one other couple sitting on chairs in the grass and one in the covered patio area.  We opt to sit in the patio where we believe it will be slightly cooler.  The vantage point we choose also gives us a beautiful view of the sunset. 

We are greeted by Martin, the server who we have come to know the most.  He politely informs us that this area is closed tonight, except for drinks.  He then adds, for us, he will prepare food, but because he is the only one working this evening, our choices are limited.  We feel so grateful for his hospitality and gladly order the things that he tells us he can prepare.  Our meal consists of a colorful cheese and meat board, along with fresh bruschetta style bread and cold, smooth mashed potatoes spread over fresh, homemade bread. There are also stuffed tomatoes, olives, chips and two flavors of homemade humus, as well as an assortment of fresh fruit, grown on the premises. It’s beautiful and simple and perfect.

Martin spends much of the evening guiding arriving visitors up to the more formal restaurant area on the hill above us and explaining that there is no food available here this evening.  Because we are in the patio next to the bar, we are blessed with his presence and conversation throughout the evening.

We learn that Martin is married to Greta, a young lady who serves breakfast in this same patio each morning.  We laugh and tell him that we saw them interacting our first morning here and guessed that they had eyes for each other!  He blushes sweetly and tells us they’ve been married for eleven years, and they have two children who attend an international school up in the busy village of Assisi, where they also live.  They moved here from Albania many years ago.  They work six days a week and tomorrow is his day off, but Greta will be working.

Greta’s very pregnant sister, her husband, and other family members will arrive for a 10 day stay tomorrow.  He seems to be excited about their visit.

Another thing that Martin tells us is that this hotel is owned by former Italian soccer star, Andrea Ranocchia. (Spoiler alert! We see him tomorrow at breakfast!)

At the end of our evening, we tell Martin goodbye and wish him and his family well, from the bottom of our hearts.  We thank him so much for serving us dinner and he in turn, tells us he is grateful to be able to spend time with us.  Our farewells are warm and heartfelt. Martin will have a place in our hearts forever.