Post-holiday Blues Coloured by a Red Sardinian Sunset

Photo credit: Leonardo Yip (shot in Arbatax, Sardinia)

Rain, rain, and rain again.

This is how Hong Kong has welcomed me in the past two days, ever since I landed.

Summer in Italy has been graceful, as usual, and very, very hot. Just as I like it: after all, it's summer!

My country has been gorgeous, in all its ever-changing landscapes: the emerald-azure sea of Sardinia; the greenery of Trentino's glacial lakes and the majesty of the Dolomites; the buzz of busy Milan. And everywhere, friends to greet and 'old' friends to finally meet again after a long time. But that was not all.

Ah, Sardinia! This time, your unspoiled beauty has left a bitter taste in my mouth. I am still fighting with the 'Maggiore' car rental company for a hefty additional charge of more than 300 Euro on top of the pre-paid car rental cost - completely unjustifiable and invoiced at Cagliari Airport. Obviously, I knew nothing about it until I received the invoice by email a few days after my departure. So, lesson learned: 1) Never choose Maggiore Rental ever again: non-existing customer service and a couple of nasty employees 2) Fight for your rights, always, especially when you feel cheated. Especially in Italy. I am in the midst of it and hopefully, something good will happen.

Despite this disappointing episode, I'd like to leave you with some thoughts about a perfectly red sunset that I miss so much especially now, when the sunset hour displays, instead, a sky heavy with dark and angry clouds that release showers of pelting rain. It's all because of a tropical storm, as they call it...

The original version has been written in Italian. English translation follows.

RICORDI DI UN TRAMONTO SARDO
Nelle lunghe serate estive sulla costa est
ci si sentiva come barche ancorate in uno specchio di mare piatto, 
temporaneamente in osservazione
di uno spettacolo di magia:
tutti i giorni lo stesso,
tutti i giorni diverso.
Allineate in ordine, silenziose e incantate
come bambini,
e come bambini deluse
perché incapaci di scoprirne il trucco.

MEMORIES OF A SARDINIAN SUNSET
In the long summer nights on the East coast
we felt like boats moored on a flat mirroring sea,
temporarily in observation
of a magician’s show:
every day the same
every day different.
Orderly lined up,
silent and enraptured like kids
and like kids disappointed
because unable to reveal the trick.