I couldn’t get my head around the idea of postponing my trip to Italy. At the Athens airport check-in desk, they suggested flying on another day: there simply wasn’t room for everyone. An overbooked codeshare flight with three airlines involved. Changing my tickets wasn’t part of the plan. After a short conversation, I explained that I was a chef due to appear at a food festival in Udine — and they gave me a ticket. A little white lie. Still no guarantee of a seat, though: first come, first served. There were far too many of us “lucky ones”, but I made it into seat 25D.
Venice greeted me with rain and a wait for the city bus to the railway station. Not the Venice we all picture, by the way. Getting to that one takes more travelling, including a boat. Half an hour later, I bought a train ticket to Udine, in northern Italy, and settled into the carriage. Exhausted, I enjoyed the driver’s cheerful announcements: he called out the stations as if they were song titles. An hour and a half later, I got off and walked to the hotel, my suitcase wheels clattering over the pavement. I could almost feel the locals greeting me through their open windows. It was late, there were no taxis around, and I couldn’t book an Uber without a working card.
Dinner didn’t happen. I didn’t really want it anyway. I had some prosecco and sent myself to bed. The next day, my friends and I walked around and got to know the city. I barely put the camera down and came away with some great frames. Udine felt welcoming, beautiful and wonderfully untouched by mass tourism.
By the end of five days, we’d all agreed we wanted to come back. In the bars, I proudly showed people our restaurant in Moscow and our workshop, and told them what we do. We received such a warm welcome in northern Italy: whenever I heard “Russia”, it came with a smile. I think I made some new friends. I wore trousers and a jacket every day — a T-shirt felt out of place at breakfast among the local men. Whatever their age, they were dressed impeccably.
These photographs show Udine and its everyday rhythm in October 2024.
