Rome, Florence, Sicily,
La Cinque Terre, Italy
Monday, September 15:
Number of times in one day: 2
1.
Time of day: 8:25 a.m.
Location: Cantania airport in Sicily
Were you alone? Yes
Was he alone? No, he was working behind a counter with two colleagues of his.
What happened?
As soon as I got off the plane, I dragged myself to the first coffee shop in sight, half-asleep. The young waitor—a slender young man, aged between 25 and 30, with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing his black uniform as a waiter at a coffee bar—had a welcoming smile for all clients who were having their croissants and cappuccinos. He took my order, served me my double espresso and croissant, and moved on to the German woman standing next to me. “Could you possibly have a prosciutto sandwich before 9am?” he asked me in Italian, knowing the German lady wouldn’t probably understand. I lifted my eyes up from my espresso and he muttered, “Are you an American movie star?” I must have looked perplexed. “OK, maybe not. I just meant to say that we could turn off the lights here, now that you and your eyes walked in.” Buongiorno, Sicily!
Tuesday, September 16:
Number of times: None.
Wednesday, September 17:
Number of times: 1
1.
Time of day: Around 7:00 p.m.
Location: Rome’s historical center, by Piazza Navona.
Were you alone? Yes
Was he alone? No, he was having an aperitivo with a friend.
What happened?
I passed by the open window where these two guys were sitting. One had dark hair and a beard, and he was wearing a white shirt—unbuttoned half way through his chest, sleeves rolled up—and blue jeans. Sunglasses hanging from the shirt’s pocket. He made eye contact with me and smiled as I was crossing the zebra stripes near the restaurant. Through the open window, he kept following my steps getting nearer to his position, till I walked in front of him and his friend. I felt observed and I turned around. I saw him going backwards with the posterior legs of his chair to look at me. As our eyes crossed, he smiled again and whistled at me, “An aperitivo, mademoiselle?”
Thursday, September 18:
Number of times: None
Friday, September 19:
Number of times: 1
1.
Time of day: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Florence, Piazza Duomo.
Were you alone? Yes
Was he alone? Yes
What happened? I was standing between the dome and the baptistery checking my phone, as I felt a bike was almost coming onto me. It was a man in his 30s, wearing a blue linen suit and making a phone call with his headset on. I moved aside without lifting my head, a bit distracted, and I still felt the guy on the bike was coming towards me. I then looked up and the biker smiled at me, “Hey beauty, too many smart phones in the world these days.” I smiled, he circled around me with his bike, and then left.
Saturday, September 20:
Number of times: 2
1.
Time of day: Noon
Location: On a train traveling between Rio Maggiore and Monterosso, Cinque Terre.
Were you alone? No, I was traveling on a crowded train with my brother and another hundred passengers, all squeezed in the little wagons of a regional train going through the Cinque Terre.
Was he alone? The first man was sitting next to a younger man who might have been traveling with him, but I am not sure.
What happened?
I got on the train with my brother and found the only available room for us to be in the middle of the train. As we were chatting, I noticed that a young man—a man in his early 40s, clearly a tourist of unknown nationality, wearing a dark red polo shirt and khaki short pants— was looking my way inquisitively. As soon as he realized that I was aware of his attention, he started smiling at me. He tried to tell me something, but I couldn’t hear because of the clamor of people and the train noise. I also thought it was rather weird that a stranger was trying to talk to me that way. He tried to gesticulate to tell me something, but I still didn’t understand what he wanted. Our station was approaching, we started getting ready to get off. I heard a man’s voice calling out “Hey, signora!” It was the catcaller, who sent me a flying kiss from his train seat.
2.
Time of day: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Corniglia, on one of the main streets.
Were you alone? No, I was walking with my mother.
Was he alone? Yes
What happened?
I was walking through the narrow streets of this hilltop village just above the sea, as I saw a guy sitting on a staircase a few meters ahead of us. He was tall, in his early 30s, blond hair, very tanned. He was wearing a white T-Shirt, red shorts, hiking shoes and sunglasses, and was sitting on a stone next to what presumably was his backpack. As my mother and I walked by, he smiled at me flirtatiously (or at least that was my impression), and waved at me.
Sunday, September 21:
Number of times: None
Monday, September 22:
Number of times: 1
1.
Time of day: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Portofino, main square/quay.
Were you alone? Yes
Was he alone? No, he was joining several friends at a bar.
What happened?
This stranger and I crossed paths along the Portofino quay, as he was joining some people sitting at a local bar, and I was walking towards the staircase that takes to the beam. As we got close, walking in two opposite directions, he looked at me insistently, and I looked back, thinking it was someone I knew. He was not. He was slender, in his 40s, and very tanned. He was wearing a blue jacket, sports pants, sailing shoes, and carrying a backpack. As we passed each other, I heard a noise as if someone had stumbled upon one of the cords on the ground, and there he was, a bit embarrassed. “Look ahead, instead of looking at the girl,” one of his people at the bar said, as the others were laughing. The stranger looked at me, and said, “Oops, you distracted me.”
