Page 44 of It's All Sun and Games

19

Oh, this is the life. I’m leaning against the poolside bar, next to Andrea, soaking up the warmth of the sun as we wait to find out what today has in store for us.

‘Shall we order something, while we wait?’ Andrea suggests. ‘I haven’t had any breakfast, I’m starving.’

‘Go on then,’ I reply. ‘I could definitely do with a cappuccino.’

‘Anything else?’ Andrea asks.

‘Surprise me,’ I say with a smile.

None of his surprises have let me down so far – I mean, come on, even the man himself has been a pleasant surprise.

‘Chi è il prossimo? Mi dica,’ the barman says.

‘Un espresso per me e un cappuccino per la signora, grazie,’ Andrea replies.

Andrea casts an eye over the sweet treats laid out on the counter. He picks out two things.

‘Have you tried a cornetto before?’ Andrea asks me.

I am 99 per cent certain that question doesn’t mean what I think it means because, if it did, boy have I!

‘No,’ I reply. ‘What is it?’

‘It’s pastry, filled with custard,’ he replies.

‘Oh my God, I’m sold,’ I blurt. ‘Get me a thousand.’

Andrea laughs at me.

‘So, what do you usually eat for breakfast in England?’ he asks curiously.

‘Honestly, I’m usually running too late for breakfast,’ I admit. ‘So it’s just coffee for me most days.’

‘Just coffee?’ he replies.

‘Yep, but that’s just me,’ I tell him. ‘The English know how to do breakfast – after all, we’re the home of the full English breakfast. Sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, toast, tomato, mushrooms, hashbrowns, black pudding – the works.’

‘All of that cooked food?’ he replies in disbelief. ‘On a morning?’

‘Yep,’ I reply. ‘All fried, if it’s an authentic one.’

‘Wow, that sounds like a lot,’ he says. ‘I don’t think I could eat something so big first thing in the morning.’

‘It’s definitely a skill that the English have perfected,’ I reply. ‘But you guys are better at big dinners. Your ability to smash multiple courses is seriously impressive.’

‘Smash,’ he repeats back to me. ‘That’s a new one for me.’

‘It’s not an official one,’ I say with a laugh.

The barman serves us our coffees and pastries and, wow, the cornetto looks so much bigger now that it’s on the plate in front of me, not that I think it will be any sort of problem.

I pick it up, marvelling at how huge it looks compared to the size of my hands. God, it smells so good, though. I can’t wait to take a bite.

‘Oh, it’s like a croissant,’ I say as I examine it.

‘Robin, no!’ Andrea replies.

---