Paolo Breaks

so… Paolo and i have been shirking some serious Italian cafe etiquette this week in celebration/preparation/mourning for his pending departure to Helsinki for some undisclosed period (1-3yrs). We’ve been consuming between 2 and 3 cappuccini everyday. Today we’re at 3 relatively early and aiming for 4. It’s going to take a concerted effort. Italian custom (and this is disregarded under severe threat of reprobation) is to consume no more than 1 cappuccino a day, and to never order a cappucco after 11am. We’ve clearly been flaunting this rool with great abandon. Paolo’s been a champ about this, opening himself to easy insult from his countrymen; i have less to lose, as i can always claim to be an ignorant tourist. He was stalwart in his indulgence until today, when, as we ordered our third beverage of the day from the same barrista who has been suspiciously serving us all week, he broke and tried to qualify our outlandish behavior with his pending departure for finland. I felt like i had to document this, because, i’ve never been so disappointed in Paolo. It was a moment of weakness, but… it was against the rules of our mission, as we’d set them. No looking back. No excuses. Oh well. We’ll miss him all the same.