I went to this amazing new restaurant in Dallas last night. It was cute, fun, hip, and thuroughly Italian! Vapiano’s reminded me so much of Italy, which is weird because it’s originally from Germany. Haha!
It had this cafeteria style setting to it. You ordered your food at the counters, they made everything fresh from scratch, and then when it was done you picked up your dish(es) and took a seat. I ordered the chicken fetuccini and I kid you not… it tasted just like a dish I would order in Vicenza. The flavoring was amazing and like nothing I’ve ever had in the states before.
After eating there, I was able to go see Restrepo again for a second time. Oddly, I thought the restaurant’s name, “Va piano” really had an impact on how I related to this movie.
See, “va piano” means to go slow. Take your time, relish what you have and though you should work for what you want in life, don’t rush it.
Restrepo is about a military combat outpost (aka COP) in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan along the Pakistani border. The movie is a documentary that takes place during Battle Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Brigade’s 15 month tour to the Valley. During the first part of their deployment, a soldier by the name of Restrepo was killed in action and they quickly built up a COP on top of the mountain, taking the high ground and fighting off any attacks by the Taliban and any others who shot at them.
For a military spouse with a husband currently deployed to Afghanistan with the exact same unit, it was an eye-opener to watch this documentary. It gave me so much insight into what he’s going through… what they are all going through on a daily basis.
They sleep, eat, live combat.
They live in solid block buildings with makeshift bunk beds and thin mattresses. They eat MRE’s (which aren’t all that tasty unless you add the Hot Sauce to it) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They hike up in the mountains with 80 pounds minimum on their backs while on patrols. They worry every minute about when the next fire fight will take place and still they keep going.
In the documentary, three or four of the soldiers closest to Restrepo gave their own accounts of what they went through and how tough it was. They had to bury friends.
This documentary is a must see.
