Feast on this!

It sounds so cliché, but it’s undeniably true: Italy is a literal feast for the senses. It is visually stunning, for me mostly because it is so full of texture. It is aged, and it has aged well—cracks, crevices, crumbling stucco, cobblestones, colors that compliment the earth and the landscape within which they reside—it’s sometimes too much for the eyes to take.

And the smells—the sea, the food—mamma mia the food!! Espresso, cappuccino, pane, salumi, cornetti alla crema (this one in particular will make you want to pass out from pleasure), pasta, formaggi, granita limone, the best olives on earth, fresh produce and fresh seafood…I want it all!!

On top of all that, there’s the general visceral experience—it’s MFing hot and MFing humid. It’s a nonstop sweat-fest—no getting around it. As uncomfortable as it can be, there’s something about it that adds to the experience for me. It just can’t be that comfortable or I wouldn’t be happy.

Of all the sensory experiences, for me it is most about the noise. God, I love the sound of this place. This noise I’m referring to…some might call it traffic—I call it life. This is not your run of the mill freeway-hum traffic noise. It is the honk, beep-d-beep-beep, hooooooonk, beep, beep, honk; it is the waxing and waning of engines of all kinds—scooters, motorcycles, cars, buses—and they’re not just moving at a steady pace. They are moving with the flow of life, which isn’t constant. This sound is music to my ears. It is activity, movement, change, people living—not just existing.

I’ve been in Italy barely 24 hours as I write this, and already my perspective is coming back. That beautiful perspective on life I had a year ago. That one I lost after being home too long. It’s coming back. This place is magical for me, for some reason. Today I amused myself watching the terrified tourists walking precariously through the streets of the Amalfi Coast, scared for their lives…while I walked along confident that no one would run me over. Then I thought, maybe I just don’t care. This place literally makes me so happy that I don’t care if I die here. If I do, please know that it ended on a very good note!

Ciao, ciao for now…I’m gonna go eat and drink some more!