Yes, Some of Us Need Italy.

 Just got back from going to pick-up my pizza in the pouring rain. I walked there since it's just down the block. When I arrived, I was greeted by smiles and the faces of the family that I've come to know over the past ten months.They know "my" pizza. We chatted awhile while the son fired it in a traditional wood-burning over. Funny something so simple really defines life in Italy and why it is so darn appealing (addictive?) and good for the soul. Whether or not you can see the beauty in this small anecdote, I think, is more or less indicative of the kind of person you are. Kind of like whether or not your eyes light up when someone starts saying Pastéis de..., if you can finish that, we are bound to be the best of friends. I know it's downright annoying to hear the words "enjoy", "life", and "Italy", all in the same sentence, but it never ceases to be true- here, life is lived. In North America, I used to watch whole days race by. Whole days. A precious amount of unpromised time. You may say, well, that's your fault. And perhaps it is. Perhaps some of us need Italy. To be surrounded by so much beauty that it's impossible, just impossible to look away. And that's just the men. Just kidding, I was referencing the architectural and cultural beauty of course. Like yesterday night, I set out to meet some lovely ladies for an after-work aperitivo: it was raining, but a movie-worthy rain that seemed to bounce joyfully off the cobblestones without ever getting your Italian leather shoes wet. I was walking exceptionally slow as to not massacre another heel (I've probably spent over 50 euros having heels replaced on all my shoes) and I found myself in the middle of an illuminated Piazza della Libertà (below). Now it's no Piazza Navona, but it sure did the trick. I was just in awe, smiling like a fool, thinking to myself - how truly amazing is it to be crossing a piazza to meet friends for a drink. Not a parking lot, not the mall, not a six-lane highway- a piazza. Yes, some of us need an Italy. I really hope you find yours. x