Dear Italy,
my first time in Italy: when I was 2 years old, chicken pocks included. I don’t remember but my parents do.
I pretty much spent my childhood & teenager summer vacations with my family in Bibione, swimming on the Adriatic Coast, visiting Venice, Luna Park… great memories.
A cruise stop in Palermo in Sicily as teenager.
Later, when I was a student, I came with my bestie and we did Interrail: Rome, Florence, Pisa, Milano, Cinque Terre & Genova. We had a blast.
Hubby and I visited Lago di Garda and Verona just the day after borders were opened up in COVID pandemic.
A year later we came with Aperoli and toured Lago di Como. The Italians loved our mini. Aperoli did great on the tight winding roads around the lake and in the mountains.
And now we just returned from 3 weeks in Liguria, Sardinia, the beautiful Amalfi Coast and Tuscany.
What can I say: we are in love with you, Italy, the land of espresso and olives, mopeds and Romans! It’s your simplicity of living. Slow afternoons at the beach. Aperitivo. Delicious dinner. A glass of red wine. Dolce Vita.
Who doesn’t love Italian food? It’s so unfussy, yet so good. The very best pizza, for example, is one hand-made, with skill and passion from years of being genuinely proud of what you’re making. Fresh, local cheese and tomatoes, the smell of fresh basil leaves, and a beautiful, crispy crust. Walk down a side street and find a trattoria. That’s the one: the one with the steamed-up windows and the delicious smell drifting out from inside. You’re beckoned in, and for the rest of the evening you’re treated as if you’re a long-lost member of the family. A bowl of fresh pasta, a delicate seafood main and a rich dessert later (plus a couple of glasses of wine), and suddenly life seems awfully simple.
Italy, you are sexy. No matter if it’s the ladies in their bikini string tangas, a sexy cut that shows just enough skin, but maintains a bit of mystery, at the beach or the expressions of affection displayed by all the lovers on the town. Oh la la! What a public intimacy, but why not, that’s you, Italy!
La Dolce Vita – one of the things that’s amazing about you is just how very Italian you are. There are few countries on earth that live up so completely to their own stereotype — and I mean that in the best possible way. The girl on the back of the scooter, laughing wildly, hair flying behind her, clinging onto her boyfriend as he navigates the traffic. Two people having a discussion over a morning espresso, voices raised, gestures flying; are they discussing last night’s football, a major legal case, or the mileage on a Fiat Panda? It doesn’t matter; what matters is that it’s important now.
This, after all, is the real you, Italy. The day to day occurrences that makes us happy, as a tourist, simply to be a part of. And that’s why we know that when we can once again visit you, it’ll be the same vibrant, lively, dramatic place it’s always been.
That’s what we know is you, Italy. It’s crazy, and there’s nowhere else like it.
Well, we love everything about you, Italy. From the fashionable north to the rustic, beautiful south, and the island of Sardinia, there’s a million reasons to visit. So let’s do it! We are sure to be back again! Soon. Very soon!
Ti amo,
A, S & C
Stuttgart547 