La Dolce Vita

The Mediterranean basin dwellers always knew how to live.

From Greece to Spain, from France to Lebanon, from Italy to Cyprus, every country touched by the Mediterranean flair has that special temperament with the typical fun and impatience common to the people living on the lands bordering the body of water with so much history that shaped our World.

Nowhere is the spirit of the Mediterranean as obvious as it is in Italy. Creative, artistic, brilliant, flamboyant Italy. Fellini’s Roma. Michelangelo’s brilliance. Da Vinci’s genius. Every designer that managed to instill in us the love of fashion. Those artists that transformed the mundane act of dressing up every morning into an artistic transformation that transports us into the world of those lovers of design and color.

What strikes one upon arriving in Italy is the big canvas overhead. The sky is never dull, routine or predictable. I was flying over Rome one day, looking down over the city on approach to the airport I noticed that the sky with its disheveled scattered clouds looked like a teenager’s bedroom. Things casually strewn around reflecting the impatient, careless, impulsive temperament of the  young dweller.

Then there is the food.  The heavenly food with an essence that distills the centuries of Roman exploits elevating the act of eating into a gastronomic euphoric experience. The food here is not just for subsistence. It is FOOD, capitalized, with bursting flavor, color, texture, and dollops of love. You never like the food in Italy. You love it. If you don’t I will ask you to kindly stop reading this blog. Leave. Now. There is no freedom of expression in that department. I cannot accept that anyone does not like the Italian way of cooking, of the art of making dishes from the bountiful produce offered by the rich land and what’s on it. Italy might have dysfunctional politics, less that perfect services, slow mediterranean timing, confused organization that could benefit from a doze of German-ness perhaps. But then it won’t be Italy, and the food will suffer. (Do you like German cuisine? If you do, please also stop reading this blog).

I am loving every minute of my vacation in Tuscany. Taking in the beauty, the flair, the food, the aromas, the pace of life, the Mediterranean temperament, even the bad impatient driving of the Italians.

This is La Dolce Vita that we love to live.