Anyone who knows my husband and I, knows we have been seriously infected by the travel bug. I will fore go iPhone's (much to the chagrin of others who detest my "dumb" phone), shopping sprees, new cars, etc. in favor of multiple vacations per year.
In life, everyone has different priorities. For some, it is creature comforts, the latest gadgets, name brand luxury items. For me, it is experiences, places and memories I can draw from. Often times those experiences remind me how wonderful our world is all the while humbling me by realizing just how spoiled I am right here in the good old U.S. of A.
Last month my husband and I spent nearly 3 weeks in Italy. We LOVE Italy. Our first "big" vacation together was in Italy, we were married in Italy, we feel very connected to the culture, the cuisine and the beauty. All of that being said, we were smacked in the face with a reality that I can only surmise comes from age and admittedly, a bit of impatience. We are, after all, American.
The last time we were in Italy was seven and a half years ago. Back then, it was our dream to someday make a life there. We knew making that a reality could be tricky but we truly felt it was the perfect destination for us. Since then, we have had another child, both kids are in school, Paul has a fabulous career and as often occurs, that dream seemed to be slipping a little further away with each passing year. Obviously, we were so excited to return to the country we felt such a strong connection to. The trip was WONDERFUL. We saw old friends, we revisited Positano where we were married and we made our way down the boot and across the Mediterranean to Sicily. It was a trip we had been talking about since we first started going to Italy. The far less charted southern Italy held a mystique that we were excited to experience. It was everything we expected and more. Breathtakingly beautiful, slower paced, crystal clear Caribbean like, turquoise water. What's not to like?
Just sitting here and rereading my description of our trip I almost....ALMOST have to ask myself the same question. Oddly, what fell short for us was the lack of variety in cuisine. Don't misunderstand me, Italy has a vast array of choices within their own cuisine and it is amazing. The bounty of which they have to draw from is second to none, wonderful seafood, produce, a zillion different pasta's. What we missed was the variety of other cuisines.
It is no secret, based on the origin of my blog alone, that we LOVE food, all kinds of food. This time, after a couple of weeks we found we were restless of the food and wishing for other choices and taste profiles. We missed the convenience of grabbing a "quick" coffee. We missed breakfast. Not pancakes and bacon necessarily but something closer to breakfast than prosciutto and salami with little prepackaged toasts. With that realization, came the more melancholy epiphany that as our life has marched on since our last visit, the Italy that we thought should someday be our home, no longer held the same fascination. We really missed some of the minor, yet important things that mattered to us. With that sad eye opener came another realization that seemed to numb the blow a bit. We realized for all the things about America that my husband and I abhor, there are many things such as the amazing variety in nearly everything that we take for granted on a daily basis that we love. We are spoiled, plain and simple. Spoiled, yes, but moreover, once again, grateful to Italy for yet another wonderful life lesson.
We know a couple of things from our most recent travels. We maintain Oregon is still not our cup of tea...at all. Sun, sand and palm trees is still very much on our radar, but those things can easily be found in many areas of the southern United States. It looks as though, when the time is right, we will remain state side but we will forever be infected by the travel bug and continue our pursuit of adventure. Can't wait to see what's up next!
Till next time,
Jenny Lou
No comments:
Post a Comment