Taking it Slow

Italy has been on my mind lately - really since my last post. Looking back, I think our Italy trip was a turning point in how I prefer to travel.  We had certainly traveled to quite a few places before Italy, but those trips seemed more like a race to fill our highlights reel before we had to head home. It was more about seeing as much as we could, and less about gaining an understanding of our hosts.  We traveled for breadth, rather than depth...

The Amalfi Coast was the first time we stayed in one place for most of our trip, and seven years later, our memories are all the richer for it. We became travelers and not just tourists. We got to know the people of Praiano, their rhythm and even the stray dog, Luca, who waited for the local bus with us each day. We spent time just sitting in the square watching children play football after school.  We paid multiple visits to the same restaurants, giving us a chance to explore not just the menu, but the area's cuisine. We had a favorite bartender, Enzo, who made our favorite drink -- even learning that the reason our drinks were so good was that the mint in Italy is a bit milder than what we grow in the U.S.

We spent our mornings sleeping in because there was no rush to get through the day's planned itinerary and we spent our evenings staying up late, enjoying beverages and the companionship of the locals. And in between, we had time to slow way down and actually relax on our vacation.  We were able to soak up not just that beautiful Mediterranean sun, but the incredibly friendly and welcoming residents. We still saw the local sites, the beaches, the shops, the islands, the precious towns clustered along the mountainsides - but what we really saw was a group of people that appreciate the true essence of life and what it offers each of us.

The downside to a vacation such as this is that it makes leaving all the harder.  You know what you will be missing when you leave -- and you leave a piece of you behind. I think Greg put it best when he said, "When you stay in one place for a week and a half, you put down a few roots, and even small roots are hard to tear up when it's time to leave."