When in Italy, you have to learn how to live like an Italian. And Italians have perfected "la dolce far niente" (the sweetness of doing nothing). So today, we decided to imitate them and we spent a very sweet day doing nothing. I must confess that at first I was feeling guilty. How could I stay in the hotel and do nothing? But last night I only slept five hours and I woke up exhausted. So Rafael basically forced me to stay in today. And I'm glad he did because I needed the break. We spent most of the day by the Mediterranean Sea just doing nothing while enjoying this amazing view:
We even imitated the Italians by taking a "siesta" (an afternoon nap).
When in Italy, you tend to eat like the Italians eat: antipasti, primi piatto, secondo piatto, dolce... And then you must take Alka Seltzer because you are ready to explode. I have definitely been eating too much. So today, I've gone easy on the food, which is not easy to do in Italy. I just limited myself to one dish per meal.
Last night, before dinner, we sat at Piazza Duomo in Amalfi to enjoy an aperitif, and to enjoy the many faces of Italy. There were the locals, who stand around the fountain just to gossip. There was the daily wedding taking place. Yes, we have witnessed a wedding every single day. In this case, the bride and groom were being photographed on the steps of the Amalfi Duomo, in the middle of a sea of Italians and tourists that were just there, sitting on the steps, enjoying the free show and doing nothing.
Italy is truly amazing. You sit at any piazza and you can enjoy a clash of history, colors, and people. On one side of the piazza, we had the beautiful Duomo with all its history.
Next to the Duomo, an apartment building with clothing hanging from the balconies.
In the bottom floor of the building, there was a toy/children's clothing store. The door was opened and the lady that probably owned it, was standing there greeting all the neighbors: the couple that came out with their little girl to enjoy an early evening stroll; the owner of the apoteca (pharmacy) from across the street who stopped to chat for a few minutes of his way home; the grandmother who was on her way to the alimentaria (grocery store) next door... In the thirty minutes we sat there "people watching," she didn't sell a single item, but she was a happy Italian lady just enjoying the art of living.
Of course, there were plenty of bars around the piazza, a couple of gelaterias, a pasticceria, a pizzeria, a ristorante and plenty of tourist shops selling all kinds of souvenirs. And the mood was jolly and relaxed. People were simply enjoying "la dolce far niente."
Saluti!!!
Io amo l'Italia. 💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️
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