Yes Men out there wish I had typed Italian Girls GONE WILD & Women wished, Italian Men GONE WILD but really the real life issue everyday is mentality (mentalità)! It FLASHES me everyday HEAD ON! Pun intended!

How do I explain Italian mentality … I don’t! You have to live it & you can’t live it for a week, two weeks or a month. It something you have to live for an extended period of time. I also believe in my soul that you either get it or you don’t. You have to JUMP (saltare) into it with faith (fede) and know that you will land safely on the other side. If this all sounds mysterious, well the Italian mentality is someway mysterious (misterioso). Let me explain it the best way I can and it still won’t explain it. How is that for clarity?

Italians are boisterous & conservative, generous & thrifty, warm hearted & guarded, loving & quick tempered, industrious & lazy, impatient & relaxed, fashionistas & fashion victims. Informal & have the best of manners. Besides some of these obvious contradictions they are also passionate, sociable, gourmet, scandal lovers, spirited, political, Italian football lovers, musically well rounded, creative, tardy & of course, individuals.

Ahhh, these characteristics describe many Americans but it’s HOW the Italians look at the world (mondo) is what pulls them into my heart. Me as a stranger I have to always prove myself. It is a tiring feat but one I know must be done. I am asked by many people “WHY” Italians do “this or that” or “say or that” & I can’t always answer these questions because I have come to just accept many things for the way they are. I don’t ask questions … I go with the flow! I jumped in!

There is a phrase here that I have been told perhaps 50,000 times, plus & I know it is the way of life here but maybe my American blood fights it because I Just Want It All - Now. The mentality of the saying “piano-piano” (American translation: slowly but surely). So when I wake up in the morning I take a deep breath (respiro profondo) & I embrace the soul of the Italian people, the voices I hear out my window, the relaxed way of life, the spontaneity of my day, the church bells that ring, the beautiful Italian women, the flirty Italian men, the aggressive drivers, the incredible food & the value of family especially children.

By reading this you might be thinking this mentality does not seem so difficult. I read it & think the same thing. However, walking each day in these Gucci pumps down streets filled with Vespas and a language that makes saying the worse things sound beautiful … you must live it to know it.  Viva Italia! Thank you Italia for cradling me & sharing your mentality with me! Italy’s Tomorrow is my TODAY!

We all grow up on music (musica) & it seems to take us back to times in our life. When you are a child you remember the music your parents played, sisters & brothers played. As we got older there was music from high school, music from your first love, days from dancing and the list goes on.

Now here you are an expat living in Italy. Inspired by buildings (edifici), food, drink, people and all your surroundings. You reach for your tunes, the naturally but to your ears the old familiar songs don’t play. It is as if a collision happens in your brain. Something is not wired quiet right. After over a year you still try to make sense of this but you yearn for the familiarity of past.
(Now, don’t get me wrong, Italians love American music & you can always find it somewhere but not the variety that of course we are used to).

Thank goodness for technology (tecnologia), friends, facebook and you tube. WALAAH … you have all the music you need. Even songs you have never heard before.

I love it when I am sent songs (canzoni) because people say they remind them of me. A song is something that touches us in places deep in our souls (anime). They make us question when, where, what & how? Then sometimes a song just makes us dance naked in our bedroom (camera da letto) when nobody is watching with a freedom that exhilerates us like the thrill you see on a face of a 3 year old playing.

Thank you to those who send me music & for all of you who make & play music. It’s a gift, never stop touching our hearts & souls!

“Music fills the infinite between two souls”
-Rabindranath Tagore

Do you have a song that takes you back or makes you want your tomorrow TODAY?
I have one … no more than one in English & Italian now …
Italian Song I like … Kiss Me Again!

I knew when I started writing I wanted to inspire people about Italy and my passion for this country but more I wanted to arouse the inner spirit of the people who read it and remind them that everyday is their TODAY & Tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us. If you want something you must seize the moment.

Many people read my blog & send me comments both public & private and this is my inspiration & motivation. Possibly more than I can put into words. I do not have a big family and my heart breaks for this factor but God blessed me with amazing friends who are my family & have seen me through the good & the bad. I love them deeply!

Now the shocker … One day, this past February I received an email from this woman named Susan. It took me several minutes to digest and about an hour of shock BUT this was my cousin whom I have NEVER had a relationship with in my life. We had only met a handful of times & I was young. Once composed, I responded to her email. Since that day, tears, laughter, photos & PERSPECTIVE (which was the post I wrote & posted on her birthday & how she happen to find me) have been shared.

We email & skype like little girls and so many times we are both in awe that we share the same thoughts. All the years we didn’t have together we are making up for TODAY!
Susan was nervous to send me the email she sent. I was nervous to respond but once we let go of the fear & opened our hearts, the greatest gift of all was revealed … LOVE!

Tomorrow Is TODAY … Make the MOST of it!

“Sometimes the love you want & need won’t come from the person who was supposed to give it to you but it comes when you least expect it.” – Author Unknown
… Sometimes, we have to take a chance …

So my posts are normally about the side of me that feels liberated, happy & free here. I typically don’t think you want to read about the things that SUCK! The last time I wrote about something that sucked … WHOA, got really bad feedback & I went into major guilt (colpa) mode. For all of you who don’t know me deep, this is the American Italian Catholic role I have mastered in my life. I say, “American Italian Catholic” because I am not sure IF this guilt is taught here. I am however trying to break this cycle in my life now. Wish me luck (fortuna).

Anyway, while sitting at the sea, alone & watching the waves I realized how HUGE it is that I live in Italy & I get to go to The Mediterranean Sea almost (quasi) everyday. What a gift in my life. For this I am grateful & I feel blessed & then there is the flip side … the huge HOLE I feel in me. The incompleteness. Italy gives you space & when you are alone you have time to think and for me this is a hazard to my health (salute).

So for the 3 hours I sat at the sea I composed a list of 10 things I suck at but there is some good news to this list. There were 11 things but after 3 hours I was able to scratch off skipping stones. I taught myself how to do it & now I don’t suck at that anymore.

I’m thinking maybe there is hope for me in some of these areas but some may take more than 3 hours.

I want it ALL Today & if my Tomorrow is TODAY … Shouldn’t I have this all NOW?

1. I can’t play the piano & I took lessons. Maybe this sucks MORE for my parents because I took every lesson known to man.
2. I never finish anything & I reminded of it ALL the time. Thank you very little.
3. I afraid of being vulnerable. This sucks because we all need people but every time I am I let someone in … well … 
4. I suck at applying make-up. All my girlfriends do it so well & I look like a clown when I do it.  So now I don’t! Yet, I buy the make-up anyway. I never want to miss out on the fun.
5. A cartwheel … TOTALLY Suck! I have never done one because I always feared I would break my neck. Funny how “S”tupid & “S”ucks … both start with “S”.
6. I suck at being patient because I want it ALL now! We may not have tomorrow.
7. I really suck at taking compliments. My first instinct is to dismiss it.
8. I suck at Italian but I am trying yet the few people I know speak English with me. I need an Italian roommate! Throw me into the fire & watch me burn or become fluent.
9. Saying good-bye.  Enough said!
10. Rejection … doing it and or accepting it. We all want to be accepted in this world & we all need a safe place to fall or land.

I think my day is complete. Self reflection – check. Learned to Skip Stones – check. Wrote a new blog post – check. Going for fun … good … love & taking no prisoners … ooooooh watch out Tuscany – check. Tomorrow is definitely TODAY!

The simple things in life get overlooked everyday.  I am reminded of this in my life here all the time & it is something I am embracing like I have never embraced before. It was best said by someone dear (caro) to me when he said, “You are a homeless” … Of course I needed clarification on this statement but the meaning was  … in the translation (traduzione) of the big picture “you need only the simple things”. This shocks the Italians who learn I am from the USA or more California.

There are examples everyday in my life here that probably seem so odd (strano) to many but so BIG to me. Examples (esempi) of how my life is different and sometimes when my eyes view the world I see, I can’t believe what I am seeing is really real. When I drive to Pisa once a week I pass field after field of sunflowers (girasoli) the yellow of the flowers are golden and the honeyed colored flowers are dripping with hues of golden tones that are brighter than I have ever seen & the fields are inviting as if they want to embrace me.

The sea …The Mediterranean Sea … Ahhhh … I have fallen in love! The blues perhaps every hue of blue can be found in a crayon box that is in this sea and when I am there all is good. I’m not sure if it is because of the colors (colore) being brighter than bright or if when I am there & there’s wind (vento) it feels as if the waves  (onde) & the sea are talking to me. I really don’t have the answer to this but there is a magic of this sea & it’s rocks. It has a beauty that you feel deep inside of you. It maybe the history of ancient times resonating from the Egyptians, Romans, Arabians, Armenians, Jewish, Turkish and all the others who make this beautiful Mediterranean area or maybe just a mystery only the sea knows.

Food … do I have to say anything? I love food but here it’s an ongoing love affair. But really I can’t help myself. Prosciutto and figs (fichi) today, the salt that tantalizes my tongue from the prosciutto & makes me crave the sweet of the figs is craziness and the hues of green & purple from the plump figs jump off the plate at me. Each fig as simple as it is, sweet like sugar, gritty & dripping with juice. The freshness is pure, clean and this simple snack is more than fulfilling. Yet in reality, just fruit & cured meat.

All these things are so simple … a sunflower field, the sea, prosciutto & figs. Now I look at them from a different point of view. The colors are brighter (più luminoso) & the picture is bigger. It may have been best said, when I was told, …“You am a homeless” … Such cute spoken Italian words that make me smile, when I think of them.  However,  I like to think it’s living my Tomorrow … TODAY!

A couple days ago I walked to the sea (mare) with a friend of mine & for her, the sight in the photo above was normal but for me it had an impact. iphone out & photo snapped. It wasn’t until I was home and absorbed the quality time she & I spent together and looked at this photo & realized WHY it touched me so much.

I’ll paint the picture for you of where we were & what happened. We were sitting on the rocks (rocce) watching LuccaBella run & play as we discussed the depths of why connecting with people & giving in friendships (amicizie) & relationships (relazioni) & enjoying another person is what life is ALL about when I saw the old woman (probably in her 80’s) sitting in her chair in the sea.
LuccaBella brought it to our attention she had her shoes on (sandals (sandali), for the record) and it was obvious she was having a conversation with the woman in front of her.
My friend & I continued in our own world but I also noticed the two couples sitting on the wall above us drinking glasses of wine & embraced each other’s arms stealing kisses (baci) as they spoke. The sea, love & romance have a way of bringing lovers (amanti) together.
As LuccaBella hopped from rock to rock in the rocks you can see far in the photo, it was time for us to wrap up our girl talk & walk home. As we decided this, The woman sitting on the sand had the same idea & she gently & lovingly helped the old lady from her chair & changed her shoes, packed up their things & carried her chair & other belongings all the while walking arm & arm with her through the sand & up the stairs.
I think of how beautiful my time is at the sea but that day my view was different. It was for a brief moment melted by the affection of lovers, it was deeply touched by friendship and it was imprinted by the beauty of an old woman who was enjoying the sea & the tenderness & love of the woman with her.

It was a great day to appreciate the things around me … Everyday is my Tomorrow that when I stop & look & listen … It’s my TODAY!

This post is dedicated to my friend Federico. I received an email from him telling me I there was a surprise for LuccaBella & I waiting for me in the bar below my home. Some Tuscan candy of some sort, I had no idea what this could be?

In a yellow bag was a bag of chips (not so much candy looking to me) and a note from Federico.

The note read:
“These candies are called ‘BRIGIDINI”. It is a typical Tuscan candy made in Lamporechio, a small town near Florence. You can find them at every country fair in Tuscany and are very typical here. When my Mom was young, she would go to Lamporecchio with my Grandfather to buy these & was always very happy.
I didn’t know the recipe but the base is flour, eggs and the flavoring is anise (I love anise)!
They are delicious and I can eat a package like this one alone in a few minutes.
So enjoy!!
Federico”

After reading this lovely & sweet note BOTH LuccaBella & I were VERY anxious to try these candies OR chips! We opened the bag IMMEDIATELY & I think LuccaBella’s face in the photo tells you exactly what we thought! They are DELICIOUS!!! I will absolutely be buying these when I see them at country fairs here!

After trying these amazing little delicacies as they melted in my mouth. I emailed Federico to thank him & his sweet reply email back said:

“YESSSSSS … I am so happy! Another step to being a real Tuscan girl”!

It is moments like these I am grateful for the kind people I have met here & appreciate the moments! This is when I stop & say, Tomorrow is TODAY! It is not over the BIG things because isn’t it amazing the small things in life can mean so MUCH to someone!

Perhaps TODAY is the day you give a simple candy as a gift to someone … the sweetness may also make there TOMORROW!

What could be better that well planned trip to Tuscany, cruising along after your 3 hour lunch and drinking wonderful Italian wines then to be stopped by and given a DUI. What? A DUI on your perfect VA-CA? You MUST be kidding? NOPE … No Joke!
Here in Italy there are now even stricter driving laws in place. It’s interesting because people I know who come here tell me Italians drive crazy but Italians tell me Americans drive crazy. Since I have perspective on both, I laugh, listen & take it all in!

American side: It’s a one-way street & the Italian is driving in reverse down the street but the car is facing the correct direction … Are they crazy?
American side: There is one lane & there are 2 or 3 cars in the same lane … Are they crazy?

Italian side: I am in the USA & on the same highway I was on, no less than a 1/2 hour later a man was killed by a gun by another driver for taking his car & driving it in front of him (basically cutting the other guy off) … Are they crazy to kill for this?

Listening to both sides & living in both places, I understand both sides of looking at this matter behind the wheel. There is one point I do agree with on the Italian side and that is the drinking & driving laws. In speaking with one law enforcement official here & using his words he said to me, “There is no tolerance for those who drink”.

One of the NEW Stricter Laws here in Italy:

DUI:  Your blood alcohol level cannot test above 0.05 (In my home state CA it’s 0.08) & be prepared to pay up to 2000 euros in fines. If there is an accident, the fines can be greater and your automobile can be impounded for 180 days. Depending on your blood alcohol level your license can also be suspended up to 2 years.
More New Laws on Italy re: DUI’s, Drugs, Speed Limits, Scooters & Bicycles

So when you are here for your vacation please relax, enjoy & have a great time and know that you may see a car traveling the wrong way down the one way street or you may share your one lane with 2 or 3 other cars BUT know sharing is caring in this boot of a country. Just don’t drink & drive because your Tomorrow in Italy could get a little more complicated & when you are here we want it to be FANTASTICO!

BAC Calculator Note, for me & my body weight this means if I am driving a 1/2 of drink MAX or NO drinking when I am out & behind the wheel!

For over a week the anticipation had been building inside of me to be able to see the riders speed by me here in Livorno, Italy for Giro d’Italia! This was an event that has been anticipated and most people have been excited about as cycling is a very popular sport here in Italy.

Giro d’Italia is a 21-day race (or stages) in May & June that happens before the Tour de France in July. The very first Giro d’Italia took place in 1909 and was won by a rider named Luigi Ganna. The race has only been suspended two times for World Wars I and II. Note, back in 1909 when rider Luigi Ganna won this race there were only 8 stages & now in 2011 there are 21 stages. What a difference several decades can make! Yes, an American has won the Giro d’Italia & it was NOT Lance Armstrong. The racer was Andrew Hampsten & he won it in 1988.

It was May 5th 2011 the Third Stage and a normal race day. The day before the riders were to arrive in Livorno when Shock & Tragedy struck Giro d’Italia! Rider Wouter Weylandt of Belgian died from falling and crashing in Passo del Bocco in Genova. He was only 26 years old. Last year in 2010 Weylandt won the Third Stage of the Giro d’Italia.

In respect for Wouter Weylandt  & his family the riders started like normal as they have in the past but for the Fourth Stage there was no race. The riders rode at a much slower pace and together in unity. Starting together and finishing together!

I was at the finish line and I watched the riders cross together, somber faces and some with tears streaming from their eyes.

Giro d’Italia takes place once a year; it is an event that these riders train for with passion & determination. One rider lost his life doing what he loved, living his passion, and living in his moment. He will always be remembered for being a spirit of life & championship! Living his tomorrow … TODAY!
RIP Wouter Weylandt.

Photos of the Day & Riders SEE: Livorno TODAY

Terms of endearment & the human touch mean so much and Italians seem to understand this concept better than any other culture I have been around or ever been immersed in. The words are tender hugs between acquaintances and ways of expressing affection, friendship & yes of course, even attraction.

Today I am writing this post from one of my favorite bars. When I entered I was welcomed with a "Ciao bella bionda" (Hi beautiful blonde) and after I took my cappuccino & brioche the barman rattled something off in Italian to me ending with a "cara (dear) & a wink". I know I am always taken care of here and my 2 euro breakfast was delicious!

On a daily basis it is normal to hear, bella/0, cara/o, tresoro, amore & a few others. 

I mentioned these words were tender hugs someway without touching but here in Italy touch is essential! Kisses are everywhere from cheek to check, women & men hold hands or touch & it's not big thing! Its not a sexual thing or doesn’t have to be. There is connection of the human spirit, sharing & caring.

Babies are born and they thrive & survive only with human touch however as we get older we seem to forget how critical that element is how the chemistry of human touch, connection & sharing with our fellow people is critical for life.

My wish today is that you will be able to reach out & sincerely shake a hand, hug a person or use a term of endearment you prefer because if you wait for Someday to show your affection ... You might miss out on your opportunity!
Today is your Someday ... Make it happen & from Italy a Kiss & a Hug!

 “We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
- E.E. Cummings