is Italy a real place?

To me, no. It's a fairytale. Someone with an expansive imagination created Italy I'm sure of it. Sorry, I'm being annoying, but the way Italy makes me feel? Physically this past weekend, I was walking the streets of Rimini, Santarcangelo, and Cesena, but mentally? I was in the 15th century, sporting my most lavish gowns, descending the steps of my stone lodgings, into the arms of my forbidden prince, Luigi. I never knew a place, a physical place, could make me feel so many emotions? I found myself smiling stupidly, looking upwards, trying to savor every second.

We arrived (my host family and I) on Friday night, after a rather stressful day of travel given the ever-present threat of corona. After driving an hour from the Bologna airport, we arrived to our air bnb in Rimini. As the sun was setting I was in awe. From the side patio, I

could see every surrounding town and the Adriatic sea as we were perched on a hill. I could differentiate at least five different colors exploding from the setting sun, each distinct and yet melting with the other colors.

I ate an incredible prosciutto and pesto pizza then proceeded to toss and turn all night in the blistering heat, which culminated in my waking at 6 am. To which I said, eff it! And went for a nice morning swim.

This was pretty much what I did for a solid four days. I woke up ridiculously early, enjoyed my coffee alone or with my child occasionally. I swam and read in the already sweltering heat even in the early morning. As mentioned in previous posts, I am in love with Libby, a library app in which you can have six books on your shelf. So yes, I came to Italy locked and loaded with six books, ready to devour. I was so content to sit by the pool, tan, and read. I'm currently reading Scythe, which is about a world sans government!

Amid the tanning, swimming, and reading, there was a lot of eating. It's Italy, duh. We ate out for every single lunch and dinner and my god am I grateful. What's interesting about eating out in Italy is the sheer amount they think I can eat. Usually at a restaurant, you choose a first plate which is pasta and a second which is meats. We made the mistake one night of ordering too much and after 6 plates of pasta, we could hardly touch the 3 portions of meat that we hilariously thought we could tackle. That was the only time we made that mistake, the other times we ate out we were able to absolutely smash the portions given to us. As a foreigner I was more than happy with this culture of multiple plates and varying portions as I had the opportunity to try practically everything.

We walked a bit and explored the beaches of Rimini, the shopping of Santarcangelo, and the alleys of Cesena. There's something about Italian alleys that just makes you want to fall in love. Just me? I hope to never forget the way Italy makes me feel and although it was not my first trip there, it will not be my last. Who knows, maybe I'll become an au pair in Italy next.