Countdown

I truly do not want to think about it, but I know that every day that goes by brings me closer to the moment when we'll have to leave Italy. Well, that is if everything goes according to plan... What plan?
I am talking about the three year contract that brought us here in the first place! We are starting our third year and I can't help myself but to think of all the things that I am not going to see or enjoy in a year's time.

We have a fig tree, having a fig tree in your property just screams ITALIAN, doesn't it? This has been a great year for figs, sweet and plump but not too watery. This is my last fig season in Italy. I am eating a lot of them... I want to remember their texture and flavor, their milky traces on my fingers, their wonderful color.

We have several chestnut trees in the yard. The chestnuts are all ready to star falling fast from their little cocoons and into our (by now) expert hands. I am ready to spend many a night by the fire roasting, peeling, and enjoying the little sweets. Chestnuts and Vino Novello, I am ready for you. Then again, I am not ready to let go. This would be my last chestnut season in Italy.

I am living the moment, enjoying the flavors, breathing the crisp air. Love is a funny thing, it sneaks into your heart when you are not looking... I love my Italy (winters and all.)

But my Italy is not only a place, it is also the wonderful people we know. I love my friends here, I love the way they think, I love their humor and knowledge, their kindness and generosity. I want to keep them close... I am not ready to say goodbye. Not today, nor tomorrow, nor in a year.


A glimpse of my Italy. Dinner with dear friends at Pien's.