What is it about Italy that makes this Celtic-heritage redhead eager to spend precious travel time there?
Roll the romance language off your tongue. Buon giorno, buena sera, prego, grazie.ā¦ These words evoke timeless romance and let you be kind through your journey.Ā
Maybe It’s the Italian Riviera Food
Is the attraction the light, melt-in-your-mouth, oh-so delicate pasta and elegant ravioli or tortellini? Perhaps it is the fresh salads and aromatic herbs tantalizing your tongue. Or the clarity of the wines and boldness of their satisfying flavors.
Pointing at a menu, you stumble out an American version of the name. Although you misinterpret the accent, the Italians nod in understanding.
Savor the length of time youāre given to eat your lunch or supper.Ā
Could the Enchantment Come from Simple Italian Riviera Togetherness
Maybe it is the bright smiles from a wide age range of locals?
You pull out a map and indicate the street youāre trying to find and a passerby helps you along.
The curt American habit of asking an employee where the something is disappears as you wander through Italian stores. In Italy, people welcome you uttering a greeting that matches the time of day. You learn to respond in kind and venture out a polite, āEnglish?ā Only then do you move forward with your question. You are connected in a encounter with a person you may never see again. How vital that one-on-one moment is in this day of divisiveness.
At times locals can look overwhelmed and seriousālikely wondering what the tourists are doing there. If you make eye contact and volunteer a smile, youāll receive a broad grin in response. Isnāt it great that a universally known gesture is a smile?
Maybe itās the Crystal Clear Riviera ViewsĀ
The coastline stretching from Genoa to La Spezia is gorgeous.
Italian Riviera lands captivate your vision and retain little pieces of your soul long after you leave. The fresh air from the Ligurian Sea fills your nose with crisp, salty aromas. Sea air brushes hints of the conjoining Tyrrhenian, and farther away, Mediterranean Seas against your skin.
Italian Architecture is Enchanting
For this architecture-lover, the churches draw me ināevery time, in every town.
I wander in awe, light a candle for those lost from me, sit and pray for friends facing struggles. Closing my eyes, I ponder the people who have worshiped here for hundreds of years.
Say Yes to Traveling the Italian Riviera
Italyāthe food, the people, the age-old structuresāis a complex country best enjoyed simply.
Observe people taking pleasure in life. They are living their daily routines with delight while, maybe, you have to be on holiday to do so. Marvel in the rigid trail you’re hiking could-have-been, built by Romans as they traversed the heavy woods.
This country, younger in its unification than America, is best taken in wholeheartedly. Embrace the Italian Riviera. Relax into the pace, and let the myriad parts of Italy seep into you. Youāll sense stress disappearing. Life becomes, experienced in the moment youāre living it.
Italy entices you. Communication and community between people comes from seeing each other when the words between us differ.Ā
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What a beautiful place, it looks perfect.
The architecture seems to be breathtaking, and so is the view.
Thanks for sharing this with us, and I look forward to more posts about your trip.
Glad you are enjoying Italy with us, William! I have a suit of armor picture to include somewhere!
Oh I am so jealous. I was supposed to go to Italy in January last year while travelling around Europe but unfortunately an unexpected turn of events saw me cancelling the last leg of my trip, which was in Italy. I am glad I got to have a little taste of it though through this post.
Drat, Emily! I hope that you have the opportunity to go to Italy and stay for a long time. It is so incredible.
Beautiful descriptions and photos as always Rose and I can’t wait for the day when I get to explore some of Italy! You’ll be with me in spirit.
Thanks, Jamie! I’m eager for when you get there as well. Italy is waiting for you!
Now I really want to go to Italy. You make it sound so relaxing. My mother did a semester in Italy while in college. Her childhood best friend did that same program and still lives there to this day. She’s invited me to come stay in her guest home, but I’ve never done it. But this makes it seem very tempting.
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, Erica! Take advantage of that offer and get to Italy! Which region is she in? I love that your mom maintained that connection. That’s wonderful.
Being of Italian heritage, I love all things Italian. I’ve been to Italy several times but not in many years, the last time with my beloved late husband. I’d love to return…someday.
Jeannette, the heritage connection is great and I’m glad to hear that you’ve been there many times. I’m glad that you got to share such a great trip with your husband and will say a prayer that you get to go back. Soon.
Italy looks like a beautiful country. I am yet to visit and taste the rich cuisine!. The photographs of the Italian Riviera and church are equally beautiful – you have captured their beauty.
Thank you for the photograph compliment, Phoenicia. I passed that along to my husband since he takes 90% of them for me. It’s so gorgeous–pop on over the channel (and okay, a couple of other countries) and check it out. Lovely.
Your descriptions pretty well captures the feeling of Italy. It provides an energy but one that gives you a sense of being at peace.
Well said, Ken. I missed not seeing Milan this time, but we sure filled up the trip with other special places.
Rose Mary – instead of calling your travel posts ‘Musings from a redhead’, you should call it Rose Mary’s Travels – Making friends around the world. I love how you focus first on the people of the countries you visit and then on the scenery, architecture and food. Sounds like another successful trip for you.
Lenie, that is so sweet of you to say! I do love meeting new people and learning about their lives–we’re all so different and we’re all the same. It amazes me every time. It was a successful trip, to be sure! Lots more pics coming.
I absolutely LOVE Italy! Well, everything except the taxi drivers. Anyway, incredible history, food and on my first trip there I fulfilled the dream of a lifetime when we visited Pompeii. Amazing! I met Omar Sharif there – we were having a drink at the bar and he sat next to me and winked at me! Oh yes, thanks for bringing back some pretty great memories RoseMary. š
Oh gosh, Omar Sharif! Really, Marquita? What an incredibly fun thing to have happen. He was always a favorite of mine. Pompeii? Had to be amazing. Our friends there keep insisting that the next trip has to be Rome and Sicily. Okay by me!
Beautiful description of the spirit of Italy. It sounds wonderful to enjoy it simply. Relaxing into the pace and feeling seeing each other is a good way to be anywhere!
Thanks, Donna. I feel so much more able to be in the moment when I’m in Italy and in Wales–there’s something about those cultures that really gets into me. I’m sure other places do, too, I just haven’t discovered them yet!
I, too, love Italy, Rose. The food, wine, great chocolate, friendly people, and breathtaking vistas are just a few of the reasons.
You named them all, Doreen. Put the chocolate with the wine while visiting with people and staring at the view–tada! Perfection!
I would love to explore Italy one of these days and take in a country that enjoys just being more than America tends to, not to mention the food alone!
“Just being,” is a good way to say it, Jeri. We crazy, rushed American folk could truly learn a thing or two about living in the moment if we really let time in Italy seep into us. You WILL get there!
Hi Rose Mary, I feel the Italian Riviera calling me. It looks so beautiful and restful! My father’s family came from Calabria and now I want to go more than ever! Stacey
Stacey, I urge everyone who feels that Italy-pull to indulge in it and check it out. It is a beautiful country with a rich cultural history, butt-kicking hiking trails and food…well, oh YUM! Let me know if you go and check out the Calabria area.