Assisi In The Month Of May...

il 2 giugno, 2014

Flying Home From Italia

With each trip to Assisi comes the question...will this one be my last? How many visits  to this medieval town in Umbria do I need? How much pasta do I really want to consume? How much gelato is healthy for me? And then there is the red wine, the olive oil, the cappuccino every morning along with a cornetto, warm and flaky and filled with cream....how much is enough? As I sit on a plane now headed home, I know with the certainty I have each time I pose these questions that these visits have become a part of who I am...that being in Italy brings me joy and a sense of well-being and feeds my need to live my life with gusto and fullness for as long as I am able.

I've written many times about my adventures in Assisi....the people who have become dear friends, the history that continues to intrigue me, the absolute beauty of the countryside with its rolling hills and variegated trees and shrubbery. My time spent there enriches me and I always feel a better person after each stay. The streets are familiar, the sense of safety and comfort ever present, and with every person I meet comes warmth and graciousness and an opportunity to give back some of that which I have been so generously given....and so it goes.

This past month has been a collage of emotions, events, and experiences. The weather was "brutto" - a lot of cold, a lot of rain, a lot of wind, and having left all of my warm clothes at home, clearly forgetting that maggio in Umbria requires preparation for every season, my first few days were spent shopping- boots, a sweater, and warm socks; not to mention the purchase of scarves and t-shirts that have become my everyday wardrobe wherever I am in the world.

There were many exciting and joyous moments on this trip beginning with the yearly medieval festival of Calendimaggio where the competitive spirit between Sopra and Sotto, the upper and lower parts of town, reigns supreme. The week after those festivities, I was privileged to attend the wedding of the daughter (and granddaughter) of lovely friends (il nonno Mario at 92 years of age is my most cherished treasure in Assisi.) Eleonora and Lorenzo (la sposa ed il sposo) were radiant and their happiness and beauty permeated la Chiesa di San Pietro and continued on throughout the grand "cena" in an equally grand villa outside of Perugia.

Lots of time was spent with friends....talking, sharing, laughing, and just living the moment which is Assisi's greatest gift to me...a chance to just be. These last couple of weeks, I had a firsthand experience "working" alongside la mia amica Franca, who has a charming garden restaurant in town (www.lafontanelladiassisi.blogspot.com). I watched her cook, I ate her food...and a lot of it....and "played waitress" when it was needed....a delightful way to meet all sorts of people, share stories, and take pride in Franca's cooking! Now, the test for me will be whether I can come close to duplicating her tiramisu. I watched the preparation closely and took detailed notes, and look forward to somewhat impressing my friends at home with my newly acquired knowledge.

So, as another one of my sojourns in Italia comes to an end, I return home fulfilled and with a smile, a renewed determination to keep practicing my Italian...and perhaps a pound or two to shed....