la bella vita.

a song to set the scene // heaven can wait by dean martin

If there’s one thing I learned about the Italians it’s that they love to eat.

And if there’s one thing I know about my gem is that he lives to eat.

Me? I too love to eat.

And drink.

And shop.

And travel.

Lucky for us, Italy provided.

My gem and I just returned from the most magical trip to Italy.

As questions pour in about our vacation: how was it? what did you do? what was your favorite part? I look down at my still tanned Amalfi arms and smile.

Where does one start?

I could look through the thousand photos I took and point out the highlights: the Napoli Sottereana, pizza in the piazza, charcuterie in the streets, visiting Pompei, pasta at the Spaghetti House (mama Mia the pasta!), Monte Solaro, Blue Grotto, espresso con pannas at Andrea Pansa, walking through the film set of The Equalizer 3, the beauty of Positano, or the day spent sunning on the beach in Atrani.

Gosh, I didn’t realize how many memories were tied to food. What did I say earlier? Ah yes. “The Italians love to eat.”

I could also choose to glaze over the not so pretty stuff, but those are the stories that make for the most entertainment later. Like:

Walking through “Cat Piss Alley”, coughing up 40 euros for a glass of rose (damn that view was almost worth it though), almost getting hit by taxi, not realizing you had to press STOP on the bus, therefore missing our stop. Oh, and let’s not forget showing up to our dinner reservation only to find that the restaurant had closed the week before.. and somehow neglected to inform us.

But, like most things in life, the stuff that sticks out are the moments in between. They’re the fractions of a second I chose to close my eyes and hold on to that feeling for just a little longer.

They always say “time flies when you’re having fun”, and I felt that, deeply. There were moments in which I felt time was just fleeting; like, is this even real?

It was so magical, so dreamlike.

The food, the drink, the views, but especially the company.

There’s one distinct memory I have, where I felt that I had truly died and gone to heaven.

My gem and I were on our private boat tour of Capri. After the brief but thrilling visit to the Blue Grotto, where we were lucky enough to have the whole cave to ourselves, we laid down at the front of the Italian gozzo boat to enjoy the rest of the ride.

I was laying between his legs, the last hint of the Italian sea sun gracing me with warmth, and my gem started to give me a massage.

With the careful caress of the sea rocking me to relaxation, and his hands working magic on my shoulders, I closed my eyes, forgot everything else in the world, and just smiled.

My gem looked down at me, at the tears of joy pooling around my eyes, and knew exactly what I was doing.

“Holding on to the moment?” he asked.

I nodded, smile spreading.

I was so happy. I felt so lucky. To be here, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, with my love, on the breathtaking Amalfi Coast. It was like a scene out of a movie, and it felt so unreal that the only way I could believe it to be true was to just close my eyes and soak it in.

This is happening. This is real.

La bella vita.

To answer everyone’s question, and to answer my own, my favorite parts of the trip were in those moments, in the times I closed my eyes.

Because the thing is: I can revisit those memories, anytime, anywhere.

Every time I close my eyes, I can go back to St. Andrew’s Square and melt as I take another bite of octopus confit.

Every time I close my eyes, I can revisit Andrea Pansa and soften as the house-made Chantilly whip cream in my espresso con panna bring about feelings of love I have never felt towards coffee before.

Every time I close my eyes, I can be back on the beach in the sea-side village of Atrani. There we are, walking along the sand picking up sea tiles and glass before diving into the warmest, clear, sparkling ocean.

Every time I close my eyes, I can toast to my gem and revel in the moment in which we made it: here, and now.

Despite the struggles it took to get there, despite the painful moments of growth in our relationship, and our continued walks through Cat Piss Alley, my gem and I were truly the luckiest: in love, and living la bella vita.

And I can go back there: anytime, anywhere.

All I have to do is close my eyes.