Sitting outside the bar across from the Palace yesterday I got to witness the aftermath of an Italian wedding. It was beautiful. Every detail, every passerby offered a smile and a wink. They couldn’t hold in their approval. Each person seemed to have a memory of a similar time in their own life. Whether they’d been married 50 years or not at all, there was a general consensus that this was good. To have a wedding, a marriage. Everyone was happy. People were coming in and out of the bar getting espressos to keep their spirits high (or maybe an Irish coffee?… something with a kick to it.) Every man that walked in was wearing a perfectly tailored Italian suit, many of them sporting Ray Bans, in typical Italian fashion. Some had children lagging behind them. A girl in a white dress, a flower girl, was holding a bouquet. She raised it over her head then blushed as an Italian woman stopped to admire her and say “Bella ragazza”. (Beautiful girl). Tall, dark Italian women wore their hair in tight buns atop their heads or loose to frame their face. Their dresses were simple but elegant, accenting their slender builds. The Italian language was the best part. Already beautiful, it came alive with the inflection, tone, and the general air that happiness brings. Old men with beards offered kisses and smiles in the customary way of greeting. An old romantic European car pulled up to the church, the bride and groom came out, her beaming, him laughing. Everyone was taking pictures. My heart was happy.
It’s times like these when I get to sit with my espresso or caffe’ americano in the morning outside the bar when I soak in the most. It’s hearing the Italian words, feeling the breeze from the Mediterranean, watching the old men live life slowly without care, seeing how the women walk with an effortless air of elegance. How they embody a high-end minimalist persona.  It’s watching the way they eat: slow, relishing every bite, and making an importance out of everything they put in their mouths. Why don’t we all take a lesson from the Italian way and go slow, cherish the things that matter, cut out the excess?
Ciao.
Caroline