Be astonished

““Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.”-

Mary Oliver

I don’t know that there is anything better than vacationing in Italy. Italians really, really care about beauty and meals. They serve coffees in beautiful glass cups instead of paper ones. Tile mosaics cover the corners of their buildings. They serve you pasta as a starter course and finish off every meal with an apertif like lemonicello. You never need a reason to have gelato in Italy. Every afternoon we dined on nutella, pistachio or lemon gelato and wandered around listening and absorbing all the beauty that we possibly could stomach. You drink wine and snack on quality aged cheese, not out of desperation or craving but from a fullness that only comes from being overwhelmed by all the beauty around you. Quality is high and over consumption is low. You do not need lots of something that is really truly good. I love this way of living. I love the way Italians value their lives enough to only allow themselves to consume foods, wines and views of the highest quality. In the US we have settled for busy, fast cheap food and Lean Cuisines. I never want convenience to triumph over beauty in my life. I want to use china plates for dinners instead of paper ones, drink good red wine at night, and tile the corners of my house that people may never ever seen or even notice, just because life is short and I do not want to rush through it.

^^ the view from the Grand Hotel di Covento in Amalfi

^^ The old convent in the middle of our hotel. I mean is this not absolutely drop dead gorgeous?! I could not even believe it. You can even have your wedding here!

       ^ After Amalfi we took a ferry over to Capri and stayed there for 2 nights. I absolutely Loved Capri. We stayed at the Grand Hotel Quisisana in the middle of the town which was beyond gorgeous.

^^ The Grand Hotel Quisisana in Capri

^^ The reading room from inside the Grand Hotel Quisisiana – I mean how gorgeous is this?!

More all about Capri up soon! 🙂