Moments

* It should be noted that when I sat down to write for today it was actually April 30th, the clock just rolled past midnight before I could finish.  I didn't skip!*

When I feel totally stuck at my laptop, I turn to my pictures.  And it seems that now that we're no longer living there, I find myself often thinking about Italy.  It's not so much the country, but our experiences there.  Our Italy.  These are some of the best parts of our life there, my favorite moments.

Gondoliers

Venice

Walking around a sinking city in the summertime and turning toward the sound of whistling.  Seeing these two gondoliers, strolling side-by-side down a narrow street.  Perhaps their shifts are over.  Maybe it's lunch.

The Coliseum

Rome

The Coliseum at night, from a symposium of some sort up the road.  We only walked up the concrete steps for the view.

The Tower from a Rooftop

Pisa

Climbing up to the roof of a major hotel near the Leaning Tower for a different view of the Plaza of Miracles during the high school's Prom.

Carnevale in Viareggio

Crazy parades and their wild floats that include up-the-dress access and giant cherubs that pee on the crowd.

Sunflowers. Fields and fields.

The fashion.

Creepy homemade scarecrows 

Seeing Andrea Boccelli in concert in his home town.

Lo Squalo's fabulous tiramisu.  The best tiramisu.  Ever.   

Vendors. 

But more specifically, the cool vendors who actually talked to me, laughed with me, and shared a little bit about their stories.  His vendor name was Paul, and I met him at the Saturday Pisa market.  One guy I wish I'd gotten a photo of, Guy.  I knew him from Tirrenia's summer vendor spread, and he sold "African" trinkets, baskets, and the like.  He's from Senegal and travels a circuit around Europe every year, before returning home before the next season.  He called me his white sister.

The boats and the Mediterranean Sea and the air.

Happiness.  Joy.  Love.

While visiting Cinque Terre, we walked into a crowd that had gathered beneath this balcony.  The new bride and groom threw candy to the people below, basket after basket, and the people cheered, grabbed for the sweets, and shouted well-wishes to the happy couple.

These things are what I miss and what I hold dear about living in that place.  I hope I'll always be able to return.