Reflections

Graeta has turned out to be pretty interesting.  I have hit that fine line between feeling like I am on vacation and coming to the realization that this is my new lifestyle.  It has been a week and a half, and it’s all starting to settle in.  It’s that time at the end of the vacation where you are ready to get back into your normal routine.  Doing things like clipping your nails or doing laundry, mundane things like that that you never actually think about on vacation because you are too preoccupied with having to see everything and having fun regardless of what happens.  Spending almost every waking hour with the family member or friends you are there with to experience things with them and to form memories from that.  This is the point when I realize I need alone time.

I am sitting at an outdoor café having a cappuccino and watching Gaeta go by.  My original idea was to go off on my own today.  Due to propeller/docking line issues we decided to delay our trip to Procida today and stay in town.  I was going to take this as an opportunity to explore the town, and find some alone time.  Time to catch up on the blog, time to sit and wrap my brain around everything around me.  This isn’t a tourist city.  This is a city with a port that was in roughly the right spot to stop for the evening. 

I started by exploring alone and was in search for a café near the port, but didn’t come up with much luck.  I wanted a place I could get something and just sit undisturbed.  So I ended up walking down what turned out to be one of the main streets of everyday marketing and shopping in Gaeta.  All walks of people were walking up and down the street picking out fresh produce, visiting one of the multiple butchers, and taking a stroll window shopping.  The alleys that branched off of this main drag were the sights and smells of Italy.

Quaint apartment homes each with its unique door and balcony reflective of the individual that dwells inside.  The colors of potted plants (some alive some plastic), painted doors, and curtains that were the separation from the world outside while the doors and windows were open to let fresh air in were all visually stimulating.  When you look down one of the alleys you see single chairs with the home’s occupant sitting outside reading the morning’s paper or just watching the world go by.  The smell of freshly washed clothes lingers in the air along with whatever culinary masterpiece was being prepared for lunch.  In Italy, and most everywhere but America I think, businesses close at around 1pm and don’t reopen until 3 or 4pm.  This is the time people go home and eat lunch as a family and take an afternoon nap.  Europeans know how to do things right.  The sounds of afternoon soap operas and conversations in Italian echo down the alley creating a truly sensory experience.  It was this walk of peace when it hit me that this is where I live now.  This is what I will be experiencing in various ways throughout possibly the next year.

One of the alley ways.  Its so inviting. 

 I already find myself stopping to try and take everything in, and it’s impossible.  If I learn anything from Italy, it is that everything is meant to be enjoyed and that life is too short to rush things.  When you rush to one castle or one monument you may miss another that is ten times more spectacular and special than the one you seek.  My brother taught me to take my time and wander around and so far that has been one of the most enjoyable things I have done.  The tourist sites are amazing of course otherwise they wouldn’t be so popular, but as I have said before it’s the everyday life and sites that are really meant to be enjoyed and treasured by this experience.