La Dolce Vida...

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Tuesday July 7th 2008: We got up early in Florence (Firenze) and caught our train to Rome. It took us about five hours to get to our destination. Our train cabin reminded me of the old movies where you have six seats in a cabin, facing each other, with a sliding door that opened and closed. We met a young couple ( in their early 30's) that were traveling to Rome for a couple of days. They were newlyweds. They spoke a little English and we had a nice visit with them. Bertha always seems to initiate the conversations. It always seems that we ask all the questions but never get any questions asked of us. I think what I have learned most from our travels and from this couple is that Italians are very content. There is no way to say this without sounding condescending, but for them, they find their niche in life and they work very hard at what they do, and they are very good at what they do, but it doesnt seem that they have any long term goals. Their families and friends seem to be the most important things in their lives, as well they should be, but they do not aspire to live lavishly or with any flamboyance. For them taking a three hour lunch from 1-3 pm everyday is not a waste of time, they still work 40 hour weeks, they just work longer days. Americans, on the other hand, work through our lunch hours or are OK with a 40 minute lunch. The pacing in Italy is not so hectic, unless you choose to live in their big cities, not unlike city life here. Italy has beautiful scenery and a rich history and it seems that most that live there are content with a modest residence or farm a small Fiat and a bicycle. To be surrounded by family with a plate a pasta, a glass of vino, a loaf of bread followed by a gelato would make the perfect ending of the day, for most Italians, or what they would refer to a la dolche vida.

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