Monday, June 25, 2007

Paradise...

I have just returned from my third annual trip to paradise…er…Positano. It gets harder to leave each time. I wish I could just pack up my belongings and move there. Yes, I know it’s not perfect, and reality would be different than I imagine – I read Nicki’s blog every day - but please allow me to live in my little fantasy world…


This year:

  • I traveled with two of my best friends. One has been with me each time I’ve been to Positano, and the other experienced her first trip to Italy.
  • Said friends had never met each other before, and got along famously.
  • I finally met Nicki! Unfortunately, we were only able to chat twice for a few minutes each time, but we shall rectify that the next time I’m there.
  • I resolved an ongoing “issue” I had with one of the locals. We had a great time hanging out together after the issue was resolved, but now I miss this person terribly!
  • Strangely enough, I did not drink a great deal of wine, but what wine I did have was delicious...and from the Campania region.
  • I swam in the beautiful water of the Tyrrhenian Sea, spent entirely too much money in Sorrento, saw Amalfi for the first time, and took in the beauty of Capri for the second time.
  • I bought an unbelievable amount of candy. I'm not much of a candy eater, but the fact that it's Italian candy and I won't see it again for a year makes me go a little crazy!
  • I witnessed the annual Saint Vito festival for the second year in a row. I am constantly in awe of how Italians celebrate things...so very different than life in the states...
  • One morning I spent hours just wandering the streets of Positano by myself, and I felt more comfortable, more at peace, more at home than I have ever felt before. I felt like I was "home". I know some of you understand exactly what I mean.
  • Since I couldn't carry-on bottles of limoncello, due to the new safety rules, I packed several bottles very carefully. All of them survived the trip home.
  • I managed to hold back the tears until I was safely alone at home, locked in the bathroom so my husband wouldn't see.
  • Within 48 hours, I was planning next year's trip...

  • 15 comments:

    Michelle | Bleeding Espresso said...

    Yeah! A new blog! And another trip to Italy! Sounds like a great plan to me--auguri!!!

    nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

    I know exactly what you mean. It's hard to leave. :(

    Kathy said...

    Sognatrice - yes, planning a new trip helps alleviate some of the sadness! On the way back to the airport, our driver said it perfectly, "It's not the end of a vacation, it's the beginning of a new one!"

    NYC - I am so grateful for people like you who understand what I mean!

    Anonymous said...

    You have just validated my feelings of sadness since I came back from Italy. To be exact, back from visiting family in Sicily who I had not seen in 32 yrs. and a stay of a couple of days in Rome.

    I feel as if I left things unfinished, in process, in suspense... Is this a normal feeling? Does that explain why so many travelers go back twice a year or at least once a year?

    There are so many feelings surfacing that it's hard to explain.
    We all know that life isn't perfect there, but what is it that pulls people to go back....

    I'm going to enjoy reading your blog along with some of my favorites. I don't blog myself, but who know I might get inspired one of these days.

    From a 50+ Sicilian born female.

    Kathy said...

    Carole, nice to meet you!

    Yes, that's it, I feel like things are unfinished! You described my feeling perfectly. I don't know if it's a "normal" feeling, but it gets more painful each year.

    I like your question...what is it that makes people go back? I'm not sure if I can put it into words, but I am drawn there, it pulls me, it's almost as if I have no choice but to go. Hmmmm...I'll have to ponder this.

    I look forward to talking to you more!

    Anonymous said...

    I feel your Joy and Pain...

    whats stopping you from just moving there !? like Sognatrice...

    Bacini

    Arantxa (a.k.a.) Calabrisella

    Anonymous said...

    Nice meeting you too Kathy. Grazie for allowing me to vent my feelings.
    If that question were meant for me, (why not move there) I would say, it's hard to leave my kids and future grandchildren.

    But, on the other hand, I would be giving them the opportunity of a lifetime by visiting me and learning la lingua italiana.

    Chi sa' che porta il futuro. Who knows!

    Kathy said...

    Calabrisella - I would love to move there! The only thing stopping me (well, besides the paperwork, which I'm sure would be quite the ordeal) is my husband. He does not like to travel. He has only now, after 3 years of me asking, agreed to visit Italy sometime. I think if I could get him there, he might fall in love with it also...but I don't know if he would ever want to move.

    Carole - vent all you like! I could talk about Italy all day long, and it's nice to talk to someone who feels the same way. I think it would be great for you to move there and have your family visit you once or twice a year!

    Anonymous said...

    My husband who's also Sicilian descent (his father emigrated to the States in 1921 and never went back) fell in love with Italy on this recent trip we took. I've been asking him for years to go and resisted, but now he's also hooked. But, I'm not sure about moving there:(

    So, it's a matter of time for your husband to find out the secret.

    I would love to go to Positano and meet Nikki like you did and Annika from Sweden and of course, "Sognatrice".

    I met Shelley in Rome because I stayed in her Trastevere apartment, which BTW I highly recommend.

    Scusami for all the rambling....

    A presto

    Kathy said...

    I'm looking forward to meeting both Annika and Sognatrice, hopefully sometime in the near future! I've seen Shelley in Rome's posts, but I've never really spoken to her - I must go visit her blog.

    Ramble all you like! And feel free to email me if you want, my email is in my profile.

    Where do you live now?

    Annika said...

    Oh I know all too well what you mean... I'm happy to have experienced Italy with my husband, he liked it but also made it very clear that he can't see himself living there, ever. I think he understood my feelings a little better though. I don't know if he saw how peaceful, happy and *just right* I felt there, compared to here, but he totally understands that I'm going back next year.

    Kathy said...

    Annika, that's what I'm hoping for with my husband - that he can better understand how I feel about it.

    At first, I think my husband thought I would go to Italy once, maybe twice, and be done. Now he realizes that I have to keep going back, and luckily, he doesn't even try to talk me out of it!

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Kathy & lady bloggers
    l now exactly what you mean about Italy. l was living in Positano with my local boyfriend last year and the year before that l was living in Amalfi. When l first went there l fell in love with the place and after a few extended trips back l decided to live there. l was going to go back again this year to Positano but decided not to (few dramas with ex). It has been so hard to let the dream of living there go!
    l must say though whilst it seems great to dream in reality it can be quite different to live there after a while. Italy is so alluring l think because it puts us in touch with our hearts.

    nikinpos said...

    Hi everyone!
    Maybe we should organise a big gtg in Positano!

    Kathy said...

    Great idea Nicki!!!!