Inspired by Italy to...

• make fresh pasta
• take picnics
• enjoy leisure time
• walk arm-in-arm with friends
• be more stylish ... own a few nice pieces of clothing and shoes, not a bunch of cheap things
• bake bread
• spend less time sitting at a computer
• explore Cincinnati
• travel more with DP
• find ways to connect with more international visitors in Cincinnati
• live in the moment; don't dwell
• savor meals, whether alone or with others
• eat simply; out of the garden, not from a box
• bake Roman biscotti
• wander

I had the great fortune of accompanying a group of UC students to Florence and Rome during spring break. I made this list during one of my last days in Italy, wanting to remember the ways in which I was inspired by my brief visit and knowing how difficult it would be to actually incorporate any one of these changes in my daily routine in the States.

Maybe you noticed that this is one of the only posts I've made that doesn't include a picture. There's a very specific reason for this: I didn't take a camera to Italy. DP and I have plenty of pictures from our travels in 1998, and I didn't think I could add much more to our collection. Plus, I have a love/hate relationship with cameras, especially while traveling. I often find that the need to take the perfect shot gets in my way of actually enjoying the moment, so I prefer to take mental snapshots. (Yes, there were definitely times I wished that I had a camera, but when I felt sad about it, I just bought some gelato. Problem solved!)