We’ve spent so much time in the city and touristy coastal areas, that I’ve been craving to get back to the simple life in the country.
For one of our first experience that made me happy, we went shopping at a tiny grocery store in the middle of nowhere in the Tuscan hills (actually it was just across the border of Tuscany into Emilia-Romagna, but Tuscan hills reads better). The woman working there was awesome, she spoke no English and we spoke only about 5 words of Italian, but she helped us pick out the ingredients for a pasta Bolognese dinner, dessert, and wine. We’d point at something and then she’d say no and point to something else and say “bene, bene!”, so we’d take that instead. She asked if we were American and we said yes and she smiled and laughed. When we checked out, she looked us up and down and asked something that sounded like, “is this all for just you two?” Now it was our turn to laugh; how do you explain bike stomach in Italian?
It was such a simple experience, but so incredibly different from and more satisfying than the interactions with those who are tired of dealing with tourists. You could tell she was enjoying the experience too. I’d rather have a day full of these encounters than a day of seeing all the highest rated tourist attractions. I think we’ve had a good mix on our trip, but it varies along the way.