Overheard at . . . FIX Coffeehouse

"I could use some sun right now."

That one sentence caught all of our attention. Chatters stopped chatting. Readers stopped reading. And I stopped typing. Sunshine! It was like a magic word from Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.Like winning the Golden Ticket. Only weeks away from my vacation to Mexico I could practically taste the flavors of sunshine.... margarita, guacamole, and gelato.

WAIT - what? Gelato isn't Mexican. No, but fortunately we are going to a resort that has an Italian restaurant on site so I can still get my gelato fix. Even in Mexico I require some bit of Italy to remind me of real sunshine. The kind that burns your nose and makes you feel lazy and languorous. Sunshine that, even as it fades to a golden light in the late afternoon, continues to shimmer off of the grapevines in the vineyards.

My Italian memories of sunshine all seem to have that golden glow to them. I think it is a function of the light bouncing off of the sand colored stones and buildings. And, in Sestri Levante at least, sunshine met its counterpoint in the cool water of the Mediterranean and the creamy coolness of gelato.

Images like this were what came to mind when I wrote about Aiden and Lucia as they walked through one of my favorite Italian towns. Sestri Levante, when I visited, was packed with people... just as I imagined it to be for them. It had the festive air of people on vacation. The pink and gold buildings gave off that golden glow I described above. And there was definitely gelato.... plenty of gelato. And so beautifully scooped it took my breath away.

So, while I'll look forward to eating gelato on the beach in Mexico... it won't come close to the gelato Lucia and Aiden enjoyed when they visited Sestri Levante.

If you are craving more of Sestri Levante here is a link to a webcam shot of the beach there from 2 months ago.
Sestri Levante
And also, just FYI, the photo at the top of my post is from a trip I took to Sestri Levante in 2014.

But if you are craving Gelato... head to the grocery store.