Wanderlust

 

[won-der-luhst]

–noun

1) a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about

2) an affliction affecting Pink Frenchie 

Have you ever dreamed of uprooting your life and moving away to a foreign land?  Have you ever considered what it might be like to quit your job and buy a Tuscan villa (Frances Mayes style) or spend a year wandering the cobbled villages of Provence (Peter Mayle style) or seeking enlightenment in an ashram in India (Elizabeth Gilbert style)?

Recently, I've been allowing my mind to amble through Italia---often.  I cannot shake the notion of living La Dolce Vita permanently.

I don't want to be a tourist though.  I want to be mistaken for a real Italian woman who sips tiny demitasse cups of espresso and wears Dolce & Gabbana and effortlessly pulls together a forth generation recipe for ragù alla bolognese.  When I was in Italy in 2007, I got a taste of the good life, and for intangible reasons, I want more, I need more. 

Colorful, old buildings, treasured for their history; little medieval streets with uneven stone sidewalks; delicate rows of unmentionables hanging from balconies; mismatched terracotta pots on front stoops; markets stocked with fresh produce, still covered with bits of soil; cafés where one can linger for hours over a glass of Brunello and a good conversation: this is the fabric of my Italian fantasy.

 

I am craving architecture that is worn, with a patina, with some tarnish.   I so want to spend some time exploring a plot of land with a storied past.

Where are your travel dreams taking you these days?  Do you have a case of Wanderlust?

Images borrowed from TheBrooklynNomad, AndrewRoss,  Pixdaus, Chris&Steve, Monterosso, NationalGeographic, TravelAdventures &; Telegraph.