Eat, Play, Love: Musings from Mangiacake: A Recap

Impossible a task as it may seem, I want to give summing up my summer in Italy a shot. Now that I'm back home in Toronto, I find myself reflecting on the summer that was. I never bumped into George, but I fully understand the motivating force behind his decision to buy a place on the lake: The area is spectacularly scenic, with picturesque villas scattered throughout postcard-perfect villages. But despite a sweet pad in a sweet hood, George doesn't have what I got—an opportunity to live with and be loved by a fabulous Italian family of five, who have all grown up in the mountains, and on the lake.

I spent days upon days upon days soaking it all in. From hanging out with and watching Seba at work (kiteboarding and windsurfing are great gigs, and he's an even greater teacher), to walking along the lake during the day and down to the pier at night, to gelato dates with Paolo and coffee dates with Giulia, I enjoyed the simple day-to-day living just as much as my travels up North with Mara, and in Rome, Sicily, Venice and Tuscany. I wasn't born a country bumpkin, but I think I could certainly live like one in the future—I never once missed the hustle and bustle of a big city like Toronto, though I did feel like my Italian would have to improve dramatically if I was ever to truly fit in here. That being said, I didn't often feel like the odd (wo)man out—Rosanna often treated me like the daughter she never had (which made it very hard to leave her in the end), and two of my most favourite memories were making gnocchi with Paolo's Nonna and parents, and having supper with the Seba's family and their friends up at mountain rifugi twice during the summer.

In just three months, I accumulated a lifetime's worth of culture. By immersing myself in another language and lifestyle (and it is a very different lifestyle), I got a crash course in living not only in Italy, but abroad.

Throughout the summer, riding with Seba on his Vespa, I often thought of how things have come full circle for us—we bonded in Bali in much the same way, with me on the back of his bike—and we have lived and travelled together since in Australia, South East Asia, Canada and Italy. We've been on this road together for a year and a half now, and while it's been bumpy at times, I hope we can keep on adventuring, separately and with one another, for some time to come.