tuscany calling

i'm here in one of the most beautiful places on earth and i don't want to leave. La Fortuna, Costa Rica. i could curl up in one of the hammocks and forget the rest of the world with little trouble. so, why do i feel so restless...

read about a million books these past few weeks. the latest is a book by Frances Mayes called Under the Tuscan Sun. my friend Sandy produced the film of the same name so i was curious to see how closely they'd followed the book.

i remember a few years ago when i'd spend summers in the south of France in a little village called Chantemerle-les-Grignan.



stone buildings set on a small mountain overlooking rolling fields of lavender and sunflowers.

my friend Matthew had convinced me one year to hop a train over from Austria for a weekend 'fete'. the fete lasted for four glorious summers, dining in open fields, traveling to Sete et Nime for the oysters, wine and mussels on the sandy beaches, and l'amour... we simply cannot forget l'amour... some the best times in my life were during those summers.

so i crack the cover of Tuscan Sun and at once am transported back to that glorious place.

i know, it's Italy not France, but the stone houses, the small villages filled with friendly locals, fresh produce, rolling fields... the ambience seems so familiar. i read through the first few chapters and am hit with a strange sense of longing. a longing to return to Europe, to the countryside and disappear into the hills.

so here i am in a Costa Rican Shangri-la dreaming about somewhere else. go figure.

moot or hooey?

"the grass is always greener on the other side" is an expression invented by someone with way too much time on their hands. that, and an extreme lack of perspective.