La Dolce Vita

One of the best and the worst things about the Italian culture is their constant search for "la dolce vita" which is translated as "the sweet life."  Italy is truly an alternate universe where money and careers come secondary to love and leisure. As a general rule it seems they try to limit ANYTHING that interferes with this philosophy.  Is it any wonder why the Italians live longer than us? I'm starting to think they are on to something here and it is us Americans who are living all wrong.

Jon and I enjoying the sweet life at a wine tasting in the country of  Slovenia

But for this American this way of life can sometimes be extremely frustrating when I'm used to a culture where everything is available 24 hours.  Here are a few frustrating charming examples of the Italian relaxed way of life:

1. From noon to 3pm EVERYDAY  every store/pharmacy/ business closes for nap time.  Although I agree that I am jealous from an employee stand-point; it is very frustrating coming from a culture of everything being available 24/7.  When calling a hotel to book an appointment last month I was given the manager's phone number to inquire about their dog policy.  The receptionist quickly and sternly warned me not to call between noon and 3 pm because the manager will be napping. Hee hee. It just makes me giggle how frank they are with their nap time. I picture a man in a business suit snuggled up with his blankie.  Living the sweet life means being stress-free and well-rested!
2. "Domani" has to be one of the most used words in the Italian language.  The word means: tomorrow.  They say it for EVERYTHING. If you call your landlord for a repair you get: "Si, domani" which usually ends up being 2 weeks.  You ask the grocer when they will start carrying red onions? "Domani"  which then usually means never.  Living the sweet life means never being hurried.
3. The month of August is practically a national month of vacation.  Literally.  Businesses and restaurants completely shut down so everyone can go on a month long trip to the beach or mountains. When we moved into our house we had to rush everything because after the second week of August all of the moving companies, our landlord and our realtor would be on their 30 day vacation.  Jon and I marveled how the restaurants wouldn't just stay open and just rotate their employee's vacation to keep a cash flow?! I guess who cares about business financials when you are living the sweet life.
4. Nothing is rushed here.  As anyone who has traveled through Europe knows, it is nearly impossible to get a waitress to acknowledge your presence or take your order within the first 15 minutes after you sit down at a restaurant.  They think it is rude to interrupt diners and will only come over if you grab their attention.  No service industry is rushed.  A few days ago I spent 4 hours waiting on the electrician to come to our house and fix our major issues (No heat! Fridge isn't working! Smoke coming from guest bathroom lights!)  When I finally got a hold of him he said "Oh. I forgot."   No excuses.  He just kind of laughed and then said "Domani?"  I have to say I wasn't even that mad.  His honesty was refreshing.  His phone had been off when I called because he was napping.  Ahhh....the sweet life!
5. The Italians take food extremely seriously here.  (I know, I know...that is kind of a "duh" statement.) But if you dare NOT FINISH your plate you will almost always get the same response from the waiter who will look truly hurt: "Why don't you like it?"  They are honestly concerned if you didn't just have the dining experience of a lifetime at their tiny mom and pop cafe.  I am always so filled with guilt that I end up making everyone at the table help me finish if I can't complete on my own. I don't want to insult anyone.  The sweet life is taking true pleasure in your food.  

Ok.  So this was a really wordy post mostly because  the electrician who I mentioned in #4 is finally here fixing my house problems and I'm bored of watching him.  ( Domani, which literally translates to tomorrow, only equaled 2 days this time! Not bad at all! )  When I showed him the smoke that comes out of our guest bathroom lights his face lit up with a solution: he flipped on the bathroom fan.  Hmmmmm....the sweet life may also need to include fire insurance and a new electrician.