IT'S SUMMER, SO I MISS TUSCANY

In the summer, I miss Tuscany. One would think I would miss somewhere with a beach or ocean breeze, especially when I walk outside and am instantly hit with the overwhelming humidity that permeates throughout Chicago in July. I’m sure many landlocked Midwesterners long for the rocky beaches found along la Costa di Amalfi or le Cinque Terre, for briny seafood pasta and a light, crisp prosecco. Yet I miss Montepulciano, Chianti, Volterra. The stillness of the towns in the midday sun, when the Italians venture inside for their afternoon delights, lunch or other, more intimate endeavors, and Kevin and I have the place to ourselves.

The rolling hills of Chianti

I miss the evenings, when the light starts to fade and it’s cool enough to enjoy my vino nobile. I miss the time three years ago, when we walked several miles from the villa we were renting to the weekly market in Cortona, arriving just as the farmers were packing up for the day. We bought a large bunch of porcinis, the biggest and freshest us Americans had ever seen. Not knowing Italian yet, I tried asking for a small amount of thyme and rosemary. “How much?” I asked. “Prego,” the old man replied, placing it in my hand while waving my money away with his. A quick stop at the fresh pasta and wine shops and we trundled home, lugging our treasures. The meal astounded us. Weren’t porcini mushrooms not in season until the fall? How could they honestly taste this good in June?

Cortona, Italy

I love my life in Chicago. I have a wonderful husband, a job that I love and enjoy, beautiful and inspiring friends and family and, in my humble opinion, the cutest dog in the world. But I also have a longing for travel - to see the unknown, experience cultures that are vastly different than mine, eat amazing, out-of-season produce in beautiful places. Kevin and I are extremely lucky in that our job (we own an online apparel company) allows us the flexibility to see the world. I’d like to be able to use this site as our personal scrapbook, a place where I can house our funny stories, restaurant and accommodation recommendations and wondrous experiences. The story of where I've been and where I'm going.