Gubbio, Umbria

Foto pampasan untuk weekend ini bertema Gubbio, Umbria :

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Italian Joy, Carla Coulson

[excerpt, page 125]

Italians love being together in big groups:
old men and women, young couples and singles, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles,
friends and children are always included and almost nothing is done alone.
Italian men and women interact completely differently to those in Australia, and
the longer I live here the more fascinating their dance of love has become to
come.

One day while killing time at the railway station in Rome I was waiting
in a bar when a girl walked in; a cloud of Acqua di Sicilia (a perfume
reminiscent of oranges and lemons and summer in Sicily) followed her. She sat
near me, taking off her checked jacket and balancing it on the tips of her
shoulder. She wore a soft black wollen scarf doubled twice around her neck and a
pair of black leather gloves, and she was carrying a designer handbag. As she
move to light her cigarette, men and lighters appeared from everywhere. She
delicately balanced the cigarette between her fingers and slowly inhaled, her
mouth caressing the cigarette. From underneath her lashes she glanced up and
breathed grazie (thank you) to the man who had fallen over himself to
light it. As she exhaled, her face and neck straightened like that of a
ballerina ready to dance. The entire bar followed her every move, collectively
pausing, exhaling and moving their heads with her as though they were all
watching a game of tennis. The girl wasn't beautiful in a classic way, but her
every movement was delicate and precise and created an allure of sexiness around
her. The light seemed to go out when she finished her cigarette, put on her
jacket and left the bar.