Holidays.

I miss holidays.

I miss discovering news places. Wandering aimlessly looking for new perspectives to etch in my mind.
And going back to places I love, where the challenge was to try and have fun more than the previous time.
And museums, or art exhibitions, to nourish the mind and the soul.
Dalì in Figueres, Picasso in Barcelona, Van Gogh in Amsterdam, then Moma in NYC, the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, the Fondation Maeght in St. Paul de Vence.
And Rome.
Every time I went to see Marco, I found out about the current exhibitions beforehand and I got there with a clear idea of what I wanted to do.
I was fascinated by travels on my own but also with girlfriends, my mom or friends. The important thing was to travel. Among holidays with friends I’ll never forget the one with Simone in Barcelona, one summer. One whole month. We left with the idea of travelling around Spain and ended up staying the whole time in Barcelona, feeling almost tearful when it was the time to go back. Why? I can’t explain it. Probably because we adopted Catalans’ way of life to perfection. Doubtlessly because we were a perfect couple. Not one disagreement. We even had a Moleskine to record our thoughts, our emotions. Even today I remember the 15th of August in a small chiringuito on the beach of Barceloneta. We were a little under the influence (a pathetic euphemism, after an endless series of caipirinhas), a violent wind, watching surfers  making stunts on the waves, a strong smell of joints floating in the air: we were quarrelling over the notebook because we both wanted to put on paper the powerful emotions that filled us in that instant. I’d say it, without fear of being contradicted,  that it was the perfect holiday.
If you want to torture me, leave me on a beach. Sun and tanning have never been my thing. On holiday with girlfriends I traded some hours on the beach with many hours on the golf course…
I know people who are anxious about travelling. They are afraid of flying, or of having to give momentarily up their habits.
Clearly I’ve never been a person of habit.