Love & Gelato

     Back in August, AB put a beautiful book in my hands. And me being me, I brought said beautiful book to college with me and let it sit on my bookshelf collecting dust until today. I'd even lugged it home with me back in September, having romantic notions of reading it during my brief weekend home. And all the while AB waited patiently, knowing that I would read this book when the time was right. Alas, the time is right. The time is right for Italian romance novels. 

     It's been a dreary day today, which means I spent the morning curled up in bed finishing Since You've Been Gone and then I spent the afternoon and evening reading Love & Gelato. Love & Gelato came with me to class...to the library...to class...to my room...to the second floor study lounge...to Tropical Smoothie Cafe...to the fourth floor of Tuttleman...to Blaze Pizza...and back to my dorm. It waited patiently while I downed the rest of my dried fruit and fangirled at AB incessantly before putting my phone down and picking my book up again. I would've happily pulled an all-nighter to finish this wonderful specimen, had Rebecca not asked at 10:43 if she could turn off the light. Me being me, I said yes quickly and shut my book...then proceeded to finish my chapter by the glow of multi-colored string lights. 

     I'll be honest. I'd forgotten the joy of reading, the joy of getting lost in a story. Spanish class goes by so much faster when you're fantasizing about what's going to happen next in your Italian romance novel. Life just has a rosy tint when you know that you can always come back to the story, always get lost in someone else's life. Love & Gelato has been particularly spectacular because Lina (the main character) is in Florence and when she describes the city I know exactly what she's talking about!!! Ponte Vecchio at sunset...the Arno and the little platforms that jut out from the bridge that people more daring than myself sit on to escape from the crowds of tourists...the green-shuttered, colorful buildings and gentle hum of motorbikes everywhere...the heat that comes off the side walk in waves and makes you feel like you might just melt...the Duomo and the gelato. Ah, the gelato. Reading this book, seeing Florence through someone else's eyes makes me a) so glad that I had the opportunity to see it for myself and b) slightly sad that I hadn't enjoyed it more. But who knows, maybe I'll go back again and get to see it with fresh eyes and a bigger smile. It just makes me wonder, because of all the places I went over the summer with my aunt and cousin, Florence was the place I loved the most. And I got the same feeling Lina got, looking over the river at the Ponte Vecchio in the dying heat of a beautiful July evening...that I could stay there for a long, long time and be at peace. I got that feeling even surrounded by my crazy aunt and bratty cousin. So what would it feel like if I was there under different circumstances? Could it feel any more wonderful? It must. 

Day 1101 Song Recommendation: "These Are the Days" by Zach Winters.

-SE Wagner