I am fortunate that my husband has a large extended family in Italy. I have blogged about these nuances as every family has their own unique culture. Recently, we went on our yearly summer family vacation. It reminded me of the famous book and movie, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. However, my take away of our family vacation was eat, sleep, la famiglia…Italian style. We ventured across the ocean earlier this June.
Eat. Oh, did we eat. The family lives on the Adriatic Sea; therefore, fish was core to our meals. Since the fish were endemic to the area, the names were difficult to pronounce. The pasta was always homemade. The fruits and vegetables were from the garden. And who doesn’t like dessert? Gelato anyone? Wine?
Sleep. There is a six-hour time difference between Ohio and Italy. I adjusted by simply over sleeping and taking naps. Everyone needs his or her own coping mechanism. 
Family. I love spending time with my immediate family. Remember, family dinner is my favorite part of the day. My husband’s extended Italian family is a lot of fun and enjoys humor. They laugh, and laugh, and laugh. They are loud, passionate and enjoy sitting around the kitchen table for hours at a time. I struggle with the language, but my husband and son are helpful during these conversations.
We did eat and sleep a lot but we also enjoyed reading and going to the beach everyday. We are rested and relaxed. Now I’ll need to put “work” back in my cycle of words.
I will be going back to the Adriatic Sea one day. Arrivaderci!
Dr. Viv
Follow me on Twitter @DoctorViv
