why i love sardegna like no other

nonna who makes me latte cioccolata on request.  ~ pane con nutella cravings easily indulged. ~ towns like cabras in a constant state of celebration, signaled by bandierini. ~ san giovanni, where from the balcony you can watch the sun set into the mediterranean. ~ religious processions. ~ when nonno smiles at you. ~ never-ending meals. ~ best pizzas in the world. ~ lina's homemade limoncello. ~ nonna exudes quiet strength and hold-your-head-up-high happiness despite a tough tough year. plus her voice is made for telling childrens' stories, steve points out. ~ gelato al fico e allo yoghurt at el chicco, plus it stays open late late. ~ staying up late with nonna watching miss italia. ~ sleeping from 2-5 pm every day and waking up to a macchiato. ~watching nonna do a little spry jump in the kitchen as she remembers some ingredient to add to some deliciousness on the stove before the witching hour, 1 pm. i'm so glad steve saw it too so there's proof of how adorable it was. ~ husband gives me foot massages on request after too much dancing at lamb's wedding. ~ big sunday lunches with franco carving the suckling pig.

~ driving through mountain towns like arbus. ~ revisiting favorite beaches like piscinas. ~ policewomen who may as well be maxim models, they were that beautiful. ~ all the nonnis' and aunties' paranoia of open doors and windows causing flu. ~ always pointing out the wrong building to steve as we drive by marmousch's high school in oristano. ~ photographers plastering huge shots of breastfeeding brides in their storefront window. ~ simona is there and it's really not possible for a better aunt and madrina to exist on this earth. ~ perlouch is there, plus she gets lots of attention from her new and newer uncles. and she starts to shiver before you even turn on the faucet for her bath. ~ singing to nonno. ~ waking up to roosters crowing (you wake up to cock?) ~ the best cappuccinos at highway gas stations. ~ nonna's insalata di riso and pasta con salsiccia e noci gratugiato. everything she makes is perfection, but these are my favorites. ~ agriturismos. ~ watching marmee and simona lovingly take care of their mom and dad. this is going to make me cry if i start to think about it any longer. ~ sebadas: fritters of sardinian cheese drizzled with sardinian honey which is one of the best things around. ~ the simpler daily rhythms of life there, much more fulfilling than the frenetic pace here.

~

I miss it. I think it was all a dream. Simona wasn't really in the upstairs studio window, waving at me, while Steve and I hurried out to take a few last-minute pictures of Cabras before our plane took off the next day, with us in it. We were rushing to make it back home in time for lunch.

"Why are you so worried about taking pictures? You know you're going to come back here." Steve said.
But when? That's always the big lingering question. It's all fun and games when it's only about loving a place. But when there's people involved, it takes on a new urgency to get back there as time unflinchingly soldiers on.