Alfresco: Do Anything but Do It Outdoors - Italian
Best choice in a season when nature opens her heart generously
We are in those days. Spring, when sitting outdoors is not only attainable but also irrefutably inviting.
When the blossoms of the cherry tree that greets you each day turn to fruit, even if it happens every year, you can't help but marvel at that miracle and admire it, convinced that the world is a beautiful place.
The world is wildly beautiful, no matter it may often be destructive.
When a beautiful woman who is sometimes a killjoy and gossiper, smiles at you generously with her curvy body, flowery dresses, and inviting posture, you cannot think that she is ugly or bad, just as you cannot deny that it is beautiful when the world offers you its unique blessings in the form of a cherry tree one morning. Your wife may not be beautiful every day, but most mornings are beautiful, and so is the world.
Spring is the time when all the beauty of the world is out in the open, unhidden and inviting. All you need is to be outdoors, not to miss the opportunity to enjoy this beauty.
The Italians, who are either the designers or the originators of most of the world's taste, have a word that we can translate as being outdoors: Alfresco
A special pleasure is hidden in eating, reading, chatting or even just sitting alone in the open air.
It was a few years ago. On my way to a business meeting in Budapest, I left home a few days in advance and squeezed in a 2-3 day solo trip to Vienna. I packed a lot of pleasant moments into these unforgettable few days, but there was one that stands out as the most pleasant moment about the occasions in the outside.
On a beautiful Saturday noon, the sun was generously covering Vienna but not burning it and I had nothing special to do. No one waiting for me or an appointment I had to hurry to. After wandering the streets for the hundredth time, I was lucky enough to find an empty table in the garden of the Café Mozart in a beautiful square.
I dropped my body into the chair with pleasure; my tired legs immediately relaxed, exhausted from hours of work. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I was grateful. It was a good moment, I was having good time. It was not one of those ordinary days, this was different. Maybe it was something simple, but I felt that I would not forget this moment.
I ordered a coffee, with a Sachertorte. A perfect combination, as anyone who has been to Vienna will remember. Afterwards, I was completely immersed in the moment. Observing was my favorite thing to do, and I was in the perfect place to do it.
Sitting there were young and stylish men and women chatting and laughing, people calmly reading their books, women who were probably on their way back from shopping on Graben Street and had a coffee, and a few lonely observers like me.
Dozens of people passed by. What impressed me is that most of the people were happy. They weren’t from those who nail their looks on the ground as if they intend to weep. There was obviously no fear or anxiety they were trying to hide from anyone. They went back and forth in clear and fluid movements, chatting if they were not alone, with their heads held high and open to exchange with their surroundings.
I sat in Cafe Mozart for a long time, alone, half tired, half happy, and not looking for another experience that would make me happier. I had better have visited some parks or museums instead, but none of them could exceed the completeness of that moment. Those beautiful hours I spent outdoors, sipping my coffee in the sun or in the shade, remained with me as one of the best memories of my travels.
Needless to say, creating beautiful memories doesn't require being in Vienna, but I feel that most of my happy moments are outdoors. So it seems like a good idea to go out to experience new ones at this most beautiful time of the season.
Till next week,
— Gulsun