7.22.21 // Little Farm in Italy

Little Farm in Italy...
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I spent last weekend on a little farm in the Italian countryside.
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One of Taylor's friends from a past life, Camilla, owns the farm where we were spent two days romping the land, learning about life in the country, and swapping stories and opinions on the world.
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It was beautiful, it was simple.
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When we arrived the sun was out, but the thunderstorms which hung over the mountains on the horizon made themselves known with an occasional clap of sound. Camilla picked us up at the tiny Santopadre train station on her horse and we walked the steep incline to her historic home hidden in the hills.
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Her stone house was covered in ivy, doors open to the breeze, keeping it cool as the humidity started to increase as the sun peaked through the clouds. There were fruit trees dancing in the breeze to the right of the house, vineyards beyond them, goats roving, and puppies playing in the front yard.
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I had several moments wondering if this was something out of a film...
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Once we settled we romped the property, finding a hidden swimming sanctuary, ate mulberries, plums, and peaches right off the trees, and feasted on local cheeses and simple (yet decedent) pasta that Camilla whipped up effortlessly over the sounds of jazz and our conversations.
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The next day we helped Camilla prune her vineyard. Tramping through the grass and learning the proper way to cut back rambunctious vines. We were quiet, all of us, silently humming to ourselves or just being. We fell into a trance-like state, the sweat gleaming down our backs as the sun kissed on our faces and the cicadas sang their summer song to the breeze.
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It's not often we're given the gift of the present moment without us actively looking for it, but last weekend was that for me. There wasn't a past, nor a future, just a moment where all I had to worry about was where I should thread the vines for optimal sunshine.
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For 32 hours, I disconnected from my phone, my expectations, and the world.
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It was a privilege and a much-needed reminder that disconnecting from the world doesn't mean losing yourself, it means finding yourself in the simplicity of existing.