You’ve probably heard it before: perhaps September is the most pleasant and fun month to be in Italy. Summer is still in full swing, so you can enjoy the weekend by the sea, while at the same time the city is buzzing with life again (in stark contrast to July and August). Early in the morning, when leaving your house, the air is pleasantly fresh and it just feels so good to be able to wear a light cardigan again, while in the evening you don’t have to worry about whether or not to bring a jacket as you can still enjoy having dinner outdoors until well after midnight. Everyone looks sun-kissed, and I can constantly hear people greeting each other with an enthusiastic “You look so good and healthy!” when bumping into each other after the summer holidays.
It always feels like coming home, when I walk across a picturesque little square with an equally idyllic church to then get lost in the narrow streets with countless food stalls
It’s also the month when all kinds of festivals take place. But I’m not talking about these huge music festivals with large stages, thousands of visitors, and loud thumping tunes. I am talking about the local wine festival, harvest festivals, a gnocchi festival, and celebrations to honour the saints. These types of festivals are mainly organised in the small villages just outside of Rome, and I personally find them one of the most enjoyable things about the Italian culture. It always feels like coming home, when I walk across a picturesque little square with an equally idyllic church to then get lost in the narrow streets with countless food stalls.
The high doors of my wardrobe are now filled with post-its in all kinds of colours on which I’ve written new ideas, projects and dreams
September also feels like the beginning of a new year to me. Even more so than the first of January. Every year at the end of August I get that feeling again. The desire to grab new opportunities with both hands. To define new goals and set the course for next year. So, that’s exactly what I did last week. The high doors of my wardrobe are now filled with post-its in all kinds of colours on which I’ve written new ideas, projects and dreams. For an outsider it would probably be impossible to understand, as I freely mixed-up Dutch, English and Italian, so I found out later.
Because if there’s one thing that I would like to tell you here, it is that it is good to ask yourself which direction you want to take. What are you dreaming of? Are you still happy with what you are doing today?
But that doesn’t matter at all, as long as I understand it myself. Because if there’s one thing that I have learned and that I would like to tell you here, it is that it is good to ask yourself which direction you want to take. What are you dreaming of? Are you still happy with what you are doing today? Where do you want to be in a year’s time? Of course, life is very unpredictable and nobody knows exactly what tomorrow will bring – we have all experienced this over the past year and a half – but by defining your own path more sharply every day, storms will not blow you off it so easily. Because it’s a guarantee of life that we will all get faced with storms that will not make things the easiest at times.
The very best Italian wine also started with a farmer planting his very first vine
But actually, that is not even such a bad thing and it should definitely not keep you from starting. Within a few weeks, the harvesting of the olives and the picking of the grapes will begin. And although the quality of the wine and olive oil depends on hundreds of factors that the farmer can only influence to a certain extent (hello ever-changing weather conditions), having a clear goal and getting a little better every year are still the biggest secrets to success. Good things take time. It’s no coincidence that certain wineries are awarded the highest quality certificates in Italy year after year. And the same applies to our own dreams and goals. Even if the path is full of bumps and obstacles and you don’t know your way exactly yet, it’s always about taking that first step. The very best Italian wine also started with a farmer planting his very first vine. And guess what? Today, there’s thousands and thousands of visitors to the indian summer wine festival who celebrate the vision of that one farmer who once simply began and persevered, regardless of sun, storm, wind or rain.