As we’ve settled into the everyday life here, I’m focusing less on the big impressions and more on the details.  When we take our daily walks, I’m seeing things that escaped my notice before.  Of course, many of these details are architectural in nature because, well, I’m an architect.

I love these door knockers that I see in Europe that are little hands to knock on the doors

And here’s the classic lion head door knocker

I noticed these flowers growing out of a balcony support

Here’s a piece of tile embedded in the asphalt on the street

I like this carved stone rosette which is part of an entry portal for a house

One of the spigots on a fountain at the town piazza

I saw this on the side of a house – perhaps this is where you tie up your horse

And here’s our little mailbox with our identifications :)

And then there are also the details of nature.

Irises in the wild

These little springtime flowers

Storm clouds passing through earlier this week when it was raining

And lest we forget that we are in an agricultural region, we occasionally see agricultural vehicles like a truck carrying hay, a little farm truck, or a teams of oxen pulling three carts (which we saw over the weekend on our way to Larino.)  Since we live in Atlanta Georgia, a metro city of 5 million people, we are not used to seeing oxen and carts.  But on our way to Larino, we slowed way down and eased past the carts, waved, and continued on our way.

A farm truck in the village

A modern “wagon” in the village with a load of firewood – keep in mind that we are in the mountains and many houses are still heated with wood

This is Chad’s dream car for retirement in Italy

And we do appreciate the local farmers, vendors, and the sense of community.  Everyone is so friendly and welcoming.  We were taking our evening stroll today, and someone waved us over to come sit on a bench and chat for a while.  So we did.  The Italians have this saying: “L’arte di fare niente” which means “the art of doing nothing,” and we are embracing this philosophy.  We go on leisurely walks, we take our time with meals, we chat with people in the bar, we chat with the butcher and the grocery owners, and we just sit outside and enjoy the weather when it’s nice.  The Art of Doing Nothing allows us to notice and appreciate the little details of the everyday life.

Dawn this morning…

…and here’s the sun just peeking over the horizon…