Eat Slow: Love & Passion | August 2025

Dear Friends,

My family and I went on a dream vacation to Italy this summer. It was an amazing trip and we all feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to experience that together. It was my husband, Rob, our son, Samuel and my in-laws (which I like to refer to as my “in-loves”), Steve & Arlene.

Personally I was filled with excitement, anticipation and a little nervousness over the flight & travel time. My boys and I had never been to Italy before so we didn’t know, exactly, what to expect. It felt, truly, like a dream! Steve & Arlene had been before and they did ALL of the planning. What a gift for us to have such loving parents who wanted to plan the BEST trip for all of us (and they definitely did)!

Every step along the way of this adventure, I wanted to chronicle both in memory and on paper. I knew how incredibly fortunate we were to be able to go on a trip of this magnitude, I didn’t want to take it for granted, and I just wanted to take it all in! My prayer was to not rush through everything like I often do back home and to really, truly be present every moment.

What I quickly realized is that I had romanticized Italy in my mind. I guess it’s true how movies influence our beliefs about things. Our first stop was Venice - in my opinion, there is no place on earth like Venice! Being there solidified my romanticized beliefs about Italy … until we made our way to Bologna. I was shocked to see graffiti and homelessness. It was a shocking and humbling experience to know that the human condition - a broad term that refers to the fundamental experiences, characteristics, and struggles that define human existence - exists everywhere, even in Italy. I know that probably sounds naive on my part, yet it was a truth I couldn’t believe existed in the beautiful Italy I had imagined in my mind.

Beyond the reality of the human condition and the breathtaking art, architecture, and history, I was most enamored by the people and the values they hold so dear. From the Venetians who are so proud to be from Venice (many times I heard “Love & Passion” and the Venetians I met were definitely full of love and so passionate about their heritage and about their vocations), to the locals we met throughout the country ranging from Tuscany, Modena, Florence, Rome, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, I heard several Italians say, “We drive fast and we eat slow.”

The “eating slow” part is what surprised and delighted me the most. Every time we had a meal at a restaurant we had to ask for our bill. We weren’t rushed to finish our meal so the restaurant can turn a table and serve more patrons. It was quite the opposite. We were encouraged to stay, to linger, to enjoy our meal and enjoy those around the table. No one was on their phones. In fact, there were no phones on the tables … just good old fashioned conversation between human beings looking at each other eye to eye, savoring every delicious bite of the meal in front of them along with a spritzer or glass of wine. It was refreshing! It was something I envied and I found myself drawn to and longing for in my own life.

The value of human connection and slowing down our lives to enjoy … I mean truly enjoying and savoring a meal together, is paramount in Italy (at least that’s what I experienced). Yes, the food was delicious (don’t get me started on the gelato!), the art, architecture and history was breathtaking but, the people, the people (in my humble opinion) … they really know how to fully live!

The human condition is the whole tapestry of what it means to be alive—the beautiful, the difficult, the profound, and the mundane—all woven into the fabric of our shared existence. Thank you, Italy, for valuing human connection and valuing the time it takes to share our experiences, no matter how long it takes.

Here’s to Eating Slow,

Rica