Lessons in Living a Dolce Life: My Italian Trip

I came to Italy for a VC friend’s wedding in September 2023 in Apulia. Ended up staying at this very nice 1400 year old B&B hotel, in the hills, surrounded by extensive groves of Olive trees that run as far as the eye can see. There is also a great view of the Mediterranean Sea from here. Absolutely stunning and a very relaxing place.

The owner was walking us around and I asked him about his life here. He said he only spent 5 months here during the summer. He spent most of the year in Milan where his business was. Now this is good living.

I admit I am a city boy. I love big cities but there is much to be said about splitting your time between your city home and a rural country place. This is actually how many of the wealthy and the not so wealthy Europeans live. You get a dose of the opportunity, excitement, buzz and diversity of the big city; balanced by the quiet, peace and nature of the countryside.

Being here in nature brought a strange feeling of solace to me. Especially in light of all the troubles I’ve been facing at home.

After more than 2 decades of gallivanting across the globe building businesses, peace and quiet is probably something I could do with a lot more of. In fact after the last few years, this peace and quiet is something most of us could do more with too.

Spending time in Italy I realize just how unbalanced my own lifestyle is. And have realized I have much to learn from Italian living. Being more present. Having more exposure to nature. And of course, eating good, healthy delicious food which dovetails perfectly into my preferred lifestyle.

So my goal for the next few years. Be more Italian! :)