Simple Life and Camping

Lago Maggiore is a lake which is part in Switzerland part in Italy so Alyssa and I were set for the most gorgeous drive you could imagine.
In fact there is this one part of the road in Switzerland when all of a sudden the land opens up in front of you and the whole beauty of the Alps enfolds in front of your eyes and even though I have seen this part of the road so often already it takes my breath away every single time.
We chose to take the pretty road down the lake and tricked our little gps system which then was rerouting for about 30 minutes but oh was it worth it. The lake in the mountains was absolutely breathtaking and once you hit the Italian border it is like entering the Italian summer feeling. A feeling I get every time I go on vacation to Italy.

And it was also that moment when everything sank into rest. It was such a good feeling. All of a sudden I felt my body, soul and spirit just coming to rest. I was breathing in the summer air and breathing out and just feeling like myself. It was so needed after such a long transition time because after this vacation I would start everything new. A new season is ahead and going away on a camping trip before that was more than what I would love.
Our campground was a small, nice, really simple campground and we found a little corner where we set up the tent. 3 days without electricity, Internet, cell phone and computers. I was more than ready for it.

On that first day we set everything up and went to the beach as quickly as possible. There were almost no people which was really nice because it was so quiet and all you could hear were the sounds of the water, the birds and the wind. How much better could it be?
That night we cooked an amazing meal and took our chairs to the beach where we just set and journaled and enjoyed a warm summer night.
That first night the area was struck by a pretty strong thunder storm and we slept in the car under lightning, pouring rain and thunder. I. Loved. It. Whoever read my blog about me being a hopeless romantic knows my love for things like that!

The next morning we created the most amazing breakfast. It amazes me how much great food you can make with so little - like no cooler, no electricity. It was beautiful and Alyssa is an amazing cook and so creative when it comes to food. A lot of our conversations were about food and how to create food and how to view it and how to eat healthy and we talked about flavours. And we tasted a whole bandwidth of incredibly good food throughout that whole trip.
For the next couple of hours we just laid by the beach, read our books and took in the silence and beauty of our surroundings.
Alyssa is a great artist (I love her work!!) and so she sat by the beach painting while I was writing in my journal. How better could it get? I felt so inspired and started dreaming about the future and letting my soul rest.

That afternoon we sat out for exploring the area a little bit just to find that our car had problems starting. So bit by bit we made it down the road but I was quietly freaking out knowing that we were in Italy and what we would do if the car broke down and we had to get it fixed there with not speaking any Italian. But we made it! I just had a hard time enjoying those two hours downtown while I was constantly thinking about the car - so typically me. Anyways but we found the most amazing gelateria and a restaurant that we planned on eating at for our last night.

So the next day we only laid by the beach and relaxed reading, swimming, sleeping and resting. Nothing more. As the night approached we got ready and drove into the beautiful little town Arona and this time I could really enjoy it.

So on our last night we first strolled around town. I love little Italian towns. Ever since I was a little girl I would imagine going to Italy and walking by the waterfront with my future husband and be all romantic. I would always imagine all kinds of stories and dream about it. I still am that way. Bring me to Italy to the waterfront and I become all dreamy and romantic and imagine a hundred stories in my head.
The restaurant we went to was more than amazing! Like I said we tasted some amazing food on that trip and also in this case we were blown away by the flavour.
We talked about art and food and the future and the new seasons in our life and the dreams we have and what we believe God is calling us to do. It was one of those nights and one of those conversations which stick with you and if it were for that conversation alone the trip was worth it.

On our drive back the next day we pondered a lot and listened to music. I thought a lot about what lies ahead of me and the new adventures and responsibilities. I cannot wait and look forward to it in anticipation!

This trip was exactly what I hoped it to be...

xoxo

Ramona