Sweet & Juicy
Today as I walked to the Villa in the crisp warm early morning air making my way on a dusty path across the sloping sixty acres that make up the estate through olive groves cypress trees and purple wildflowers while tiny lizards darted back into the long crunchy grass I stopped and picked a fig. A soft plump purple fig with tight skin that had grown ripe under the warm Tuscan sun on a tree with large dark green leaves that had probably stood for centuries. I was careful to twist the fruit just right to the left making sure none of the sticky white stem nectar glued me to it tearing it open to reveal the sweet white red flesh tiny crunchy black seeds that I readily devoured knowing it had been pleasuring palates for millennia.
In the afternoon I sat on a stone bench next to an ancient Roman fountain that undulated with goldfish frogs glistening against itself in the hot sun surrounded by red lillies and pink roses and carefully manicured hedges with views overlooking the rolling hills of Tuscany while I read the decades old love letters between two men whose love could never be brought to fruition. The slight breeze in the air was thick rich clean green and oh so sweet from the tiny white flowers of the towering trees that watch over the potted lemons oranges peaches. I discovered the hedges were made up of the leaves of dark crisp laurel crown of loyalty among the Romans and as bayleaves taste of sweetness in homemade soup.
Later I enjoyed the delightful combination of dry crunchy breadsticks dipped in creamy hazelnut chocolate Nutella…
And since this hot internet cafe is neither sweet nor juicy and whitney houston is starting to bug me, I must go. Happy Birthday Seema.
