The wonders of life and love.

If offered a choice. Between two weeks in Rome or two weeks in a little Italian Alps village of Sutrio. I'd not hesitate for a second. Give me Sutrio. That's my nature. I like idyllic places. Off the beaten track.  You can have the tourist traps. And the splendid architecture. I like the quiet and subdued and scenic environs. A place to relax. In unhurried fashion.  A walk in the woods. Or along a babbling brook. And opportunity to mix with the locales. To learn their ways. Often crafts handed down from generation to generation. And they like where they are. With no desire for big city life. They might not even have television or radio. Living relatively isolated from the rest of the world.  When I made my first trip to Italy seven years ago. To formally meet my soon-to-be Italian true love, we both arrived on the same day. In Venice. And then we traveled. To the North. Into the Alps. For week-long stays at Marlengo and Sutrio.  We've become world travelers. Together. But more often than not, we seek out the places that few people have discovered. We'd rather be the early discoverers. Before the blemishes. So nice. To know that there are so many paradises. Remaining to be discovered.  Not only on the outside. But within our own souls.  The wonders of life and love never cease.  --Jim Broede