Thursday, July 22, 2010

been doing "la passeggiata" all wrong...

After reading Fodor's guest blogger Dianne Hales posting on "An Italian Tradition: La Passeggiata," I have come to realize that I have been doing the passeggiata completely and utterly wrong.

http://www.fodors.com/news/story_4117.html?ref=107

La passeggiata is simply an evening walk...or so I thought.

Who knew what a meat market it is and what an opportunity it represents for women of "marriageable age" to find a suitor? And why am I just finding out about this now?

According to Miss Hales, the passeggiata can be the main social event of the day in some cities and a time for people to get all decked out to impress and "see and be seen." (vedere e farsi vedere).

My normal gear for doing up the passeggiata is a pair of mini-sweats, a tank top and sneakers or flip-flops. And sometimes I go right after a run to cool down...so am not Irish Spring fresh necessarily.

I tend to be accompanied by the lovely Laura Rizzotto from the Balestri Valda winery (also a woman of marriageable age) and she is usually more fashionably dressed than yours truly...but this is nothing new and is certainly not limited to our evening walks around Soave.

What almost made me fall of my chair while reading the article is that someone wrote a book on the passeggiata.

The author of La Passeggiata, Giovanna Delnegro, would probably give me a good scolding for my previous approach to this "socially sanctioned opportunity for flirting and courting."

I will of course be remedying this and making the appropriate adjustments to my approach...so get ready all you other women of marriageable age in Soave!

There's gonna be some international competition entering the ring!

- Zucca

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