We met at a train station and ended up in Tuscany.

I’m was sitting in the garden of a Tuscan villa, overlooking the rolling hills, now a pale green and brown thanks to the relentless European sun. Bells in the distance clinking and chiming, clinking and chiming. I asked, ‘where’s that noise coming from?’. ‘It’s the sheep’ they said. And off in the distance, in the far far distance there they were. The sound of each chime travelling straight to my soul.

***

3 years ago I met Niccolo, an Italian, at a train station in Sydney. He was ‘trying’ to buy a ticket from the machine. I helped him. We got chatting. I was coming from Kinesiology class, he was coming from the hospital. He was in Sydney doing some gynaecology work and spoke of his recent time in India doing his Doctors without Borders thing, and his want of bringing west and east together within his work.

We clicked. We discovered we spoke the same language. Universe. Spirit. Energy. We hung out for a couple of days.

This was 3 years ago.

In that time we’ve sent the occasional email. A birthday message here and there.

And that’s exactly what happened last week, he wished me a happy birthday. I replied saying ‘I’m in Rome over the weekend’. He said ‘I’m in Siena visiting friends. Come’.

***

I arrived to him and four amazing amazing women. So welcoming, so warm, so endearing. These four women live in their villa together. Each with their own home, kitchen, bathroom. Short stone walls are stepped over to reach each other. Lavender lines their pathways. Laughter, the infectious kind, can be heard throughout.

They live separately but together.
Run their own businesses.
Lead their own lives.

Yet they come together to share, to support. And you feel the specialness in their union.

In a world where we are so void of community, there is something about the way they are choosing to live which makes sense. A lot of sense.

One of the things I love most about travelling is the people I meet. Their stories. Their take on life. Their histories. Their energy. I love people who remind me of the enormous world we live in and that it’s possible to live life exactly as you desire. In ways that challenge the norm. These souls I’m so privileged to meet, they’re my proof.

I sat last night, post summer thunderstorm, post poolside meditation, enjoying a glass of red and an impromptu dinner of pasta, foccacia and home made pesto. I listened to their animated italian sentences, not understanding a word, the important bits being translated. I likened it to an italian sitcom where the subtitles are turned off. I understood nothing, but everything.

I love people. That is the main point of this post. Thank you to all the people. And thank you to Niccolo for not knowing how to use a ticket machine and for wishing me happy birthday.