We are in Italy with our fall trips. Whenever we are here I never fail to be humbled by the grace and generosity we are shown. I think travel brings this out generally, but I think it particularly true when you travel slow – which is to say, staying in one place for a period of days. By remaining in one place you begin to recognize and be recognized by people. This in turn enables the development of real relationships. When that happens unexpected gifts flow, underpinned by a spirit of grace.

We stay at a convent Bed and Breakfast on our trips to Orvieto. It is nice because we have a garden, library, lounges, and scenic overlooks in which to spread out. We have begun asking the nuns to cook us our first lunch and for it to be a soup. It is homemade, and for those who are just recovering from jet lag, it provides a light, delicious meal – the perfect thing for a tired body recovering from the assault that is airline food.

Lunch is served simply, but we are always given the unexpected prepared with immense care and presented beautifully. A caprese salad of cherry tomatoes stuffed with mozzarella. A simple dessert of cheese and honey. A sampling of aperitifs made by the nuns themselves and served with their own biscotti. A side of grilled vegetable. Homemade tiramisu.

Cherry tomato caprese

We receive this kind of generosity throughout town, unexpectedly. The offer of a guided visit to the 400 museum quality medieval costumes worn in Orvieto’s most important community event – the Corteo Storico. A behind the scenes tour of the iconic Michelangeli workshop. An invitation to see one of the hundreds of Etruscan and medieval caves under the city in which a sculptor has spent 20 years carving the walls. The opening of a garden hidden behind the walls of the city streets. An invitation to see a local paper shop make marbled paper.

Carvings in a cave under Orvieto

When you stay in one place and see familiar faces, when the locals recognize you and see you aren’t just passing through, they open themselves to you. For travelers wanting more than just the surface glimpse of a culture, it is an enormous gift. The generosity and grace with which it is given does humble, reaffirming our relationship with others as co-inhabitants of what is, in fact,  a very small planet.

[boilerplate plate = “bsteiner”]