La dolce far niente

August 2025. It’s been years since I wrote a travel post. Years. What I’ve discovered after so much time of not travel blogging is that you “just begin.” You just write. The words cannot possibly be perfect, but the feeling is.

Strolling through San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood to find Stella Pastry and taking the first bite of cold chocolate truffle cake, I forgot the opportunities I thought I’d missed, the workouts I wanted to do, the smiles I wanted to flash. It doesn’t matter anymore. The cake does. Understanding the true meaning of “La dolce far niente” matters. Indulge in “the sweetness of doing nothing.” Everything else fades. Perhaps I’m being dramatic but I’d go as far to say that adopting this theory of enjoying the true art of relaxation is a form of honoring your dignity! Why don’t you love yourself enough to FEEL something? Why is it not the most proper way to eat…to enjoy every bite and flavor? You SHOULD be required to close your eyes when you eat chocolate truffle cake and remember every good thing.

And the espresso, well that’s another post entirely, but drinking a cappuccino should be equally about the flavor and aroma of the beans as it is about the ritual of enjoying espresso, with or without company. I was so into “la dolce far niente” that I enjoyed a coffee at stella Pastry, then I savored a cappuccino at Piccolo Forno across the street. The afternoon was too lovely.

Love like the Italians. Love yourself like they love themselves. And truly it’s an experience to savor a drink sip by sip, the last one just as satisfying as the first.

If “la dolce far niente” was cake.