Today as I readied some things for guests, old friends actually, arriving from Austria, I took a break late afternoon. The pool had the most beautiful reflections of the inn...which prompted more reflections on my part. I thought of this journey of plans, changes, upsets, mistakes, disasters, discouragment, frustrations, nagging doubts, mess/filth, cold damp days of work, stifling hot days of work, aching backs from lifting, dashing off to get something urgent, running around from Perugia to Terni, to Rome and Florence for furnishings and details, learning a myriad of new Italian construction vocabulary, studying marketing, web designing, laughter and tears, of sheer exhaustion!!!!!!!
All through it though I had a vision: a welcoming, inviting inn full of atmosphere of times past but with all the comforts I myself need and enjoy when I travel. Since the May 1st opening, the strain, the drain, the weight of the years of hard work have begun to fade, giving way to a delicious inner glow of pleasure, of satisfaction and gratification as guests exude their enthusiasm and delight with the inn. All along I followed my instincts of style and ambiance, being true to myself.... Can we ever be anything but true to ourselves? Can we ever try to be who we are not? Body and soul... "corpo e anima" ...AND our hearts went into our Genius Loci. I will have plenty to reflect on for a long time after this long and difficult journey of restoration.
