WHY TAKING A "GUT WALK" IS THE BEST WAY TO DISCOVER A CITY
A brief love letter to un-planned exploration...
The sun is out, the streets are full, every table occupied, every piazza buzzing with life. You can hear church bells ringing from some distant cathedral, children are laughing, a pair of vespas speed past in a fury. An elderly couple is enjoying gelato in the shade of a narrow alley. A dog sniffs at your feet, Restaurant owners donned with aprons caked in flour shout salutations at each other from across the street. It smells like coffee - no wait, fresh bread - no its the smell of blooming rose and bougainvillea hanging from ancient stone walls. Someone is singing. You stop to take a rest at the lip of marble fountain. You've been walking for quite a while, without any particular purpose or destination. You've been taking it all in. You've using your gut to guide you.
You exchange a smile with a stranger, you point to a colorful pastry in a glass case and buy it. You haven't mustered the courage to practice your duolingo Italian yet. But that's ok. There's music playing from a shop down the way. The sun is hot but you push on. You climb a hill in hopes of a secret view, a new perspective. Two lovers embrace on a little patch of grass beneath a stone pine. You duck into a church to cool off. It smells like incense and history. You look up, you've been reminding yourself to look up because it always proves to be worth it. What you see is beautiful, but of course it is. You exhale, take a moment in silence, and then continue, letting your gut lead the way...
Walking the streets of a city can make you feel alive. On the streets is where you use all your senses; where you see everything, hear everything, smell everything, taste everything, and most certainly feel everything.
It feels like a heart beat.
And it guides you where it wishes.
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