I'm not an early-bird. I like the night life and I don't enjoy waking up at the crack of dawn. Since I've been here, I don't even want to go to bed, because there's so much to do, I don't want to miss a single moment.
When I moved to California from New York City, I felt guilty sleeping late because the day begins and ends very early there. The surfers are up early to catch the best waves and everyone lives outdoors because the weather is so perfect. The Italian way of life suits my tendency of being a night person. Dinner doesn't begin until at least 8PM. The operas and concerts don't start until 9PM and sometimes 9:30. People stay up late, socializing.
Here it's not a sin to enjoy sleeping late. Not that everybody does it. It's the perspective that's different. Here, sleeping late, at least on the weekends, is considered a pleasure, a welcome indulgence.
The Duomo bells don't ring until 7AM here for the Angelus. And when they do, sometimes I just say a prayer of thanks for being woken up by such a beautiful sound coming from such a magnificent basilica with so much history. And then I close my eyes for another dose of sleep, without feeling guilty.
