Memories of Adriatic Summer Sweetness

Even though the song below came out two years ago, the sound of it actually brings up memories of the year 2002, walking on the beach in the town of Senigallia (on the Adriatic coast in the Marche region of Italy), holding hands with a summer sweetheart I had met at a party with friends in Bologna a week earlier.  We had spent the evening chatting away from the people at the party, and before it was over he gave me his number and a kiss.  I saw him once more in Bologna before continuing with my travels.

I went to Slovenia to experience a new place, but he had invited me down to his family’s beach apartment and we had chemistry that I’d never experienced before, so… after some days exploring, eating and swimming in the charming seaside town of Piran, I took the bus over the Italian border into Trieste, and the train all the way down to Ancona, where he picked me up and drove me to Senigallia.  A bit wild, I know, but when it comes to matters of the heart, sometimes you just have to do it.

We spent several days eating seafood in restaurants, cooking at home, staying up late playing cards and drinking wine or grappa, and early in the evenings I let him lead me through the narrow streets of the town’s historic center, where we indulged in gelato and listened to live music in one of the piazzas.  There were thunderstorms in the night sometimes, and he would hold me and soothe me when I woke up in fright.  I spoke very little Italian at the time, and he spoke only some English, but somehow we managed to have long conversations.  When it was time for me to go back to Switzerland, where I was living, he drove me all the way to Bologna so I could catch my train.

We never saw each other again.  But it was perfect that way.  Life went on.  I have always looked back on that summer fondly – I was 24 and it was my first year living abroad.  It was the year I cut my hair short and rode on the back of a friend’s Vespa through Zurich at 4:00 in the morning.  I was independent and adventurous.  Seven years later, I guess I still am.

This is the song I heard today that brought it all back (even though it was released in ‘07).  Lovely accordion parts, don’t you think?  It has a breezy, beachy sound to it, at least for me.  I heard it today for the first time.

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Below you’ll find couple of songs that were playing a lot on the radio and Italian MTV that adventurous summer in 2002.

Notice the accordion sounds all of these songs have in common?

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Une Histoire D’Amour – Gabin. <–Click on the title to hear the song. It’s beautiful and worth it.  Really!

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Tu es Foutu – InGrid. (video below) – InGrid is an Italian singer, but this is sung in French.

Both of these songs make me feel like I’m on the Adriatic sea, enjoying my freedom.