Summer Ecstasy...

Some time ago I used to measure time with Summers: how many have passed, and how many are to come. Then I've realized that you could have many Summers in one same year... and that in less than a 6-hour flight, I could have one at my request!

And for me, Summer and pleasure, Summer and ecstasy (which means, in Greek, to exist outside oneself) are synonyms. Some examples...

1. Sunset on the Greek island of Santorini. To see how the Sun, resembling a ball of fire, drowns in the turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea, projecting a pureness of light almost mystical.

2. To read the newspapers on a clear and sunny morning of June or July, seated at a table at the Cafe Le Senequier in St. Tropez, while I have a cold mint. And see the movement of the Harbor, the peacefulness before the agitation of the afternoon and the nightlife...

3. To witness what it feels to be the first, the one that marks the beginning of the season, when, by early December, I go to have lunch at La Huella in José Ignacio. I know all what's about to come: the parties, the tourists, the traffic jams, the summer scandals, the summer romances, the IT looks... But, for now, there's no-one and I'm the only one able to admire the strength of the waves, that come and go...

4. To swim among the rocks of Il Pellicano, in Porto Ercole, Tuscany. A unique place. The sea is cold and I feel like I can re-born as Aphrodite. 

5. The uncontrollable pleasure of leaving Paris, in an early November morning, so sad, grey and rainy, to land, only 10 hours later, at the Guanahani Hotel, in St. Barth, where the sun shines, it's 28°C outside and there's still much of the day to enjoy...

6. To eat grilled octopus, with lots of lime juice, at a restaurant on Agios Beach in Mykonos. And loose my sight on the horizon...

7. To walk the Tuscan hills around Montepulciano, in the Italian "estate" and feel small again. To smell the hay, the heat, the sun. To admire the hundred-year-old olive trees and the vines which, soon, will be loaded with grapes, rich in nectar.

8. To enjoy the narcissistic pleasure of watching oneself on the many mirrors of the Charlie Trotter restaurant, in Palmilla, Mexico. And see how my salmon dress enhances my tan...

9. To eat a juicy fig, hand-picked by me from its tree, in a wild garden on the Island of Panarea. To feel with my hands how it was brought up by the Sun, leaving its taste and heat in the fruit. And to think how wonderful the Summer is...

10. To take a yoga class at sunset at the Como Shambala, in Parrot Cay. To advance with the different postures as night falls, till I reach the final relax in the semi-darkness. And be in peace with myself...

I wrote this piece of the last issue of Mustique Magazine. I hope you've enjoyed it!