If you don’t know – Nonna is the Italian for Grandmother and yes – this is becoming a trend. A viral social media movement celebrating the slower-paced lifestyles and traditions of Italian grandmothers. And I like that! It has also fuelled interest in so-called “grandma tourism,” which sees travellers seek out classes, tours and experiences led by older women.
I think this is all part of the desire to slow things down and get to the essence of a destination. Discover the way things were done before microwaves and Skip the Dishes. Our lives today are so fast – too fast in fact – and a lesson from Nonna seems a very comforting thing to have.
Searching out our cultural heritage – visiting the places we first saw in a faded photograph in grandma’s album – now that is meaningful. A personal connection that gives you goosebumps, makes you sit down for a moment in this crazy hectic world and think back to what it was like in those days. As more people seek out their personal history via platforms like Ancestry and 23&Me then the next step is to visit those places where life was simpler. Imagine a week in the Scottish highlands learning how to cook neeps and tatties. Or perhaps some time in Taormina learning how to make proper Cannoli like you have never tasted before.
But it is not just the cooking – or the learning – it is the teacher that is the thing and that is where the grandmas and the nonnas come in. To make your experience really special wouldn’t you love to be taught by a grandma from the highland of Scotland whose accent you can hardly understand – or a nonna from Sicily tapping you on the head – known as the “are you crazy tap”.
Our lives seem to be on fast forward – maybe it’s time to slow things down and take a leaf out of Nonna’s book.
Knowing Nonna she would notice and probably slap you upside the head!
Me and my sister with our grandma
