Confession

This weekend I wrote about the books you can read when you're in Italy and that might fit your mood du moment. Then I received a lot of DMs on @maybrittmobach. From mothers (how do you manage to read on vacation with kids???) and from expectant mothers (So it is possible to read with kids, how nice) and then I had to admit with a blush that I am only on page 56 of my current book. Now I have indeed read all the books I recommended (except for Kolibrie), but in Haarlem and not in Italy.

I can't really manage it either, because there is always a swimsuit that needs to be put on or taken off, a little bottom that needs to be wiped, or someone begging for a pest partner. Moreover, I find it much too cozy in the evenings to stare a bit with my beloved over the hills of the Valle d'Itria and raise a glass to life. So that reading, that will come later when the days darken.

But what I do, and what I devour is CHI. Oh guys, the most secret pleasure imaginable. It is an Italian gossip magazine that I didn't know anyone from when I started reading, but by now I know my regulars here too. Flavio Briatore who every summer throws a different tasty morsel onto his yacht, Michelle Hunziker who always remains the public favorite, and of course Francesco Totti and football wives who participate in De Grote Verbouwing every year. But then at their own place.

In the world of CHI, it seems everyone lives on yachts and commutes from Portofino to Sardinia and Puglia. I find tips for trendy beach tents in CHI and read in CHI that Brooklyn Beckham is getting married around the corner next year. All in Borgo Egnazia, where Madonna celebrated her 59th birthday and where you shouldn't be surprised if you have to shell out 2500 euros per night for your room. But then you do get something.

Anyway. CHI then. What always makes me laugh is that CHI uses the sequel principle. It goes like this. You see a report about actress Donatella (just saying). The next report is about her friend model Federica who disappeared on a yacht with her new love of three months after Donatella's party. In the report that follows, we see her ex who then meets up with his ex in a café and so it goes on.

Especially in the summer, CHI is my favorite, because everyone is rarely dressed in more than a bikini or swimming trunks so you get an instant summer feeling. Also, everyone is getting married and everyone is intensely happy with each other, for at least a year and a half. And I still have to find the first person without a tattoo, but it is all delightful and entertaining and costly. And moreover, it is particularly good for my Italian.