This is what you can learn from an Italian woman

Just like during Ferragosto, when everyone rushes to the beaches to kick off the holiday and leave the suffocating city behind, this happens weekly on Sundays in a smaller scale. The last day of the week is like a mini-holiday every week, where the shops outside the historic center are completely closed and the busiest traffic is the birds in the sky.

I only noticed it when I had a day completely unplanned and the shutters of my supermarket were closed. I walked a block further to the next one, but this one was also closed. According to Google Maps, there was another one not too far away, open until five, so I walked there. The streets were dead quiet and my walk in the sun was wonderfully peaceful. I counted back to the previous weeks and realized that this was the first Sunday I was in the city. In Italy, you are not supposed to be there on a Sunday..

In Rome, people take a passeggiata towards the south, in Florence everyone heads into the hills. The one with the nicest house in the campagna is the lucky one, because that's where the barbecue is lit and the garden fills up by noon. No Dutch scenes around presence or not, even at the last moment guests are still welcome. Out of kindness, there might even be a stop at the megasupermarket along the way (which is open) for some extra food, but even if that doesn't happen, there is enough for a whole army. And even without a parental home in the green, you head out of the built-up area. You look for a swimming pool, take a picnic basket with you on a whim, or drive towards the beach.

But even though the Italian escapes his city on the day of rest, it is also lovely in the city itself – nothing happens. At least outside the center, because inside you only find tourists and it's quickly time to leave. In residential areas, on the other hand, you can stroll around in complete peace, without feeling like a tourist. Sunday is therefore the perfect day to be a little Italian, even without an invitation to a family barbecue. So let go of that ambition to shop for a moment and head out with your legs at the end of the weekend. You'll see what I mean.