Blue Sky Thinking

I never understood why the protagonist in 'Eat, Pray, Love' traveled to three different countries to sample food, transcendence, and romance. Elizabeth Gilbert could easily have experienced all three in Naples and saved on her airfare. 

After all, Napoli, besides being the home of pizza, is also a city of many fascinating churches and Sophia Loren. Its centro storico is quite different than the lungomare or the affluent neighborhood of Chiaia, so Elizabeth could at least feel like she was visiting three different environments despite remaining within the confines of the capital of Campania.

But I would never presume to find fault with the logic of an international bestseller (although such editorial changes would certainly have reduced the budget of the movie adaptation).

In fact, with enough ITA Airways air miles, a smart person could Eat, Pray, Love for free in Napoli. Well, the pizza would be about ten euros or so. Entering the Duomo is free but you'd surely leave a donation of about five euro. The price of love? Well, that's up to you, I guess. Although I would not recommend economy in that department. Nevertheless, I think the total gross expenditure would be a lot less than Elizabeth shelled out for her epiphanies.

Of course, the male equivalent of 'Eat, Pray, Love' is probably 'Drink, Watch Sport, Ogle,' and to indulge in those venerable if somewhat questionable activities I'd advise Mr Gilbert to also spend an educational weekend in Napoli.

I think the average guy could learn a lot from a combination of Italian amari, the Serie A championship-winning soccer team, and all the fashionable ladies sauntering along Via dei Mille. Perhaps I should write a book? 

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