Il Dolce Far Niente (or Necking at the Beach for Hours)

They say the Italians are masters at doing nothing.
That that's where their true genius lies -- their ability to have fun, to feel good, to live a good life, without doing anything at all.
Without accomplishing anything.
Unless you count necking for several hours.
Which, I guess you do. That's precisely the point.
Went to the lake yesterday afternoon with my husband and son.
There was a couple there -- not that young -- laying on side-by-side longues who spent the entire afternoon kissing.
Hours.
It was hot to watch, of course.
Or at least catch fleeting glimpses of.
They just laid there all afternoon in their bathing suits, kissing, hugging and chatting.
He would cup her face now and again or smooth down her hair or run his hand over her hip and then pull her closer.
And all the while, they just kissed. And kissed. And kissed.
Without going any further than that.
With no rush about it at all.
With no end goal in sight.
Now everyone knows that Italy is the land of Public Displays of Affection.
You see couples making out all over the place (many don't have anywhere else to go).
But this was different.
For me, what was really striking about this couple, was the feeling these two gave off of having NOTHING ELSE THEY'D RATHER DO.
ALL AFTERNOON.
ALL EVENING.
ALL SUMMER.
Beyond just kiss.
It was the languor of it all, the take-all-the-time-in-the-world feeling about it, the this-could-go-on-forever-just-like-this mood they gave off.
Excuse me, but how cool is that?
What could possibly be better than spending a hot summer afternoon lying in a chaise longue with your lover beside you, just gently kissing you?
I mean, what could you have to do that could possibly compete with that?
Play frisbee? Work on your to-do list?
And while you're at it, why not make it last all afternoon?
Or all evening.
Or all summer.
I mean, really, what the hell else you gotta do?