Petit Matin Maison Francis Kurkdjian 2016

A early morning just above the picturesque town of Limone on Lake Garda. Narrow, serpentine little roads where rarely two cars can pass each other, lined with individual southern coniferous trees, palms, citrus trees, and oleander bushes... yes, even whole trees... not 30 meters to the next curve, and in between, the azure blue of individual pools shines through.
The air is clear, invigoratingly fresh and citrusy... and filled with southern aromas. A cool mist still hovers over the lake, the warming rays of the sun are already breaking through and are absorbed and gently released by the beige-yellow rock formations like a sponge. The feeling of happiness, southern longing, and Italian romance fills every cell, exhausted by everyday stress, hustle, and professional pressure, to the brim and floods the body... one feels as if they are finally living again... not being lived.
The lake lies still in its narrow valley, only a few boats are out, individual surfers and paragliders dot the lake and sky... an almost meditative, intimate moment... of silence, of calm... of inner balance... almost too much for the senses to absorb all at once. The further one goes down the little road, the warmer it gets, it is an inner warmth, one feels magically drawn to the water, no electromagnet would be as strong as the intoxicating aroma of lemons, lemon peels, and maritime, crisp freshness.
There are still no 7/8 pants wearers with long socks in orthopedic sandals, no people whose XXL bellies are trapped in fake La Martina or Camp David shirts, no annoying selfie stick sellers... there are still no "guaranteed original" designer handbags for sale on the overcrowded tourist street floors, no girls in short shorts and fake brand boots at 28 degrees, no bus tourists ordering an "Expresso" or "German Beer"... one only hears the lake water crashing against the shore, individual espresso machines, and the clattering of dishes... the aroma of limoncello wafts from the already open shops. Aromas of limoncello soap and musk... a concentrated aroma of purity and cleanliness.
We walk to the promenade, all the boats still moored in the harbor... almost all the sun loungers are still free... only one has a towel on it, are there already Germans here? No!!!
Olivier Creed is lounging on his chair, the towel reads "Original Vetiver"... oops... I didn't expect to find him here... even if Limone is teeming with pale English people; -))! We quickly move on, Signore Creed does not want to be disturbed... a bit confused, we reflexively order an original Italian Paulaner 50 meters further and need to let the encounter sink in. We regain our calm as the sun comes out stronger, making the lake sparkle... just as we are wallowing back into Dolce Vita mode, a cool guy passes by, sits down next to us, and with his oversized obligatory pilot glasses, we didn't recognize him right away, the man has impeccable manners and introduces himself as "Tom Ford"... oops... another celebrity... can't one have some peace here!!?? I might as well go to St. Tropez or Munich's Leopoldstrasse;-)!
He quickly orders a freshly squeezed orange juice with warm honey-amber and also spreads his towel with the inscription "Rive d'Ambre"... I thought we had invented towel reservation for sun loungers. His towel seems extremely soft and luxurious and exudes a wonderful amber-citrus mix... but the morning had lost its innocence, the calm was gone... Olivier Creed has long since vanished with his Quattro Porte... parking garages are already full of SUVs parked exactly in the middle of two parking spaces or with German tourists searching for their wallets in an overcrowded Sharan... of course ALWAYS exactly in front(!) of the exit barrier... mio dio... only Tom Ford remains sitting on the beach... until the deep evening hours... by then we were already back on our "Tremosine hill"... just catching a glimpse of the warm evening sun setting... the silence slowly returning... amber and citrus aromas still lightly hovering on our skin... a truly "Grand Soir"... and we are already looking forward to the next "little morning"... :-)!