Last night felt like the old Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A terrace near Manuel Becerra. Wine, tea, Spanish food. Jonah and Stella flew in from Italy for a few days. Jonah is a close friend. We’ve known each other for five years. He left a career in M&A consulting. Stella left her life here. Together they packed up and moved to Italy. They were learning Italian. Making new friends. Starting over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prince. ABBA. Ocean Vuong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hadn’t taken a real holiday in over a year and a half. I was thinking Genoa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jonah asked why not Nice. I’d been there last year on my way to Stockholm. I loved it. The pace of life. The way you forget what day it is by the second afternoon. The contrast with my daily life in Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France banned nicotine pouches. Possession is now punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to \u20ac375,000. I’m not going back to cigarettes. And I’m not going to jail for carrying a tin in my pocket. So France is off the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was the first time Jonah had heard the details. He’d heard about the ban. But hearing the numbers out loud is different. Five years. \u20ac375,000. For a pouch. He looked at me and said that was insane. Stella said it was unfair. We all agreed it was both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So Genoa it is. Liguria. The Italian Riviera. Same coastline. No handcuffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ve never been to Genoa. But it feels like the right place to go. The food. The light. The sea. I didn’t tell them the other reason. My parents met in Italy. It was always just a name. Now it isn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France knew what Sweden did. It chose differently. It banned pouches. Possession. Use. Even carrying one through customs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I’m going to Genoa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France will be there when it comes to its senses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Last night felt like the old Madrid. A terrace near Manuel Becerra. Wine, tea, Spanish food. Jonah and Stella flew in from Italy for a few days. Jonah is a close friend. We’ve known each other for five years. He left a career in M&A consulting. Stella left her life here. Together they packed up […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":3834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n