An asparagus goes well with everything

The sand by the sea is like a soft, soothing carpet for your feet when you’re unwinding on holiday. Everyone can enjoy its delights. Simply take off your shoes, walk around barefoot and let the water lap against your skin. One good time to do it is first thing in the morning, when there aren’t many people around.

The sand is also where I live. I really thrive here because it’s soft, warm and the water drains away quickly when it rains. There’s lots of sand all over the place here in Bibione, not just on the sun-kissed beach in the summer. You’ll also find it if you get off the beaten track and head through the fields and the pine woods towards the lighthouse.

There’s more to Bibione than just the strip of land by the sea where you can sunbathe as your kids play. Fragrant, delicious crops are sown and harvested by the devoted farmers who live in the fields in the countryside.

I live there too, among little roads with the roots of old pine trees poking up through them. The cicadas sing in the summer and crickets chirrup on warm spring nights.

The season when the cold weather starts to make way for more clement temperatures is the very time when I slowly start to make an appearance. The sun rises higher and higher in the sky, heating the ground all around me. I love the spring: it’s my favourite time of year! It’s calm and peaceful, with hardly anyone around: just a few people who can never get enough of the seaside. They take strolls down to the lighthouse to admire the sunsets, which get longer every day.

I rise like the sun and seek out its rays so that I can keep growing and getting even tastier. The sea is just a stone’s throw away, behind the pine trees. The breeze blows gently against my stalk and gives me a distinctive briny flavour filled with all of the wonders found in the salty waves.

By the time summer comes around, I’m already gone. If you want to find me and try me – perhaps with a drizzle of olive oil from the trees that grow nearby – then you’ll have to come to Bibione in the spring, when the town’s waking from its winter slumber and the first few umbrellas start to brighten up the previously deserted beach.

Look for me among the little houses by the lighthouse. A good glass of wine from the surrounding area is a marvellous way to complement my qualities. Asparagus goes well with everything, but when it’s filled with maritime flavours and hints of the summer ahead, it’s even more delicious.