June 30, 2017 Lynne 2 comments

The Vespa is an iconic symbol of “la dolce vita”. Who hasn’t imagined scooting around a charming Italian town on a Vespa? My Vespa fantasy includes a very thin me in a cute designer dress, riding a pink scooter with matching pink helmet, white silk scarf fluttering behind as I scoot along.

June 24, 2017 Lynne No comments exist

Saint Days in Italy are not only times for rituals, celebrations and traditions but they are also handy seasonal reminders, like a bookmark in the calendar. St John the Baptist day or San Giovanni Battista is a perfect example. Celebrated on June 24, it’s a day that signifies midsummer and celebrates the bountiful summer season….

April 23, 2017 Lynne 2 comments

Nick and I recently had a discussion about how different our lives are in Italy, and how much we enjoy our new lifestyle.  It seemed like the perfect topic for this installment of our blog.  So, in no particular order, here are the top 10 ways our lifestyle is different in Italy.   1. We…

March 28, 2017 Lynne 6 comments

It’s a picture perfect, blue-sky, warm spring day in Umbria. If we were on vacation, we would be visiting a lovely hilltown, checking out a museum, eating lunch at a quaint local pizzeria, and after a brief rest, enjoying an evening stroll and dinner at the best restaurant in town. Instead, today I did two…

March 5, 2017 Lynne No comments exist

We’ve been in Italy for two weeks and it’s been mostly wonderful.   Living in a foreign language does have its challenges, but we’ve accomplished a lot in these first weeks.   We arrived in Giove on Thursday afternoon, jet-lagged and exhausted.  We had been warned that the house might be difficult to find, but both…

February 14, 2017 Lynne 2 comments

“When we retire, let’s sell the house, get rid of ALL of our stuff and travel!” It all sounded so adventurous and romantic! But the honest truth is that getting rid of all your stuff can be pretty traumatic, at least it was for us.   It’s fair to say that we didn’t have anything…

December 4, 2016 Lynne 7 comments

We just returned from our first trip to Mexico. It won’t be our last. “Eso que ni que”. Literally means “That that not what”  but is really Mexican slang for  ” No Doubt About it”. We flew out of Albany airport as the world and Mexico was waking up to the news that Donald Trump…

October 22, 2016 Lynne 1 comment

“I’ve got three tickets to paradise”…I can’t get the lyrics to this Eddie MONEY! song out of my head! Probably because Delta Air lines requires a pet shipper to fly Bella to Rome at an added cost of at least $2500! $$$ Wow! Nick and I are using points and cash to book this flight…