When I first began my trip to Italy on 6/28, I was thinking how much time I had. But like so many trips, the time flew and I sat and wondered on my 12 hour flight home, where the time had gone.
Traveling with my parents afforded some new challenges. While the consummate travelers themselves, I had to remind myself that once a daughter, always a daughter. Constant questions of whether I had my passport secured, if I had a little sweater in case it got cold, and reminders not to carry knives in my carry-on luggage. One would think I had never traveled before. And after almost 54 years of marriage, my parents have their own special way of communicating, which can possibly be translated into bickering.
Having lived in Italy for 4 years, our return trips are more of reconnecting with friends and spending time with family. Pisa was the only major city we spent time in, and very little at that. Most of the rest was spent catching up with friends, having lunch and basking on the beach. Both my brothers came and went intermittently and my high school pal, Heidi, visited the last four days before going on to catch up with other high school friends.
In Italy, the nights are late, and the mornings leisurely. Nothing opens much before 10:30 and closes down from around 1:30-4:30pm. Timing was everything.
The weather was perfect. The first week was spent on the shoreline and then next two in the country.
Food was spectacular. I ate quite a bit of what we would consider BAIT! It was deeeelicious. The first part of the trip consisted mostly of seafood. Mackeral, red cod, squid and octopus. The most interesting of the seafood was squid cooked in it's own ink (fabulous) and many varieties of small fish we don't have here in the US.
Once we headed inland, it was all about the meat and game. More of the interesting of dishes I sampled were ones made with Mountain Ram (mutton), wild boar, pigeon and one described as "Little Donkey Cooked in Terra Cotta Pot, which translated loosely into Wild Ass. I also ate many dishes of spring lamb and ones with truffles, both in high season.
Heidi and I were kicked out of the church of St. Frances of Assisi as our skirts did not reach our knees, and I ripped the bumper off our French-plated Renault after running over a hidden GAS pipe. Quite a thrill.
I napped each day to full coverage of the Tour de France and basked in the sun.
As for traveling, it was tough. Long delays, long flights and crazy travelers.
All in all, it was a spectacular vacation. I feel fortunate to have spent this time with my family and friends, both old and new.
I will say this, I am glad to be home and looking forward to fishing.
I've included a few photos.
All that is left is the hole 
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