Mentally I live in Italy

Hello again Diary!
I have been lax in my posts lately and am hereby requesting forgiveness. Ok, glad that's done. Anyhoo, Lots has occurred since my last post to you and I am still working on writing all my observations and experiences from the last time I was in Italy. (I promise to get right on that BTW).

As you will come to find out my cute hubby and I went to Calabria to look at properties and came away with a house that we both agreed we could not live without. The total cost of our 700 square foot palace is 56,000 Euros. This does not cover the roof terrace we plan on putting in or the cost of purchasing and renovating the attached ruin or the cellar which will give us more much desired square footage. One needs plenty of floor space because family members are starting to come out of the wood work and they need a place to crash.

Well time has passed and the actual time is approaching when Pete and I will get on our beloved Alitalia airlines (Party central BTW! Those Italian flight crews are a GAS!), wing our way over to Calabria, sign some papers and spend our first night in our new home. We are so excited we cannot contain ourselves and we have stopped trying. We look forward to breakfast on the balcony with the view of the sea, shopping at the local market and exploring our new little home town. The quest to learn Italian continues and there will be much grunting as I attempt to put words together without speaking Spanish at the locals, and to make myself understood. One cannot overpraise "Italian for Dummies" or "Drive Time Italian" in their valient efforts to educate me and keep me from looking stupid (Really it is a fool's errand but there you are).

Today is january 18th 2011. Last Spring I promised that July 2011 I would be on my roof terrace playing my violin. Ok it may be on the balcony but in my mind that still counts. The sea breeze will blow and the Italian time that has seen so many amazing things (Magna Greca, Pompeii The Roman Empire and, and , and... will see tiny me on my tiny balcony playing my tiny violin. History does not have to be huge to be history and I plan on making some. I hope that I will see all my friends there very soon.
XO
Chris