“MARIA, PLEASE, WE NEED MORE than five minutes to get ready in the morning,” I remind her the night before. She complies and gives us seven minutes the following morning. “It breaks my heart to have to wake you,” she says. I’m about to explain when I see Giorgio put on his coat and get … Read more
Having barely survived our hectic existence back home, we’re longing to embark on a slower pace of life here. But my father-in-law seems to be related to the bus driver; he, too, is a man on a mission. With only a couple of weeks left before their departure, Giorgio has much to show us, and … Read more
WE ARRIVE IN ROME. NO taxi is available, so we walk to the bus stop and soon discover that cobblestone is no longer charming when one has to wheel enormous heavy suitcases over it. We miss our bus to Abruzzo and must wait three hours for the next one. Regardless, we put on our new … Read more
MY ITALIAN PRINCE HAS BEEN won over! He has unexpectedly received the most unlikely news: the furniture-making shop that employs him is moving to a new location an hour and half away. Not having the inner demons of retirement charts to contend with, he agrees to take a year off and go to Italy. His … Read more
I FELL IN LOVE WITH Italy the minute I spotted that peach-colored swing coat in Florence more than twenty years ago. Though it was ruinously expensive, I had to possess it. Being nineteen at the time certainly helped me decide. I handed over my MasterCard, put on the coat, and pranced out onto the beckoning … Read more
As we drive down the winding mountain road, I see the national military police up ahead, signaling us to stop. David hits the brakes of the ancient BMW 320. The sudden jolt sets off a round of clucking from the chickens in the backseat. The bamboo stalks roped to the car’s roof slide forward but … Read more