We need a vacation!

Tomorrow is our big day -  Rachel and I leave for Bella Italia.  The last few days have been an absolute whirlwind of activity, buzzing around town picking up last minute items, goodbye BBQs with neighbors and friends, and packing and more packing. We both agree that we need a vacation from packing for our vacation.

We depart San Francisco mid-afternoon and fly to Paris, where we have a three hour layover before catching the plane to Milano.  All told, it will be a 15 hour trip, that is if all goes as planned. There always seems to be some type of glitch in the travel system, and just as long as it doesn't mirror the 30 hour trip we had in 2010, all will be good.  We'll stay in Milano overnight and drive to Berzo on Thursday morning (or will it be our night with the time change?). My cousins will be finishing the painting of the upstairs of the house tomorrow, and we're hoping to move in after a few days of letting it air out.  In the interim, we'll once again be staying at "Hotel Riboli", my cousin Bruna and Gene's home in Berzo.

The weekend will be busy visiting family, taking stock of the house and what we need to buy, and trying to get internet service set up with the help of my cousin Paolo, who thankfully is fluent in English and Italian and can talk "computer lingo" on my behalf.   We're hoping to get to the mercato (the Italian version of a farmer's market and a bit more) in Lovere on Saturday (it's awesome!), but that might be too ambitious given the effects of the time change and all we'll need to do to get the house ready. 

                                                 Our cherry tree - yummy! - and garden area.

                                                                  Villa Meli Terzi (our house). 
                                         The big tree in the background is the cherry tree.
                                  The garden in the foreground is our neighbor's, not ours :-(


As you can imagine, we're very excited about the trip.  For me, it will be a dream come true to have my daughter walk into her own house in Berzo. Our parents immigrated to America never having had a home together in Italy. They came here "on a wing and a prayer" and, like so many of those early immigrants, with nothing more than a heart full of hope and dreams for a better future. They more than gave that to us, their children, but in doing so, they had to leave behind their families and friends, and their hometown.  They instilled in us, though, that strong sense of family, regardless of whether aunts, uncles, and cousins lived here or back "in the old country", and they also nurtured the growth of deep, branching roots that have finally brought our family back to Italy.  After almost 75 years, our parents now have a home in Berzo, as do their children, grandchildren, and future generations. The circle is complete.

We appreciate you all "coming to Italy" with us this summer.  Let's get this started! 
Next post from Milano.