Calabria

Thursday, we packed up the babbies and the parents and hopped in the cars to head for the hills. The hills outside of Catanzaro, where Marcellinara sits. Marcellinara is the town listed on my Great-Grandmother’s immigration paperwork as her home before departing Italy for New York. We believe she and her husband married there before […]

It’s a 3.5 hour drive from Localita Brace to Pompeii.  It’s a long drive. Introduced the parents to the Hamilton soundtrack on the drive. Tried, mostly successfully, to stay awake.  Successfully found the ruins. Successfully parked.  Successfully acquired tickets. Unsuccessfully tried to enter the ruins. Turns out you can’t have professional photography equipment within the […]

In the aftermath of our visit to the city buried by the volcano, we were all pretty well tuckered out.  3.5 hours up, 4 hours there, 3.5 hours back. Heat. Walking. More walking… So, Saturday because a day of relaxing. Mom and I started off with an afternoon swim in the sea.  The water was […]

There was tasty Bieletti brewed coffee while sitting on the porch this morning. A fresh nectarine and bread with butter and some amazing cherry preserves for breakfast. And then we relaxed.  Get used to reading that quite a bit. It’s actually amusing how much the babbies’ sleep/food schedule doesn’t align with non-siesta. Keeps us on […]

I woke about 2AM to the sound of rain. It was lovely, and stopped shortly after I rolled over to go back to sleep. When I finally woke again, it was still overcast, and just before 10AM, the rain started again.  Big, fat drops falling down with enough force to rattle the leaves and make […]

Up early, quick coffee and bread with jam, then on the road to explore Museo Archeologico di Vibo Valentia. While only about 7 miles away, it was a good 30 minute drive up the face of a mountain and through the town. Waze, yet again, tried taking me on a road that was impassible because […]

I have a letter to the Pope. Well, a letter to his household, at least.  We want to get tickets to the general audience that happens just before we leave Rome.  I tried faxing it from the US, and it just didn’t work. So I printed it out and addressed an envelope, and I have […]

Today’s travels took our team of travelers to the town of Tropea. Technically, the total team’s tally ticked towards triumph though three tarried tiredly ‘tween the territories of our tenancy. Okay, enough of THAT. P stayed home with the babbies while Mom, Dad,  L and I hit Tropea.  P & L had already made a […]

After a casual morning filled with coffee and bread with jam, we hit the road circa noon and headed for Reggio Calabria, to Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia.  Reggio Calabria is 61 miles from the house… it’s about an hour and a half drive (excluding time spent backing down yet ANOTHER murder road, thanks Waze). […]

We woke early on this fateful morning. Dishes, sweeping, laundry… prepping the house for the arrival of E and M, the final additions to our party.  We managed to bring some order to the chaos of the previous two weeks.  Enough, at least, to not shock and awe the newcomers. They arrived in a flurry […]