The Best Way to Travel

The best way to travel abroad is to live with the locals.
~Unknown

When I was a kid, I wanted to be Pippi Longstocking, the red-haired, independent nine-year-old hero of Astrid Lindgren’s books of the same name. If you don’t know the story of Pippi, you can read more here. In short, Pippi lived on her own with a monkey and a horse, wore mismatched socks, and had many fun adventures. Best of all, she traveled to faraway places to meet new people and cultures.

I wanted to be like Pippi. I wanted to have a monkey (I asked for one for Christmas) and a horse (Ditto for my birthday.). I wanted my pigtails to stick out. Probably more than anything, I wanted the to navigate the world.

I never got the monkey….nor the horse. My pigtails flopped next to my head. But I did, eventually, get to experience worlds far from that of my childhood.

Going Elsewhere

It is no secret that I decided a number of years ago that I could live in Italy and that the only reason I’m not is that I have family in the States. A number of people have asked me why I want to live there…why I got Italian citizenship…why it matters to me so much.

You know, there is no one simple answer to any of those questions. There are a few simple ones (My blood comes from there. My grandmother missed her birthplace throughout her life.) and a few that are more complex and that I’m not going to detail. Suffice to say, though, that it’s a place where I feel at home.

Shortly after we moved from Las Vegas to Nashville in the mid-90s, I was whining to a friend about how out of place I felt in Nashville…that I couldn’t breathe…that I felt closed-in. He sent me a few paragraphs of an essay about finding the place where we belong, and for years I carried the slip of paper with that wisdom on it until I ironically lost it when we moved back to Las Vegas from Nashville. For years, I have searched and searched for those words, and today, I finally found the two paragraphs (See photo below).

So, in the short course of answering, I think found my place. Getting there has been a little difficult because our lives are all knotted up with the lives of others. Sometimes there are knots that hold us back. Family. Work. Money. Opportunity. Fear.

And, sometimes, things just fall into place as they should.

And, so???

For a few years, Mike has been saying that we should “live” in Italy for a few months. I would look into it, and he would hesitate. I would hesitate, and he would mention it. Not much was holding us back, but neither of us wanted to leave Riley (our dog, if you aren’t aware) for such a long time. Riley’s passing in October devastated both of us more than I could ever tell you. Mike decided that, perhaps, it was time to get our minds off of the LIttle Dude and on to living in Italy.

We are, therefore, leaving for Italy in February to see how we (Mike, really) likes living there. We’re going to spend six weeks in an apartment in Lucca, two in Bologna, and one in Treviso. Mike likes to joke that we’re going to northern Italy in the winter to see if we’ve changed our minds about the cold. My point is that if you decide you are going to live there, you might as try it at a time that is not the most desirable for vacationing.

Of the three cities, only Treviso is new to us. North of Venice, Treviso has picturesque canals, medieval walls, and a relaxed atmosphere. It’s also close to the Prosecco wine region and, for those of you that like it, the birthplace of tiramisu. I chose it so we could see a different city. And while I doubt we would ever decide to live there, you never know.

I’ll introduce you to all three towns next time. I think you’ll love them. I know I do.