google.com, pub-2204108900031851, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

Happy Easter

Seven weeks ago we set foot back on American soil.  We’re in our new (old) home, settled into our new routines, seen all our family and close friends, and pretty much adjusted to life back in the U.S.  We’re back in a familiar city doing familiar things, but it’s...

Back in the USA

We’ve been back for a little over four weeks.  A lot has happened since then.  We’ve moved into a new (old) house, I started back to work, Steve bought a new car, Millie got attacked by a dog, and our grandchildren made us feel like royalty. Lots of people...

We’re Home Now

Maybe some of you are wondering what has happened now that we’ve landed on American soil.  I miss talking to you about our experience, even though now our experience is over.  But another experience is beginning.  A new life in a familiar place. It’s very strange being back.  It’s...

We Come Home

Today is the day.  After six months of living in Italy, today is the day we make our way back home to Georgia.  Notice I said “back home”.  I wrote that without thinking.  I could have said “back to Georgia”, or just “to Georgia”.  But I said “back home”. ...

We Savor our Last Day

Well, after six months, it’s finally here.  Our last day in Italy.  We’re stunned that it came upon us so fast.  One minute we were frolicking in the Tuscan countryside and the next we were zipping our suitcases closed.  In between we amassed a lifetime of memories and had...

We Pause in Rome

We’re on our way from Anghiari to Atlanta.  Our pit stop is Rome.  We fly out Thursday late morning and didn’t want to be rushed, so we drove from Anghiari to Rome on Tuesday so that we had one full day regroup and enjoy Rome.  By now, all the...

We Leave Anghiari

Today we leave Anghiari.  We’ve rented a car to take us, Millie, and seven suitcases to Rome, where in two days we’ll leave Italy.  Leaving Anghiari is hard.  It’s harder than it was leaving Georgia back in August.  Then we were leaving to embark on this wonderful adventure, and...

We Pause to Remember

We had our last dinner with our wonderful and dear friends, Ludo, Barbara, and Ilaria and their families on Sunday night.  These are the first Italians we really ever met, and it’s because of them that we became interested in opening our store, Bella Italia.  They were all very...

We Make the Most of Precious Time

We crawled into bed Thursday night at midnight.  As we were getting settled in, it occurred to us that in exactly one week at that very moment we would be in the Atlanta airport.  Then we sighed heavily and went to sleep with less than one week left in...

We Start the Countdown

Eight more nights in Italy, six more nights in Anghiari.  We alternate between panic that we have to pack and move all the stuff we’ve accumulated back to Georgia, and trying to savor each moment.  We feel like if we’re not making the most of every minute, we’re wasting...