Allora, Aspetta!

Still packing, but almost ready

I can't believe it's almost tomorrow. We have had the busiest, fullest, most wonderful couple of months in recent memory here, and tomorrow is even a bigger jump, as we are headed back to the states for Thanksgiving, to meet baby Miriam, and to be with family and friends and remember the taste of apple cider, pumpkin pie, and persimmon pudding. Thanksgiving in America has been absent from my life for the past 3 years, and going back to be a part of that again, with the newest family member and Thanksgiving-celebrater, is a perfect conclusion to these past two months. What a lot to be thankful for.

I don't really know how to sum up these past two months, but happily they have involved friends, new and old, travel to familiar places around Italy, and plenty (I do mean plenty) of laughter. I can't believe a month has almost passed since Eric and Corrie first arrived here, and that week and a half or so that followed included some of the last month's true highlights. We went right away to Genova that weekend, based on a promise by a friend held true for a year now, and we spent a half a day roaming through Genova's tiny streets and eating well (we followed the advice of a fruit-vendor and found the tiniest, tastiest little place with plenty of truly Genovese style dishes to delight in). From there, it was like a list of places to go: Camogli (where I got drenched playing on the life-sized rocks), Portofino (where we took the long road to the light house to get views of the coast from afar), Lucca (of course), and finally Florence, somehow still humoring us with good weather and a beautiful sunset from our fifth floor hotel room. How much more whirlwind can it be?



above: Corrie plays pirate with clueless shipmates below: Jackie and Corrie in Orvieto / the boys at the winery

And still, the days didn't slow down. Next there was a day trip to Orvieto, a hike in the mountains and an excursion in a Roman cave and acquaduct, a trip to a winery, and a night with the guys watching Eric's favorite team win the soccer match. And to close it all off, we spent Sunday night throwing a Halloween party, pulling as many of our friends together as we could, and, in reality, saying goodbye to this wonderful week in October.

From whirlwind trips and fast paced days came daily life again. Just a few moments of it though, and Eric's departure meant me diving back into that same trip, working on cds and processing pictures, the sort of things that make the memories of what seemed like just moments become bigger and bolder. A few days getting back to normal, though, were gladly interrupted by a weekend away at the spelunking convention in Emilia-Romagna (more laughter), and, upon arriving back in Macerata, the arrival again of Corrie, but this time with someone else--her boyfriend Bowden. November had started, and Corrie and Bowden came back to Macerata to share it with us.

Just three days though--not so packed this time, but just as full, with dinners at our favorite restaurants and Corrie's chances to see Macerata through Bowden's eyes: new again, with that beauty that blankets the city in evening lights and the bluest sky. Bowden was great, and we were so glad to get to know him, to meet him in Italy, and to see how happy Corrie was whenever he was around. He's a very lucky guy.

Now Corrie's back in Macerata getting ready for her big move to Parma, and Antonello and I are packing bags for the trip back to the states. This week has been busy with last minute things, and Monday we even squeezed in a visit up north to Ancona to meet up with Cyndi for the day, basking in the last days of Indian summer. There's so much I left out, and oh so much more to tell, obviously--the details seem to slip right off the pages. Who can really forget them though--all those reasons for laughter and friendship are found among the little things.

-Jackie

posted by Corrie @ 8:39:00 AM