Just sitting in the airport, waiting to be boarded onto the plane. Our first flight will depart at around 1:45 and then we'll be on our way! Everyone's starting to get excited as we get closer to our destination. I sure hope this will turn out to be one of the best trips of our lives!
Love,
Ashley
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The Last Night...
It's 11:20, and the kids are tucked in bed. I'm contemplating to the soothing swish of the dishwasher -- 5th load today, I think. Who can tell anymore?
We have packed and unpacked and repacked once or twice now. Each suitcase weighs about 50 pounds according to our luggage scale, but who knows really until we get to the airport? Michael the rule follower (seconded strongly by Eleanor, the chip off the old block) declared emphatically that we must lose three pounds from each of the overweight suitcases. I, the optimist & coper, say blithely that the scales are all different and they're usually pretty nice about one or two pounds. They only get agitated when you're way above the prescribed weight. Sort of like the doctor, I guess.
In any case, I plan to be the check-in official, and will let Michael blend into the landscape along with the five kids. I figure our chances of getting through the baggage police are better that way...I always chat them up & find out how many children they have, where they're from, when their next vacation is, and their favorite recipes. By the time we're finished, the bags are well on their way without a murmur of protest from the weight enforcers.
And our carryons? As is typical with us, they weigh more than the suitcases. Sigh. Packing for a year is an interesting thing to do. You have multiple seasons with their concomitant shoe changes (Michael does NOT understand that). I'm a low maintenance gal when it comes to shoes, but even so! Jeans are tremendously heavy. And (guilty secret) I actually broke down & am taking some yarn to Italy!!! Mostly in the form of projects that are in progress, though -- so it's not too embarrassing. What WAS embarrassing was having to use a "sucky bag" (you know the vacuumable bags that reduce everything?) in my hand luggage. As in my "personal item." But it did help shrink my wool an impressive amount, leaving a bit of room for snacks on the way!
I attach a picture of what it takes to get seven people abroad for a year:
And that doesn't include everyone's "personal item" -- generally a backpack. Luckily, Leonardo & I both came to our senses and decided that we really needed 2 vehicles to meet us. I suspect all of us will pile into Leo's van, and the luggage will accompany his other driver, but we'll see what happens.
Tonight we enjoyed our last ethnic flavor: the best barbecue Georgia has to offer, in my opinion. It was outstanding. Spiced Right was every bit as good as Michael has claimed over the years. Bonnie & Bob went in with Anna and Chris to feed us our last Atlanta meal (thank you again, guys!), and (can you believe it) the Tucker location closes early on Monday! And here's where they show the love: B&B actually drove out to Suwanee to pick up our barbecue. Wow. Without even complaining. They weren't going to tell us, but we wormed it out of them.
Much laughter & many hugs later, we spent another hour or so scurrying around like busy ants, doing all the last-minute items that had to be done. Thank goodness I'm not trying to clean the house for our renters (no, we don't have anyone lined up yet -- feel free to let me know if you hear of someone nice who wants our house)! Tricia's friend Slavica is going to do that for us, and I'm thrilled because I know I can trust her to do a fabulous job.
We have been so showered with love in the past few days. Thanks to all who attended the house cooling, and to all of you who have been so incredibly helpful throughout the summer!
With much love and gratitude,
Alexandra
We have packed and unpacked and repacked once or twice now. Each suitcase weighs about 50 pounds according to our luggage scale, but who knows really until we get to the airport? Michael the rule follower (seconded strongly by Eleanor, the chip off the old block) declared emphatically that we must lose three pounds from each of the overweight suitcases. I, the optimist & coper, say blithely that the scales are all different and they're usually pretty nice about one or two pounds. They only get agitated when you're way above the prescribed weight. Sort of like the doctor, I guess.
In any case, I plan to be the check-in official, and will let Michael blend into the landscape along with the five kids. I figure our chances of getting through the baggage police are better that way...I always chat them up & find out how many children they have, where they're from, when their next vacation is, and their favorite recipes. By the time we're finished, the bags are well on their way without a murmur of protest from the weight enforcers.
And our carryons? As is typical with us, they weigh more than the suitcases. Sigh. Packing for a year is an interesting thing to do. You have multiple seasons with their concomitant shoe changes (Michael does NOT understand that). I'm a low maintenance gal when it comes to shoes, but even so! Jeans are tremendously heavy. And (guilty secret) I actually broke down & am taking some yarn to Italy!!! Mostly in the form of projects that are in progress, though -- so it's not too embarrassing. What WAS embarrassing was having to use a "sucky bag" (you know the vacuumable bags that reduce everything?) in my hand luggage. As in my "personal item." But it did help shrink my wool an impressive amount, leaving a bit of room for snacks on the way!
I attach a picture of what it takes to get seven people abroad for a year:
And that doesn't include everyone's "personal item" -- generally a backpack. Luckily, Leonardo & I both came to our senses and decided that we really needed 2 vehicles to meet us. I suspect all of us will pile into Leo's van, and the luggage will accompany his other driver, but we'll see what happens.
Tonight we enjoyed our last ethnic flavor: the best barbecue Georgia has to offer, in my opinion. It was outstanding. Spiced Right was every bit as good as Michael has claimed over the years. Bonnie & Bob went in with Anna and Chris to feed us our last Atlanta meal (thank you again, guys!), and (can you believe it) the Tucker location closes early on Monday! And here's where they show the love: B&B actually drove out to Suwanee to pick up our barbecue. Wow. Without even complaining. They weren't going to tell us, but we wormed it out of them.
Much laughter & many hugs later, we spent another hour or so scurrying around like busy ants, doing all the last-minute items that had to be done. Thank goodness I'm not trying to clean the house for our renters (no, we don't have anyone lined up yet -- feel free to let me know if you hear of someone nice who wants our house)! Tricia's friend Slavica is going to do that for us, and I'm thrilled because I know I can trust her to do a fabulous job.
We have been so showered with love in the past few days. Thanks to all who attended the house cooling, and to all of you who have been so incredibly helpful throughout the summer!
With much love and gratitude,
Alexandra
Monday, July 30, 2012
Arrivederci, Atlanta!
Today we held our "housecooling" -- the opportunity for us to say goodbye to our friends and, incidentally, clean out our pantry. I don't think anyone left empty-handed; thank you all so much & hope you enjoy your finds!
It's hard to believe that we're leaving the day after tomorrow. It seems so near and yet still a month away -- as Jeremy says! The suitcases are all packed and waiting, although we'll undoubtedly do some last-moment shifting.
Tomorrow is reserved for the final boxing of personal items from the house. Michael's got a few more things to do: mothballing our pc, packing up the clothes he won't be taking, and so on. Another trip to Goodwill, a meeting with Slavica (who will be giving our house the spring cleaning it desperately needs!), and the last-minute odds & ends will probably last the day, sadly.
We've been concentrating on getting in our ethnic foods in the last few days. Todi is great for many things (including food, for certain!), but if you go out to eat, you'll be eating Italian. Or maybe Italian. For a change -- would you like to go out to Italian? It's also rather difficult in our small town to get other spices; curry powder is a rare find, for instance. Jerk seasoning? Non c'e. Tandoori? Don't even ask.
As a result, we enjoyed Ethiopian last night (Desta at the corner of Briarcliff & Clairmont), Rain tonight (Lavista & Cheshire Bridge), and we'll have ... barbecue tomorrow at our house courtesy of Spiced Right in Tucker! Mmmm.
We know we will miss you all; I was reflecting, however, how much our life in Atlanta depends on remote friendship. Many of you I see only once a year because of schedules, distance, and so on. Somehow, we manage to stay close in our hearts. Others I email regularly. Those of you I see frequently will be the most difficult, because of course we'll mostly change to the written word. I have to laugh because one of our dear relatives said she knew more about what was going on with us in Todi last time we went via the blog than she does when we're living in Atlanta just 7 miles away from her!
Our love to all of you. And I say it again -- we would love to see any of you who are planning to come to Italy; please let us know about your dates and how we can help you have a wonderful visit! Those who can't come -- we'd love to hear from you through your comments, emails, or even snail mail!
Our address is:
Via Mazzini, 30
Todi (PG) 06059
Italy
Love,
Alexandra
It's hard to believe that we're leaving the day after tomorrow. It seems so near and yet still a month away -- as Jeremy says! The suitcases are all packed and waiting, although we'll undoubtedly do some last-moment shifting.
Tomorrow is reserved for the final boxing of personal items from the house. Michael's got a few more things to do: mothballing our pc, packing up the clothes he won't be taking, and so on. Another trip to Goodwill, a meeting with Slavica (who will be giving our house the spring cleaning it desperately needs!), and the last-minute odds & ends will probably last the day, sadly.
We've been concentrating on getting in our ethnic foods in the last few days. Todi is great for many things (including food, for certain!), but if you go out to eat, you'll be eating Italian. Or maybe Italian. For a change -- would you like to go out to Italian? It's also rather difficult in our small town to get other spices; curry powder is a rare find, for instance. Jerk seasoning? Non c'e. Tandoori? Don't even ask.
As a result, we enjoyed Ethiopian last night (Desta at the corner of Briarcliff & Clairmont), Rain tonight (Lavista & Cheshire Bridge), and we'll have ... barbecue tomorrow at our house courtesy of Spiced Right in Tucker! Mmmm.
We know we will miss you all; I was reflecting, however, how much our life in Atlanta depends on remote friendship. Many of you I see only once a year because of schedules, distance, and so on. Somehow, we manage to stay close in our hearts. Others I email regularly. Those of you I see frequently will be the most difficult, because of course we'll mostly change to the written word. I have to laugh because one of our dear relatives said she knew more about what was going on with us in Todi last time we went via the blog than she does when we're living in Atlanta just 7 miles away from her!
Our love to all of you. And I say it again -- we would love to see any of you who are planning to come to Italy; please let us know about your dates and how we can help you have a wonderful visit! Those who can't come -- we'd love to hear from you through your comments, emails, or even snail mail!
Our address is:
Via Mazzini, 30
Todi (PG) 06059
Italy
Love,
Alexandra
Friday, July 20, 2012
We're Revving Up!
With only 11 days left before we're on our way to the airport, the time's starting to fly. We have all the normal last-minute things, and we also have to cram in physicals for all the kids (three down, two to go), eye doctor appointments, and the like. Eleanor just got her driver's license a few days ago, which will allow her to have an international driver's license. Now, it won't permit her to drive a car in Italy, but she will be able to drive a cute little two-seater scooter. Can't you just imagine her toodling around in Umbria on a little Vespa?
We purchased some super-light luggage at Costco (thank you, Judy, for letting us use your membership!) and are planning to maximize what we can put in it. We have all kinds of "goodies" for our friends in Todi -- jeans, nuts, and Ziplock bags! -- and hope that we can get everything in. We'll be packing the Saturday and Monday before we leave on Tuesday.
The house has not yet been rented, but we continue to be optimistic. We're so fortunate to have wonderful friends and neighbors who can keep an eye on the house for us. Since our original plans didn't include rental, we're fine either way.
Many people have asked about Michael's work. He'll be moving into a consulting role at his current company, and will be working remotely. This technological age is a marvel -- we have several friends in Todi who work "in the States." Keep your fingers crossed that the euro remains weak!
The days are filling up -- luckily I got an early jump on packing up the personal items in the house. The wall has been built in the basement, and the owner's closet still has plenty of room in it. The children have more cleaning/sorting to do, but I'm about finished with the main house and my clothes/shoes/etc. We've all had fun purchasing a few new items to take with us, and are looking forward to sporting them in our new home. We all enjoyed the fashion show Michael gave us yesterday -- he bought about 6 pairs of shoes!
Love,
Alexandra
We purchased some super-light luggage at Costco (thank you, Judy, for letting us use your membership!) and are planning to maximize what we can put in it. We have all kinds of "goodies" for our friends in Todi -- jeans, nuts, and Ziplock bags! -- and hope that we can get everything in. We'll be packing the Saturday and Monday before we leave on Tuesday.
The house has not yet been rented, but we continue to be optimistic. We're so fortunate to have wonderful friends and neighbors who can keep an eye on the house for us. Since our original plans didn't include rental, we're fine either way.
Many people have asked about Michael's work. He'll be moving into a consulting role at his current company, and will be working remotely. This technological age is a marvel -- we have several friends in Todi who work "in the States." Keep your fingers crossed that the euro remains weak!
The days are filling up -- luckily I got an early jump on packing up the personal items in the house. The wall has been built in the basement, and the owner's closet still has plenty of room in it. The children have more cleaning/sorting to do, but I'm about finished with the main house and my clothes/shoes/etc. We've all had fun purchasing a few new items to take with us, and are looking forward to sporting them in our new home. We all enjoyed the fashion show Michael gave us yesterday -- he bought about 6 pairs of shoes!
Love,
Alexandra
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Guess who's coming to stay?
As we're busily packing our house, we are fielding comments left and right -- to the tune of, "We hope you'll invite us!" Given the prevalence of this, we thought we should make our plans clear to everyone so that we can enjoy as many of you who actually would like to make a visit to Italy.
Our house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. We can certainly make this work for our family, but it really is not conducive to having guests. It's also on the third floor (fourth, by American standards -- and tall floors at that!), with no elevator. Translation: lots of steps! So, while we would LOVE to be able to invite people to stay, the place we have rented won't work for that. However, if you would like to visit Todi, please let us know & we will be happy to hook you up with people who have apartments/houses to rent; this will be much cheaper than the local hotel.
The children will be in school full-time. This means six days per week until about 1:15, after which they will have homework. I don't yet know when they will have breaks, but we are planning to take several of those breaks for family trips to visit other family members or to see other countries. Please understand that -- as much as we love you! -- when you are on vacation, the kids & Michael will be working. That said, we will really enjoy spending our spare time with you in the evenings, etc., when we can relax with a glass of wine & talk over the day!
I will be happy to give you information on fun day trips, and can help you with trains, buses, or a local driver. Umbria has a TON of interesting places and activities to offer, and is absolutely lovely to boot! If you want to explore history, hone your photography, bird watch, hike, eat well, or just hang out -- you'll find it all here. Todi itself is full of artisans who are happy to demonstrate their craft to you; it can easily take you two days just to see what they are doing -- or more. I can't wait to help you fall in love with this region!
So -- please let us know if you're really serious about visiting, and give us a general idea of when. We would LOVE to see as many of our friends and family as would like to join us for a while, and we'll do everything we can to make your visit enjoyable!
Love,
Alexandra
Our house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. We can certainly make this work for our family, but it really is not conducive to having guests. It's also on the third floor (fourth, by American standards -- and tall floors at that!), with no elevator. Translation: lots of steps! So, while we would LOVE to be able to invite people to stay, the place we have rented won't work for that. However, if you would like to visit Todi, please let us know & we will be happy to hook you up with people who have apartments/houses to rent; this will be much cheaper than the local hotel.
The children will be in school full-time. This means six days per week until about 1:15, after which they will have homework. I don't yet know when they will have breaks, but we are planning to take several of those breaks for family trips to visit other family members or to see other countries. Please understand that -- as much as we love you! -- when you are on vacation, the kids & Michael will be working. That said, we will really enjoy spending our spare time with you in the evenings, etc., when we can relax with a glass of wine & talk over the day!
I will be happy to give you information on fun day trips, and can help you with trains, buses, or a local driver. Umbria has a TON of interesting places and activities to offer, and is absolutely lovely to boot! If you want to explore history, hone your photography, bird watch, hike, eat well, or just hang out -- you'll find it all here. Todi itself is full of artisans who are happy to demonstrate their craft to you; it can easily take you two days just to see what they are doing -- or more. I can't wait to help you fall in love with this region!
So -- please let us know if you're really serious about visiting, and give us a general idea of when. We would LOVE to see as many of our friends and family as would like to join us for a while, and we'll do everything we can to make your visit enjoyable!
Love,
Alexandra
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