Italy, the Forth Time's the Charm

 Jon and I have been talking about traveling to Italy for over 15 years. We had a plan to go with friends in 2009, riiiiiiight before we found out that we were relocating to Argentina, so our plans pivoted from "European vacation with friends" to "Get ready to move to South America". So we waited for a milestone, and decided that we would go for our 10th anniversary in 2018, riiiiiight before I was diagnosed with cancer. When we were over the peak of that mountain, we planned to go in April of 2020, all planned, booked and ready, riiiiiiight before COVID-19 shut down the world. In my mind, that was it, the world was telling us that Italy was not going to have us, look somewhere else. 

But then. Jon's parents decided to buy and renovate a home in a very sweet, very small town smack dab in the center of the country. Italy was calling us back, and now we were taking the whole crew. 

We have been master travelers, especially good at traveling with children, but we haven't exercised that muscle in a long time. So the littlest Gill has never taken such a long trip, and he had an endless stream of questions. In the end, all of the kids rocked the travel. Three hours to Newark, then another 8.5 to Rome, then a 4.5 hour drive to Pietracupa (should have been 3, but a highway shutdown caused a serious delay) and everyone was still excited and awake when we arrived!

Bienvenuti a Pietracupa

We made ourselves at home with a mixture of Gran and Poppa's hospitality and the local flavors from home businesses like the ladies who make béchamel lasagna out of their own kitchen, or the next town over who's home business fills house made ravioli, pasta and gnocchi orders via text message. 

 In this midst of our food-filled days, we got out in the mornings to jog the town. This was a rude awakening after running the flattest of flat streets of Houston, and then trying to keep speed with the extreme pitch of these cobblestone streets, and the intensity of the summer heat. My ankles were not pleased.

It didn't take long for our kids to remind us of the delicacy that Italy is known for. We enjoyed a midday snack on day 2 in the next town over, though we showed our hand at being foreigners by arriving at 3:00, which anyone in Italy will tell you is a risky move. There is an afternoon break observed by most businesses that involves a multi-hour closing in the middle of the day. Gelateria Italia happened to open at 4:00, so we needed to pass some time before the opening. No one complained, even with the heat, knowing that gelato was at the end of the rainbow. 

Gretchen popped up with "Posso provare il cioccolato" (can I try the chocolate) like a native thanks to Google translate on her phone. What an incredible tool to have! These were some happy kids with gigantic gelato cones topped with the real REAL whipped cream (Alex said: "Mom, I think the whipped cream is  different here, it's making me more full." Yes, yes it is.) The place looks, smells and tastes delicious, makes the gelato fresh everyday and became a favorite spot during our trip. The cutest detail that was consistent with most gelaterias was that their taste testing was given out in a tiny waffle cone instead of a plastic spoon. 

Everyone did well acclimating to the time change, but we had full, hot days that were active and filled with pasta and gelato, so even the best of us can't fight the urge to sleep. This little guy got up too early and then crashed mid-morning. Thankfully he had a soft place to lay his head and sleep off the time difference.