It's been 3 years since our last trip to Italy. In one week we'll be headed back. We know a little better about what to expect this go around, but there will be enough unknowns to make us just a bit anxious. Our itinerary is detailed in the Contact Info link on the homepage. Our 16 weeks are basically broken out thusly: 3 weeks in Torre Orsina, 4 weeks in Senigallia, and 9 weeks in Bologna. Seeing family and friends in Torre Orsina and participating in their annual festa will be better than in 2011 when we knew few townspeople and had no idea what to expect during the festa. Now we're ready. Neither of us have been to Senigallia and have only heard of the town from a friend of a friend who is the commander of Italy's version of the Air Force Thunderbirds. This resort town promises to have great seafood and offers what one might imagine as a stereotypical Euro-chic beach experience. While we've been to Bologna before, living in this university town surrounded by their amazing cuisine and miles of porticos will allow us to better know the town and its people.
Preparing for the trip is always a challenge. Aside from the packing I have to get ready to close down the house for 4 months. This means turning off our cell phone, satellite TV, and internet services as well as stopping our trash pick-up and auto insurance. We also have to re-route our mail, hire a guy to maintain our lawn, shut off our water heater, back up our computers, and secure the house just in case a hurricane decides to roll ashore while we're gone. I've got my checklist.
In addition to cloths, we've got to pack all the electronic gizmos one has grown accustomed to these days — notebook PC, tablets, headphones, cameras, iPod, electric shaver, and the associated power cables, interface cables, and a bag of U.S. to European AC outlet adapters.
We also need to bring books. While English books may be found in large cities like Bologna, they're never cheap. So here's a list of what we've bought for this trip. I picked up these last 3 for Cinzia. The rest were either recommended or cheap finds on the book shelves.
In looking back through our 2011 blogs I realized that the #1 thing I'll be missing once in Italy is playing poker, so I've tried to squeeze in a trip to the poker room whenever I can. I usually play a few times a month. I've had a good run recently and during this 9-session unbeaten streak have managed to add over $3,300 to the gelato fund. Maybe I'll play one more time this Friday.
We don't expect to find Internet connectivity during our first 3 weeks in Torre Orsina, and our apartment in Senigallia does not have Wi-Fi, so we'll continue to write and collect photos and will post them all when possible. If you're following us on our travels by reading our blogs, please go ahead and leave comments — we read them all and it's always nice to see that someone is enjoying Italy along with us. Yes, we'll add to the Gelato-A-Day list and hope to exceed our total of 84 from 2011.
The passports are ready to go. Italy, here we come (again)!
In addition to cloths, we've got to pack all the electronic gizmos one has grown accustomed to these days — notebook PC, tablets, headphones, cameras, iPod, electric shaver, and the associated power cables, interface cables, and a bag of U.S. to European AC outlet adapters.
We also need to bring books. While English books may be found in large cities like Bologna, they're never cheap. So here's a list of what we've bought for this trip. I picked up these last 3 for Cinzia. The rest were either recommended or cheap finds on the book shelves.
- Inferno by Dan Brown
- Iron Horse by John Hart
- Ballistic by Mark Greaney
- The Prince by Machiavelli
- Machiavelli - Philosopher of Power by Ross King
- Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto
- 100 Place in Italy Every Woman Should Go by Susan Allen
- The Betrothed by Manzoni
- Great Italian Short Stories - a Dual Language Book
In looking back through our 2011 blogs I realized that the #1 thing I'll be missing once in Italy is playing poker, so I've tried to squeeze in a trip to the poker room whenever I can. I usually play a few times a month. I've had a good run recently and during this 9-session unbeaten streak have managed to add over $3,300 to the gelato fund. Maybe I'll play one more time this Friday.
We don't expect to find Internet connectivity during our first 3 weeks in Torre Orsina, and our apartment in Senigallia does not have Wi-Fi, so we'll continue to write and collect photos and will post them all when possible. If you're following us on our travels by reading our blogs, please go ahead and leave comments — we read them all and it's always nice to see that someone is enjoying Italy along with us. Yes, we'll add to the Gelato-A-Day list and hope to exceed our total of 84 from 2011.
The passports are ready to go. Italy, here we come (again)!