Let’s see…I last left you after Rosa’s birthday. The weather has slowly but surely been getting nicer, and on Saturday February 27th we went to Gaeta for the day. It was fun to return to the place where I made so many great memories last summer. Our month in Gaeta in August was truly one of the best times of my life and I loved going back to visit! We walked on the beach for a little bit and then took the girls to the park…it was such a beautiful day and there were a lot of people out but it was so weird seeing all the umbrellas and everything put away! We also went to look at the house that Rosa and Bruno have recently bought there; the entire inside is getting renovated so they had to take some measurements and look over blueprints and things. I couldn’t help but think that this August there will be a new girl staying there with them, sharing the same memories with them that I did! After a while we had a wonderful lunch and strolled along the water. Everywhere I turned I had memories of the time we spent there, the evenings when we would bring the girls to see the Pulcinella show, the bars that Mary and I would go to, the apartment that Mario was staying in, the place I used to go running. I really like Gaeta and it reminds me somewhat of Wilmington…a small beach community that’s packed in the summer but still pleasant in the winter.
Gaeta in August vs. Gaeta in February! Picture taken from pretty much the same spot. Wow!
The next weekend was pretty relaxing. I went with Lucia and some friends to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D! It was so good! It was in Italian of course but thankfully I was already familiar with the story so I knew what was going on, and after almost one year in Italy I was able to understand most of the language.
Monday March 8th was Women’s Day in Italy! ‘La Festa della Donna’. It’s kind of like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day…but for women! What a great holiday! All day long there were people on every street corner handing out these little yellow flowers called Mimosas to the women. When Rosa got home from work that evening she said there was a ton of traffic and every car was full of women who were all dressed up and going out for dinner and to go drinking and dancing to celebrate ‘their’ day! Fun! Read more about this festival HERE
The week was going by pretty slow, I think because we were so excited to leave Friday morning for our weekend trip to Venice! However, Wednesday evening we were watching the news and found out that terrible weather was hitting Venice and it made us doubt that we would be able to go. The next morning, Rosa informed me that the center of Venice was virtually unreachable due to strong winds, high water, snow, and flooding, so our trip would have to be postponed! I was so disappointed! But, I think it was a blessing in disguise, because even if we went, we would have been miserable because of the terrible weather. So our Venice weekend will now be taking place April 15th. Meanwhile, we tried to think of something else to do to celebrate Rosa and Bruno’s 5-year wedding anniversary, which was the whole reason we were going to Venice in the first place.
So, Friday evening we took a nice drive to Posillipo. We walked along the water, stopped at a bar for aperitivo, and then went to a great restaurant for a lavish dinner. I’ve had gnocchi several times during my stay in Italy, but this restaurant had the best gnocchi I’ve ever eaten in my life. Actually, it was probably the best type of ANY pasta I’ve ever had in my life! Hah, there goes my diet! :) Saturday we relaxed all day and then Sunday we decided to go to Sorrento for the day. I had been to Sorrento before, in my first month here, but hadn’t returned since, and it was really nice to go back! We had an amazing lunch and then walked all around the center of Sorrento and stopped for some gelato before heading back home. It was a fun and relaxing weekend, with a lot of delicious food, and I’m glad we did some fun stuff to take our minds off missing out on Venice!
The next week went by fairly quickly, and I was so excited for Friday! One of my best friends from back home, Whitney, was in Europe that week visiting her boyfriend Chris, who is currently living and working in Rome. We made plans for them to drive down to Naples on Friday so we could meet up for lunch! I was so excited to visit with not only other Americans, but one of my dear friends! Thankfully the weather was beautiful, and after dealing with some parking issues, the 3 of us took a nice stroll along Via Partenope, walked around the Castel dell’Ovo, and then had lunch at Antonio & Antonio. We talked non-stop the whole time! Whitney and I had a lot to catch up on, as I hadn’t seen her or really talked to her in almost a year, and Chris and I were exchanging tons of funny stories about our experiences as Americans living in Italy. When I got home that evening, the family was all at the house and they wanted to go out to eat because it was Father’s Day here in Italy, so off we went to Trattoria Vanvitelli for pizza (my 2nd pizza of the day, mind you!). Saturday we went around all day, visiting Bruno’s parents and Rosa’s mom and running different errands and doing odds and ends. I went with Bruno, Rosa, and Bruno’s brother Massimo to the Port, which is being renovated and Massimo is looking at opening a store there, so we went to check out the renovations. Saturday night we hung out at Rosa’s sister’s house and had pizza (again!?!?) for dinner. (Are you catching on to this food theme?? Haha). Sunday we hosted the priest from the church that the family attends. He came to bless the house and the family and we had a big lunch in honor of him.
And here we are today! Thursday, March 25th. Today is Bruno’s 39th birthday, as well as the onomastico for Rosa’s mom, Nuncia, and Rosa’s niece (the girls’ little cousin) Nuncia. We’re going to have a big party here tomorrow night to celebrate the three of them. Yesterday I had the girls make signs a pictures to hang up outside for decorations.
Time sure is flying by. I go home 45 days from today…that’s only 6 weeks from this Sunday. There were many moments in the past 10 months that I thought I would never make it through this year. But, alas, here I am, almost finished with it. My feelings on the entire thing are so mixed, and when I think about everything I get the oddest feeling inside of me. I miss my family and friends terribly, I’m excited to go back to UNCW, I’m excited to move into the beautiful new house my parents are buying, and I’m excited for a fun summer in North Carolina. But how can I ever say goodbye to the life I have now? How can I ever say goodbye to these people..these strangers..who have become my family? These two little girls, who were once just faces on a computer screen, have become the biggest loves of my life. I can’t bear to think about what it will be like to hold them in my arms for one last time. When I was making the arrangements to come here, and when I finally arrived and had to face some challenges, I never once thought about THIS part of the whole thing. The ‘goodbye’ part. My heart is breaking, but I am so thankful and so lucky to have been with such a wonderful family, and Rosa has expressed to me many times that they honestly want me to come visit them at the sea every August, and I have every intention of doing so!
On that note, I do have a lot to look forward to in my final weeks here. Next weekend I am heading to Paris, which I am absolutely ecstatic about. A couple weekends after that we will finally get to go to Venice. I’m also going to try to squeeze in a trip to Ischia some Saturday. Spring has sprung and life is beautiful; I’m stopping and ‘smelling the roses’ every day, because before I know it, this whole experience will be behind me and I don’t want to miss out on a single thing. I hug the girls more than ever; I catch myself getting impatient with them and try to remind myself I will miss these times once they are gone. Honestly, just the thought of it takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes....
