Just how much do you pack for three months in Italy? I had it down to three washable summer dresses, three pairs of slacks, one washable dressy dress and five assorted artsy tops. That should have fit in one carry-on. But no! Suddenly, I had one large suitcase, one small suitcase, one carry on suitcase and one very, very large purse.
What the heck is in all of those bags? Presents! Since we found our Italian family fifteen years ago, I delight in packing gifts for everyone – that includes children’s books in English. (Beginning in nursery school all students study English.) Plus, my precious niece Alexandra Rose is graduating from the London Academy of Dramatic Arts this July and I had to lug along her graduation prizes. OK, so that bag should come back empty. Nah – it won’t – I’ll buy tante cose while I am in Pontelandolfo.
Shoes! I forgot about the shoes! I brought two pair of sandals – no make that three, black pumps, Clark quasi sneaker shoes and those funky shoes that you can walk in water with. The carry on suitcase held a computer, iPad, Kindle, adapters, all sorts of wires, plugs and electrical things plus pads, pens, files, and books. It weighed more than my clothes. The big purse – well that was so stuffed I can’t remember what was in it – but no clothes.
Jack carried the Magic Jack – which is a fabulous thing to own. You can migrate your home phone number to it and when someone calls your house in the USA it will ring anywhere in the world. We now use it as our primary home phone and have cut our telecommunication costs considerably. We are so glad we bought the Magic Jack and recommend it highly. His two big bags and one carry on also contained his computer, camera, peripherals, sneakers, two pair of sandals, regular leather shoes, and who knows what else. I didn’t pack it.
My awesome godson, Tony, owner of Kennette Productions ( that was a blatant plug-in case you need any video or audio work done) drove us to JFK Airport. We got there in plenty of time to toast our new adventure. The “test” to see if a tiny mountain village is the perfect place to spend our retirement years. We flew “Premium Economy” which means seats that you can actually sit in without your knees in your face and the opportunity to schlep two suitcases plus a carry on. It was an interesting trip. We got to Rome, easily made our connection to Naples, took the cute bus to the plane, got on the plane and smiled at each other. In one scant hour we would be in Il Mezzogiorno. Or so we thought! For about forty-five minutes we sat on the plane. No, they did not serve us wine and olives. They did, however, tell us that we would be taking off as soon as the last passengers arrived. They HELD THE PLANE for someone! No one would tell me who the someone was – yes I did whisper the question. But a very well dressed older gentleman sauntered on casually, took his seat forty-five minutes after everyone else did and we were off.
The Naples International Airport (Capodichino) is very manageable. It is small enough to make the end of the journey feel like a family style beginning. You can easily get your baggage and zap out the door. There are buses to Naples and from there you can catch trains to most of Southern Italy’s major points of interest. We have a great family and my cousin Rosella and her husband Pasquale picked us up and whisked us off to what would become our home for three months – Pontelandolfo, BN, Italia.
Nonna's Mulberry Tree 