How do I even start?… We’re in Italy. We aren’t on vacation technically, but it is, I think , always going to be partly like a vacation. How can it not? It’s gorgeous here and each morning, as I take the dogs for a walk in the vineyards and olive groves, I just laugh out of pure joy. The landscape is stunning. The serenity of the land takes my breath away. I cry for the love of it.

But first a bit of a summary of the trip over, then I’ll share the good stuff about our first week here. Checking the dogs in for the flight was my biggest concern, and it was for naught. Nate with Capital Pet Movers met us at United Cargo about 3 hours prior to takeoff. The boys loaded well into their crates and just settled in for their part of the trip. When we landed, Annamaria from Bliss Pet Services took over and had the boys through their vet checks and customs. They were loaded, crates and all, into their van and met us at the house about 4 hours after our arrival. They were smiling and feeling fine. So all four of us are smiling now.

The house was ready for us. As this is an older farmhouse with newer add-ons, things will need fixing and we’re totally aware of that. But it fits us! This week, we’ve been spending time putting our IKEA furniture together. John is a champ at this and it’s going along bit by bit or piece by piece. And look at the before and after shots of the house. Such a big difference! Who could have known..

Our First View! A bit scary…

After the cleanup!

But what I really want to share with you is about people, specifically this time, one neighbor, (H)ugo. (Not sure of his spelling but definitely a silent H.) Hugo is 85 years young, owns and works all the vineyards and olive groves around our house.  He showed up at our place about an hour after we got there and John and I fell in love at first sight, so to speak. He’s generous to a fault. We are laden down with delicious tomatoes, peppers, pears, olives, melons, figs and of course wine! Every day, since our arrival, Hugo shows up to drop off something or to wave us into his Jeep to head off somewhere on the farm or to his home for an aperitif.  He embodies ‘Italy’ to me. But let me say, something very essential was revealed to us, even though I had a basic knowledge of this.

The need to be able to converse! Yes, you all have heard, just like us, the importance of learning the language of your new country. But it doesn’t hit you until you meet someone like Hugo, who cannot speak a lick of English, what you’ll be missing out on. Thankfully, my lessons with my teacher/friend, Stef, and my conversation friend, Giuliana, have given me basic conversational skills. Hugo and I can communicate. Unfortunately, John is at a loss right now and it has really hit home with him that he needs to get up to speed on a basic level. John had been swamped finishing up our house to sell over the past year and that took up the lion’s share of his time and energy along with working a part-time job. But now, John is ready to learn and I think it will happen faster than he expected. 😉

So, if you are thinking of moving here or even just planning a vacation, figure out what works for you and practice some Italian ahead of time. I still have a VERY long way to go. It was evident when I went to the residency office yesterday and the official there did not speak English and would not simplify her vocabulary on my accou6nt . I just dove in and tried not to be intimidated. Doesn’t mean I understood 70% of what she was saying and she didn’t get frustrated, but we both survived and I understood basically what I needed to do for our next meeting.

A lot of other stuff happened this week, such as getting new phones, wifi at house, locating grocery stores, markets, meeting some lovely folks from Ireland, walking around Atri a bit, eating out at a wonderful local restaurant that is too close to us (LOL), helping the dogs adjust and they love it here; the list goes on and on.

I’ll end for today with some lovely scenery around our house and John’s ever meaningful words taken to heart; ” Helene, we have moved to Italy to slow down, so slow down!” I think I can…and will.

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