Category Moving to Italy

All the preparations for the big day

Pronto Soccorso..

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Time to Pay Attention

Being physically active and healthy have always been a big part of my life. I took my first hike at an early age thanks to my dad, joined gyms as a young adult, I try to eat a balanced diet, follow doctors’ advice, etc. The women in my family are genetically prone to be overweight with heart disease issues and unfortunately for the most part didn’t live past their mid 80’s. My mom thankfully made it happily to 93 and then we have John’s mom, who is still going strong at 97! So, in the hopes of a long and healthy life, I stay active.

While we lived in the US, I had my regular doctor appointments whether with my cardiologist (I have a mild mitral valve prolapse), ob/gyn, general medicine (I have thyroid issue), dentist and an acupuncturist. Yes, I wanted to keep this body functioning so I could hike a gazillion kilometers in Italy!

You would think with all this regimen of doctors, I would continue it when I got to Italy with its Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (National Healthcare Service) . I confess that I haven’t used it much. It’s free for John and I as we are citizens here, but the thought of going into some of their hospitals, especially here in the poorer South, is a bit of a deterrent. I’ve been to the town doctor, who is considered my primary doctor. I’ve had my flu shot each year and all my Covid vaccinations. To bypass the ‘scary’ hospital situations, I’ve been going to a private clinic in San Salvo, just 20 minutes from home. They have a full selection of doctors for all ailments. You pay out of pocket, but I consider 120 euros to see my ob/gyn for an annual checkup VERY affordable. I couldn’t imagine what out of pocket in the US would have cost me. I’ve also visited the ear and eye doctors, dermatologist, and a few others.

But things changed for me a few weeks back. I could feel something different happening with my sleep pattern and my throat was sending me niggling messages, but I just put them off as temporary anomalies. It wasn’t until I had very strong heart palpitations and pressure on my chest that I got serious about seeing a doctor. Being that it was 8 pm on a Thursday night and I was very concerned, John and I headed over to the emergency room (Pronto soccorso) at the Vasto hospital, about 35 minutes from our house.

The waiting room was packed as I walked up to the closed window of the receptionist. I immediately asked if anyone spoke English/Italian, as when I am stressed and I was, the Italian language is basically impossible for me. There was a kind woman, who was waiting with her parents, explained to the receptionist my issue and I was ushered at once into the office. The personnel in the entry office were all dressed in First Responder uniforms, a very different concept from the US emergency rooms. Vitals were checked and then an EKG was performed right there in the alcove of the office. All the preliminary tests looked good. I then proceeded to another waiting area for about an hour before I was called to see a doctor. Blood was taken and then I was led back to the waiting room for another wait, this time about 2 hours. My test results came back good then in the midnight hour I was taken to the hospital basement for a chest x-ray. Kind of a creepy atmosphere…. Another hour or so wait. All looked good. I was tired and very ready to go home. Doctor gave me one more exam, paperwork to take to a cardiologist and also recommendations on getting my thyroid tested.

The outcome of the 5 hours in the emergency room was good news about my heart: no issues. Probability of cause of issue: too much thyroid medication. And I give kudos to the staff for kindness, professionalism and making all information as clear as possible, even if it was all in Italian. 😉

As I had to wait a few days to get into see the cardiologist, I lowered my thyroid meds daily dosage by 3/4! The palpitations and chest pressure disappeared by 90% within a day or so. Now in Italy, most blood tests are taken either at a hospital or a private lab, so off I went to a private lab in the same town as my private doctors. This blood test was to determine my thyroid levels.

I wouldn’t say the exterior, as seems to be the case in some local businesses, is very reassuring, but the staff were efficient and friendly. Blood test was relatively fast, and I was on my way in 15 minutes, with results online by next morning. All thyroid parameters were normal.

My next appointment was with the cardiologist. My first time meeting him; young, efficient, personable doctor who was comfortable speaking English. He ran some test, another EKG and all was normal. He recommended seeing their thyroid doctor but that will have to wait a bit as this particular specialist was on a two-week rotation with their office. In the meantime, I’ve dropped my dosage a bit more and feel great. Just a note to my female readers about seeing doctors here: you will be alone in the office. There will not be a female nurse attending even if you are with a male doctor. I’ve gotten used to it, but it took me awhile. I would think that if I wasn’t 100% comfortable, I’d take my husband or friend along with me, but I’ve never felt that I needed to do that here.

The come-away from all of this, and it’s still not resolved until I see the endocrinologist, is that I should have been having my annual blood tests to check my thyroid level. Instead, I was complacent and a bit nervous about the healthcare institutions here. Having the need to go to the Pronto Soccorso opened my eyes and got me back on track about taking care of my health. Navigating life here in Abruzzo can take a bit of faith and some effort. 🙂 Though this posting only reflects my experiences here in Italy and may be different for others, I hope that you have found today’s blog informative as well as interesting.

As my energy level was greatly affected by this temporary change in my health, I’ve been taking walks around our village in place of hiking. So not to leave this blog on too heavy of note, I thought I’d share a few photos of my lovely walk home from our town square. Flowers are such an integral part of urban life here in Italy and you will find many villages filled with them throughout the year, but most especially in the summer months. They gorgeously complement the architecture and brightens our lives. Enjoy!

Until next time…:-)

Casa Serre

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To Rent Our Holiday Apartment…or not

A little over three years ago, we purchased our lovely home here in Roccaspinalveti, but in actuality it took us 4 years prior to our purchase to actually find it.

While we were in the process of retiring from out careers in Virginia, selling our chalet home in the mountains with thoughts of downsizing in Abruzzo, I had been already cruising some excellent home sites and creating our top 20 home list. A few houses kept coming up on that list over time and a few I should have crossed off as way too big for just two old retired folks! .

So we moved to Abruzzo, rented a farmhouse and started to look at houses with a few realtors and ended up, happily, here in Roccaspinalveti with a house of two complete apartments! What can I say… we couldn’t resist the view, great condition of this more modern house (built in mid’70s), the price (which I had followed for three years as it slowly came into our budget), good size yard, private parking area, etc. We were hooked. Now what should we do with the apartment below us?

Certainly, family and friends would come to visit us here in wild Abruzzo! They could stay with us and have their own apartment with privacy and the dynamite view. Good thought but it didn’t look like a lot of takers from the get-go. Friends dream but reality of a busy life in the US prevented them from coming over. We planned to visit the US and family planned to come to see us but then COVID hit and plans were crushed. As we are very avid promoters of this area, we then decided to offer the apartment on Airbnb & Booking.com. And we did! And it was a grand success! Why?

John and I both have strong hospitality backgrounds, with John as a professional chef and I had worked at a B&B as well as Customer Service/Tour guide at Virginia Distillery. Both of us have OC tendencies so offering a sparkling clean accommodation with numerous amenities was just something we fell into naturally. We gave the apartment a name: Case Serre Holiday Apartment; Serre being the neighborhood that we lived in. It offers its own private entrance and parking area, long balcony looking out over the mountains and hills of southern Abruzzo… our backyard. Here are a few pictures of the apartment and view.

The perks were many: meeting wonderful folks, promoting the area and artists, offering a relaxing and comfortable accommodation where only one B&B existed in town, and having extra income to help with our upgrades in our home. Most of our bookings were from the US, UK and Italy, with a few other countries mixed in. We had guests who came to relax and hardly leave the property. Others went hiking, headed to the beach for the day, went house hunting, and others came to work in the area. The list was varied with such lasting experiences they enjoyed as well as for us, meeting and hosting them.

John and I divided the labor. I did all the social media & website, handled the bookings, laundry, making up beds, restocking. John did all the refurbishing, maintenance, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, vacuumed. We realized, after the first season, we had to set a minimum of 2 nights for a booking. It just took too long to clean, and then turn the apartment around to be rebooked after just one night. We had space to accommodate 6 guests, but changed the setup to only allow up to 4 guests the following season. Again, a lot of work with not much return when you consider that I was doing all the laundry.

Even during COVID, we stayed open. We added self-checkin with a lockbox for the keys. Guests had instructions sent to them prior to arrival and also instructions in the apartment. We’d greet our guests across the courtyard, but we all maintained our distance. So we had three great years, with exceptional ratings by Airbnb & Booking.com. Our guests couldn’t have been kinder with their reviews!

So, why did we close after just three years if things were going so great? Apart from the stringent COVID cleaning regulations, which most days left me exhausted, there was the lack of privacy. As the apartment was part of our home, we felt it essential to maintain a level of quietness on our part in order to ensure our guests were not disturbed. Also, our immediate backyard was basically off limits to us as it was part of the package for our guests. Outside management may be worth considering for those thinking of doing this type of rental. It takes the pressure off of you and you have your freedom to travel. We just couldn’t work that into our pricing during COVID, but it is definitely one way to manage a holiday apartment.

Then there were the minor damages, breakage, staining, and theft. The majorities of these were never brought to our attention and only found after the guests checked out. Did we use our insurance to cover? Not worth it was it because it was never large enough but certainly annoying enough. I think if we had done this fulltime while we were younger, it may not have been so taxing. But at our age… retirement…we just didn’t need the hassle. Now these guests were not the norm and we had many wonderful guests, but it was just time for us to move on to another adventure. I have to proudly say that we did this rental well. We had many positive reviews and high scores with both Booking.com and Airbnb. So we felt it was time to close on a high note and we are very grateful and thankful to the wonderful guests we were able to host.

Roccaspinalveti now has a couple more rentals and B&Bs and we are happy to see this trend in our town. There is just so much to see and experience and we hope folks will continue to make their way to this part of Abruzzo.

The winter is now upon us and we are working on a few more upgrade projects in our home. We’ll keep you posted of our next adventure here. Until then have a blessed Christmas and Holiday Season!

Build A Tribe

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A tribe is a group of people, or a community with similar values or interests, a group with a common ancestor, or a common leader.

K9 Alert SAR Dogs 2015,.. A tribe of mine for many years in the United States

A clan is a group of people of common descent; family.


My father’s family, Giordano, mid 1900’s Brooklyn

During this scorching, record-breaking, hot, dry summer, we simmered under our ceiling fans day and night. Any thoughts of writing a post for this blog were clouded by the mind-fogging weather. Finally we got a break with cooler Fall temperatures arriving. We are functioning again.

With the isolation from both the earlier COVID restrictions and just surviving this latest heat wave (of three months), I had plenty of time to reflect. What I came to realize is that I don’t like being cut off from humanity, even though I do enjoy my solitary walks. I’m sure most people felt the same about isolation. But now that we are able to go out and be with friends and family, I found that I was experiencing a huge disconnect with my Italian friends with my rusty language skills. That’s all changing now, as as I meet up with my Italian speaking friends, whether we’re out hiking or meeting at one of our local bars. But what is more important than learning the language is that I am feeling part of the human race once more!

During this summer, I continued my studies with Italy Made Easy Academy online lessons. Manu, the teaching coach encourages us to add daily immersion at home. Whether it’s having Italian radio or TV on in the background, listening to YouTube and TedTalks, comprehension will improve. Now we are watching more Italian TV programs without subtitles. Our current favorites are Alessandro Borghese’s – 4 Ristoranti and Bruno Barbieri’s – 4 hotel. Doesn’t mean I understand all the words as they speedily talk along, but I understand the gist of what is being said. Loads of fun and I encourage you to watch if you enjoy beautiful places to stay and food porn!

  • Valle del Treste Inauguration Hike, Rocca Vecchia
  • Once again hiking with local groups!

Also, we can happily say we can now meet again with my entire family of cousins, living 40 minutes from us. What a blessing! I had so missed them all. We had a recent meal together, something we had not been able to do for over a 1 1/2 years! It was wonderful to catch up with everyone and my language skills got a good workout. True that some of my younger cousins do speak some English and they wanted to practice their language skills, but most of the day was in Italian. Sure I stumble a lot but with more and more practice it will start to improve. I most likely will never become fluent at my age, but will be able to contribute to the conversation. All of this ties me closer to my family.

My Cousins!

So what does all of this have to do with “Build A Tribe”?

For those of you thinking of moving to rural Italy, and in my limited experience, to Abruzzo, you may need to have a tribe. Family is paramount in the hill towns where ancestors defended their lands that surrounded these strongholds. The Italian language had not emerged nationally yet and the inhabitants of these lofty towns developed their own, as still heard today in the dialects of each individual town. Family names became tied to these individual locations and their descendants are still prominent in certain towns. It is true that many of the younger folks have left these rural towns for the larger cities along the Adriatic coast, but the ties to family are strong and gatherings bring everyone together once again.

If you move to one of these stunning and very friendly towns, you will be welcomed with open arms. The inhabitants go to great lengths to reach out to you as you settle in, inviting you to a lunch or coffee. They will stop by from time to time to check in on you and there is always a friendly wave or honk if they pass you along the street or in town. The people of Abruzzo are just wonderfully friendly people.

What you will find, though, if you Italian is limited or if they only speak a dialect, your conversation will inevitably hit a wall at some point. If you can build your language skills quickly, depending on your age or gift for languages, you will not be stuck at this wall for long. But you will find that a tribe of like speakers (in our case, English) may be necessary for you to develop a social group in your area. You may have to go to other towns to find a like speaker depending on the expat residents in your village. And just because you speak the same language, you may find that you don’t share similar interests and it is hard to include them in your tribe. It takes a bit of effort to build your tribe.

So to reconnect and add joy to my life, I’m building a tribe of English and Italian speaking friends. It doesn’t have to be a large tribe, but one that gives meaning to my day, my existence here in Italy. And truth be told, much of my tribe are animal or outdoor lovers, active and love to hike or walk. And it’s important to keep your connection to friends in your original homeland. I not only video chat with my daughter, but catch up with work and my close friends from my tribes there… all important to my well being and happiness.

You may find that local families are very tight and there may be some exclusion to you being invited to family events, unless you are directly related or have been close friends for years. These events are for the family and we get that now. Think of the clans, groups of related people protecting and fighting for their loved ones. We saw it in the mountains of Virginia, where we both lived for a number of years. So come prepared to accept this, especially if you are choosing to live in rural Abruzzo. Build that tribe!

I have to say that I am one of the lucky ones. I found some of my clan (now a part of my tribe)… my mother’s family. You also may have your clan here in Italy waiting for you. But whether or not you do, take it slowly, build your network of close friends both in your native language and locals, and enjoy this walk that you have begun in this amazing country.

My home tribe

Mi Chiamo Helene Rosalie Jordan

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In January 2021, the project called “Terra delle Radici‘ (the Land of Roots) was presented to the public with the aim of organizing and promoting tourism in the Alto Vastese area. I was approached by Alessio Massari (mountain guide, environmentalist and good friend) to write a testimonial telling my story of rediscovering my Italian roots, from New York to Roccaspinalveti via San Salvo. Below is that story. You can also find my story at this link in both Italian and English. I encourage you to browse the various pages of this site to better understand the objective of the project, which involves the Alto Vastese and Valle del Trigno Study Center (altovastese.it). The communities involved in this project include: Carunchio, Castelguidone, Castiglione Messer Marino, Celenza sul Trigno, Fraine, Montazzoli, Municipality of Roccaspinalveti, Schiavi Di Abruzzo, Torrebruna, as well as the Proloco San Giovanni Lipioni. The project will continue to grow and I am excited to see what it will bring to our area and also how we might all contribute.

My name is Helene Rosalie Jordan. You could not tell that I am Italian by heritage with such a name, except possibly for the “Rosalie”.  I am 100% Italian, Italian/American that is, with dual citizenship with the United States and Italy. It was my pride of being an Italian and the love of Italy that spurred me on to apply for recognition as an Italian citizen by blood (Jus Sanguinis). But first let me back up a bit and give you some history of my family. My mom and dad were both born in Brooklyn, New York in the early 1900’s. My father’s family was from Naples (Giordano Americanized to Jordan) and my mother’s family was from Abruzzo. In fact, my mother’s father, Carlo De Felice, was born in San Salvo, only 40 minutes from where I live now in Italy.  He emigrated from Italy in 1910 on a ship leaving the port of Naples, arriving at Ellis Island, New York. My mother always told me the story that he came over by himself at the age of 13, but I found out later that his entire immediate family came over with him when he was 17 years old. I did not pay a lot of attention to the conversations when I was young, as Grandpa would speak in dialect and Mom would answer him in the same.  If either my sister or I were nearby, she would answer him in English. As children, we were not allowed to learn or speak Italian. We were Americans!  I missed all the amazing stories Grandpa Carlo had to share, and now it is too late, sadly to say.

I can remember fondly all the daylong meals the entire family would have, whether in New Jersey, where I was born and raised, or in Brooklyn, NY. Family was everything and my mom had 4 siblings, although my dad was an only child. Still, we all gathered most weekends to enjoy the cooking competitions between the siblings. How I miss those times, as we all grew older, moved further apart, and our grandfathers and grandmothers passed away.

During my adult years, a desire to visit my family’s homeland grew stronger. The times I mentioned this to my mother, she would discount the notion, saying that Italy was dirty and poor, even though she had never visited it herself. I believe now that she said this as it was engrained in her to not look back at the ‘old country’ but to embrace America. But this did not dissuade me, so my husband and I made our first trip in 2011. We were determined to visit the quieter towns to truly experience ‘Italy’, and not the regular tourist stops.  It all started with a trip to the medieval village of Scanno in the mountains of Abruzzo. We were enchanted. We continued our vacation to other parts of Abruzzo, Marche, and Tuscany. We added a few more visits to other regions over the past years, but we always made time to visit a small village for a few days in Abruzzo. At some point during those years, I found out that I could apply for my Italian citizenship. That got us thinking that we would like to live in Italy a few months out of the year after we retired. It was my husband, John, who came to me with the proposal that we should seriously consider moving to Italy full-time. I was extremely nervous as how could I leave our adult children and elderly mothers behind in the USA. Did I really want to leave my friends and the mountains of Virginia for a foreign country? My daughter solved the problem by saying to me ‘Mom, go live your dream”. The decision was made. After my dual citizenship was recognized, with Italian passport in hand, selling most of our belongings and loading our two huge dogs on a plane, we headed to Abruzzo to start our lives in Italy.

Receiving my Italian birth certificate in San Salvo

We first rented a farmhouse in a small town about 15 minutes from the Adriatic Sea just north of Pescara. We became accustomed to living a new life as we looked for a house to buy in Abruzzo. Finally, after a year renting, we purchased our home in Roccaspinalveti located in the Frentani Mountains of Abruzzo. It was a perfect match for us. The weather, rural setting, friendly folks, and the mountains reminded us of our home in Virginia, but of course, we were in Italy. The views are always captivating and beautiful, the food amazing, the people of the villages friendly and helpful, and every day we are so thankful to be here. We know we are truly home.

Roccaspinalveti

Both John and I worked in the hospitality industry when we lived in the United States. John had been a professional chef for many years, and I worked in customer service and hospitality at a whisky distillery. Since the house we purchased has two apartments, with us living upstairs, we turned the lower apartment into Casa Serre Holiday Apartment. We invite guests from all over the world to visit us to experience Roccaspinalveti and the surrounding region. This successful venture not only gives us some additional income but allows us to share the love we have for this region with others.  Here there is so much beauty with the surrounding mountains and hilltop villages, local artists and artisans, welcoming citizens, and pristine beaches a short drive away. As John and I are avid trekkers and hikers, we share our excursions with others in the hope that they also will experience the amazing natural gifts of the area.

As we settled into life in Roccaspinalveti, I decided to reach out to find if I had any living relatives in Abruzzo. Since my grandfather, Carlo De Felice, had lived in San Salvo, a nearby city on the Adriatic Sea, I hoped that a few relatives remained in the area. But I would need some help to do this. There are several companies here in Italy that will help you locate your relatives. I chose ‘Touring Abruzzo’ and with the wonderful help of Luciana and Alberto, the De Felice tree was fleshed out all the way back to the early 1800s. And Alberto located a few of my cousins alive and well in San Salvo! The next step was a bit precarious and sensitive. How do I approach my living relatives in a manner that was not threatening and once I explained how I was related, would they be interested in getting to know me?

‘Touring Abruzzo’ was able to give me a contact name and number of one of my cousins (more like a fifth cousin). When I finally reached him by phone, he was very hesitant for me to meet his grandfather Michele De Felice, my third cousin who is in his late 80s. The sad outcome of the phone call was that a meeting was not immediately arranged. I did not know what to do next. Do I enlist an Italian friend to come with me to interpret or just take the chance on my own? In the meantime, I located the home where my grandfather Carlo and his brothers and sisters grew up in, located in the historic district of San Salvo. It was a very emotional day, as this helped to solidify the reality of my mother’s family here in Abruzzo.

Carlo De Felice’s home, San Salvo

What next ensued was serendipitous and I honestly believe I was pointed in the right direction at the right time. John and I decided to stroll past my cousin Michele’s house in the historic district of San Salvo. Being unsure of what we might accomplish, we had to try. As we sat across from Michele’s house, two ladies approached the front door and knocked. While they were standing there, I mustered up some nerve and asked them if they knew Michele. They said they did and that they were his daughters! Unbelievable! I was looking at two of my cousins. A dream realized. I believed both Angela and Paola were equally as excited. Paola located her dad, and we had a few wondrous minutes chatting away. Unfortunately, another appointment in town pulled us away, as we left with promises of being reunited soon.

Meeting my cousins for the first time!

While I waited to hear back from my cousins, I worked on our family tree. I wanted to bring this, along with some of my family pictures, to our next visit. I used all the information that Alberto collected along with Familysearch.org, Ancestry.co, Ancestry.it, and antenati.san.beniculturali.it for my research. As the tree grew in unbelievable proportions, I cut and taped until I had both De Felice lines spread out to show Michele. I felt I had to substantiate my claim as a De Felice. Not that they asked to see this, but I just felt it was a reassuring measure for them to see the actual family connection. You may gather that I was excited when Angela set a date for coffee at her father’s house. It was a grand gathering with six of my cousins! How amazing is that! We talked about the family, compared pictures, saw strong family resemblances between our ancestors and enjoyed coffee and sweets.

There is so much more work I want to do on my family tree, but mostly I just want to enjoy being a part of my Italian family. We are all looking forward to being together over a meal or coffee again soon, both here in Roccaspinalveti as well as in San Salvo. No, I have not forgotten my father’s side of that family. The information that I got from my father, was that they were from Naples. I have a lot of researching to do on the Giordano family and hope to start on that soon. And during this search for my family, John received his Italian citizenship by being married to me (“Jure Matrimonii“). We both have fully embraced our lives here.

I encourage anyone seeking their Italian relatives to gather all information needed and not give up. I almost backed out of trying to reach out to them. Would they genuinely want to know me, to take the time even though my understanding of the Italian language is still somewhat basic? Why would a distant cousin, such as I, be important to them? We are family… we are blood… we are Italian together. It does make a difference, so do not give up on your dream. 

  • My grandfather, Carlo De Felice, and his wife, my grandmother Maria Laura Paciello, Brooklyn, NY
  • De Felice Family Business, Blacksmiths, San Salvo
  • Filippo De Felice, father to Michele De Felice, San Salvo
  • Michele De Felice & Adalgisa Maccarone on their wedding day, San Salvo
  • Raffaele De Felice, 1st cousin to my grandfather, Carlo, and grandfather to Michele, San Salvo
  • My mother, Helen Mary De Felice, Brooklyn, NY

Family Found

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My very first posting for this blog was about Family… how they can form us, steer us, instill drives and directions. For me it was ‘For the Love of Family’, my Italian family still living in Italy. Some unseen force propelling me to locate them and meet them. And if and when I found them, would they really consider me ‘family’?

My grandfather, Carlo De Felice, came over from Abruzzi (as it was called back in the early 1900’s – now Abruzzo since Molise split off in 1963) to live in Brooklyn with his father, mother and siblings. Did Carlo have any uncles, cousins, siblings who remained in Italy and could I find their descendants, my probable cousins? His town of origin, San Salvo is in southern Abruzzo, just 40 minutes from where John and I now live. Was it our plan to have purchased our home so close to my ancestral town? No, it just happened. How crazy is that?

There are a number of companies here in Italy that will help you locate your relatives. I used Touring Abruzzo and with the wonderful help of Luciana and Alberto, the De Felice tree was fleshed out all the way back to the early 1800s. And Alberto located a few of my cousins alive and well in San Salvo! The next step was a bit precarious and sensitive. How do I approach my living relatives in a manner that isn’t threatening and once I ‘prove’ I am related, will they be as interested in getting to know me as I am wishing to know them?

Touring Abruzzo was able to give me a contact name and number. This person would be one of my cousins (more like a fifth cousin). I wouldn’t say he was particularly warm to me just showing up to meet his grandfather, my third cousin who is in his late 80s. We hemmed and hawed back and forth and a meeting died in the wind. I didn’t know what to do next. Do I enlist an Italian friend to come with me to interpret? Just bang on Michele’s door and introduce myself?

My three cousins, Michele, Paola & Angela De Felice, with Michele’s wife, Adalgisa. I was trying my best not to break out crying from happiness and relief. Cousins Found!

What ensued was serendipitous and I truly believe I was pointed in the right direction at the right time. John and I decided to stroll past my cousin’s house in the historic district of San Salvo. Not sure what we would accomplish but we had a few minutes before we needed to be at an appointment with our insurance agent. We located Michele’s apartment and just sat across the way, trying to decide our next step. Two ladies approached the front door and knocked. While they were standing there, I mustered up some nerve and asked them if they knew Michele. They were his daughters! Unbelievable! I was looking at two of my cousins. A dream realized. I believed both Angela and Paola were equally as excited. Paola located her dad and we had a few wondrous minutes chatting away. Unfortunately our appointment pulled us away, but with promises to be reunited soon.

While I waited to hear back from my cousins, I worked on our family tree. I wanted to bring that, along with some of my family pictures, to our next meeting. I used all the information that Alberto collected along with Familysearch.org, Ancestry.com (and Ancestry.it) and antenati.san.beniculturali.it for my research. As the tree grew in unbelievable proportions, I cut and taped until I had both De Felice lines spread out to show Michele. I felt I had to substantiate my claim as a De Felice. Not that they asked to see this, but I just felt it was a reassuring measure for them to see the actual family connection.

  • My six cousins with spouses – a great day!

You may gather that I was excited when Angela set a date for coffee at her father’s house. It was a grand gathering of SIX of my cousins! How amazing is that! We talked about the family, compared pictures, saw strong family resemblances between our ancestors and enjoyed coffee and sweets. I sit here now with emotions choking me up and a huge smile on my face. There is so much more work I want to do on my family tree, but mostly I just want to enjoy being a part of my Italian family. We are all looking forward to being together over a meal or coffee again soon, both here in Roccaspinalveti as well as in San Salvo.

  • Philippo De Felice, Michele’s father
  • Raffaele De Felice, 1st cousin to my grandfather, Carlo
  • My mom, Helen De Felice
  • De Felice Family Business –
    it was one more tie between my side of the family and Michele’s.
  • My grandfather, Carlo De Felice, and grandmother , Laura
  • My mom
  • My mom and her two sisters, Bessie & Margaret
  • Michele and Adalgisa on their wedding day in San Salvo

I encourage anyone seeking their Italian relatives to not give up. I almost backed out of trying to reach out to them. Would they truly want to know me, to take the time even though my understanding of the Italian language is still somewhat basic? Why would a distant cousin, such as I, be important to them? We are family… we are blood… we are Italian together. It does make a difference, so don’t give up on your dream.

No, I haven’t forgotten my father’s side of that family. The information that I got from my mother, was that they were from Naples. That will be another story to share for the future…. ciao for now..

A Neighbor

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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.

sunset over mountains

the boys homeBut 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.

HugoThe 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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Time To Fly

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It’s time. Time to finish up a few details, relax with a visit from our daughter, Brooke, let the excitement of this move to Italy wash over us and just enjoy this final week here living in the United States. Then board the plane to start the adventure in Abruzzo…

Some loose ends have been tied up these past two weeks. Our shipment made it to our new house without any hiccups in customs. It took about 7 weeks from pickup here in Virginia to delivery at our house in Atri. Not bad, I would say. And from the picture Luigi sent me, it arrived in great condition.  I give upakweship.com a 5 Star rating!

Shipment & winter wood
And some dog food ready for the boys

 

And I also ordered a bag of dog food to be there upon our arrival. If you plan to move to Italy and are using Chewy.com for your dog food here in the States, never fear.. zooplus.it is your go-to for all kinds of dog food.

Luigi and crew took on the tough undertaking of cleaning the jungle that had grown up around the house. It’s a work in progress from the pictures below, but much better. John and I are excited to get working on it some more and really have a nice outdoor living space. (Sorry about the blurry images. It was raining and also Luigi took the house shot through his car window. )house cleanedback linebackyard

 

vetThe dogs had their health certificate exams this week. These are needed to fly. Our local vet clinic, which happens to be excellent, have vets certified to complete these exams for international travel. The certificates are then sent FedEx overnight to USDA office in Albany, NY, approved and sent to our pet mover. Hopefully that will all be completed by end of this week. As I said in an early post,  a bit nerve-wracking but under control.

Brooke and I are doing a mother-daughter day at a local spa here in Nelson County. She’s visiting from Santiago, Chile, where she and her husband work (and play) these past 5 years. Yes, big travelers and they love foreign countries, so helped to push John and I out of our USA nest, so to speak. She’ll be heading down to Williamsburg, VA to teach some gown making classes before she heads back to Santiago. Hopefully she and Ryan will visit us in Italy in 2018.

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Brooke & Ryan in Chile

I’m sure there will be small details to take care of up until the flight, but we’re just trying our best to relax and not worry if we forgot any of those. We think all the big details are in place. I’ll catch up with you all once we’re landed and somewhat settled in.  Leave you with this easterly view from our new home. On a clear day, I believe we can see a sliver of the Adriatic Sea. sea direction

 

Goodbyes

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I don’t want to say we’re starting a new life and saying goodbye to the old. We’re given one life to live here on Planet Earth and there are many doors we walk through and paths we choose during that one life. But we are saying goodbye to relationships as we have known them, the sense of security living in one country all our lives and of course, the amazing beauty of these Blue Ridge Mountains here in Nelson County.lov gap

With social media, relationships/friendships can continue, just in a different way. I’m thankful for that much. We both have so many friends and acquaintances made here in Nelson County, VA. over that past 16 years. I know I will see and talk to many on Facebook as we navigate our way in Italy. And some may even make the trek to our new home!

We are a few weeks away from our move. Over the past few weeks, we’ve worked through the details of banking, Social Security, Medicare, insurance, etc. My brain screams for rest. Our shipment made it as far as Rotterdam and has been sitting these past two weeks in a customs bonded warehouse. I have no idea when it will shake loose and head to Italy. I’ll do some followup later this week with my contact there. John’s car is sold and mine should happen tomorrow evening. The property in Italy is being cleaned up by Luigi, a tougher job then he ever anticipated. The jungle was very thick. 😉

We’ve said many goodbyes to friends. One of the toughest goodbyes for me is to my friends (my extended family) of my search group, K9 Alert SAR Dogs Inc. I began my volunteer work back in 1991 and jumped on board with this group in 1992. It’s been an amazing time. Many searches, long hours in the field, constant training over these years. Four dogs and through it all, the strongest friendships have developed and stood the test, not so much of time, but of proximity. We all come to the table with quirks in our personalities, but true friendships accepts those, may embrace them or at best transcends those annoying things that are us.

I share a few pics of my friends over a training weekend that took place here in Nelson County. No further words need to be said. I will miss them all dearly. Our home is open to them, no questions asked. One last note: my friend, Pam, reminds me that there are no ‘goodbyes’. Just ‘later’. I’ll hold her to that..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Citizenship by Marriage

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June 2017 at my comune, San Salvo, receiving my transcribed Italian birth certificate. A very a happy moment.

Back in March of this year, I was finally recognized as an Italian citizen through Jure Sanguinis (by law of the bloodline). I say finally as it takes a LOT of document researching and time, as well as the fact I am an Italian citizen by blood, but just needed to prove it. With that behind me and passport in hand, John was ready to apply for his citizenship by being married to me; Jure Matrimoni.

Why, do you ask, does John need to become a citizen if I am already one? I think top of John’s list of reasons, and you can ask him someday, would be that he’d like to feel an integrated part of his new life in Italy. Being recognized gives you a feeling of belonging, part of the Italian community and a pride in the heritage and culture of the land. Other reasons, to name just a few, have to do with ease of purchases, such as a house and car.

Some interesting details for those applying for JM:

Collecting John’s paperwork was nothing compared to the year or so collecting mine. Four background checks, including a FBI one, birth certificate, our marriage certificate from Italy, and a few other documents and he was set. Well, there are apostilles and translations to get, but you can get all the details from your consulate’s site.

The Italian government requires JM applicants to apply online first. Of course, the whole process is in Italian, but you can find some English help documents online to assist you. At the end of the online app, you need to upload your documents and proof of your payment for application. Note that there are size restrictions on the uploads and adjust accordingly.

After you submit your online application, you will be notified by your consulate for any corrections, etc. They will give you a case number as well. How does your consulate know you just completed the online application to Rome? You fill in a form field that states which consulate you are using. 😉 John had a few changes to make, the biggest being he had to get a more recent FBI background check. The problem with collecting his documents a bit too soon; actually a few months before I got recognized, was that they would expire in 6 months. So if you are planning to apply for JM, wait until your spouse has been recognized. He used an approved FBI Channeling Agency to receive this second request in 3  business days. I linked to the one we used, but there are many out there from which to chose.  He didn’t have to upload it, but bring it on his appointment day.

John’s appointment was just a month out from when we were contacted by the consulate. Off we went to Philadelphia. Unlike my citizenship appointment, where the clerk had me go through every document in her office for about an hour, John only had to stand at a window for about 20 minutes. I did forget one small payment for authenticating his new FBI check,  and only money orders or cash are accepted. (Check on your consulate site for fees to authenticate each of your documents with your consulate.) Not having the exact amount, I had to run down to the nearest street vendor, buy a bottle of water to get change. Also, as the citizen representing my husband, I had to fill out a form saying we were not separated or divorced. This, obviously, was in Italian. The clerk was pretty strict about me understanding Italian and what was being presented on this form. I think I got about a B- in her eyes, but made it through OK.

john philly.jpg

A happy John at Philly

 

All of John’s paperwork was accepted and now he waits from 1-1/2 to 2 years to hear from Rome. Once he is recognized, he will have to pledge his allegiance in a formal ceremony at the comune.

In the meantime, when we get to Abruzzo in October, he will need to apply for his Permesso di Soggiorno, which will cover him until he gets recognized. I will post down the road when he starts that process. I heard it’s a bit complex. Thank God for Google and self-help videos on All subjects!

 

 

 

 

 

Hiring a Pet Mover

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waiting on the ballHanding over the care of our ‘boys’, Romeo and Orso, takes a big leap of faith. Good thing John and I are grounded in that aspect of our lives. It doesn’t mean I don’t find my heart racing, from time to time,  with the thought of them flying in the hull of a plane for 8+ hours, being handled by strangers in stress-filled locations, spending a few hours going through their customs check in Italy, then being transported to their new home, with us waiting their arrival. I could allow it to take me to a bad place, but I choose to trust that our compass – our dear Lord- has got this covered. I just have to take the steps needed to ensure my guys have a good ride all the way.

There are many parts of this process anyone can do themselves, if they so choose. I just felt that John and I already had a lot on our plates with this big move,  and that I’d rather have an expert take over to do all the work. Making this choice comes with a big price tag. You can pick and choose what the pet mover will do or not for you and your pets, and I chose pretty much all. Basically when I sell my Jeep here, I’ve got the pet moving expenses covered and a little change in my back pocket. The boys are darn worth it.

I shopped around, read reviews, got some quotes and eventually signed on with Capital Pet Movers in Maryland. Our departure airport is Dulles International, and one of the reasons I went with Capital was their familiarity and proximity to Dulles. I also researched the owner, Derek Huntington, and liked what I read. The fact that he was re-elected as President of IPATA (International Pet and Animal Transportation Association) bode well with me. Derek is on the money for responding to all my questions, whether by email or phone. He is taking the jitters out of this process.

The options we choose:

  • Flight Arrangements International
  • Custom Crate (Orso needed a custom one built to meet International flight requirements) $700
  • Crate for Romeo – $250
  • USDA – Health Documentation & USDA Completion
  • Meet & Greet at Dulles Cargo for check-in
  • Air Freight – direct United Flight Dulles to Rome (we are all flying on the same flight)
  • Services – TSA Screening, Booking, Documentation, Fees, Fuel surcharges & Taxes
  • Destination Agent – Customs Clearance & Import Charges upon arrival in Rome, delivery to our residence in Abruzzo

There is a lot of detail involved, with Derek handling a lot on his end, but we are required to put some things into play first. As John and I would be selling our vehicles, we needed a vehicle to transport the dogs to their vet exam, as well as transporting all of us to Dulles Airport. We ended up renting a Stow-n-Go Minivan from Enterprise in Charlottesville. This gives us lots of room for the boys’ older crates (to be recycled via Derek at airport) and our check-in luggage. I had to make certain both boys had their international microchip in place, as well as new rabies shots at least 21 days out from departure. Then within 10 days of departure, they must have an exam from an USDA/international vet. Thankfully, my vet qualifies. Derek has already mailed me the international exam application form, all ready for my vet to sign post exam, and FedEx labeling and letter to USDA in Albany NY. Again, I could hand deliver this form to the USDA office in Richmond, VA (about 2 hours from home in Nelson County) but just something else I’d rather Derek handle.   The USDA returns paperwork to Derek authorizing the transportation of our dogs. This all needs to happen just days out from the flight. A bit nerve-wracking but Derek has it under control.

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Sample of a custom crate – tagged for flying

Once we get to Dulles, we meet Derek or one of his associates at Cargo. There the hand-off happens. The boys get into their much larger crates for the flight. Note: on international flights, there are stiff regulations on crate sizes. The dog has to have a few inches above when standing, able to turn around easily and when lying down, there are inches in front of the paws. All this is outlined on United Airlines site at their PetSafe page.  Just to give you an idea on Orso’s custom crate; it will be costing us $725.

John and I will check-in to our flight and let the flight attendant know our dogs are flying in cargo on our flight. The captain should then go down to cargo, take pics of the boys loaded and show them to us. It’s important to have confirmation that your dogs have been loaded before takeoff! Once in Rome, Derek’s contact will take charge, relieving the dogs, getting their paperwork through customs and transporting them to our house. We had originally thought of renting a van at the Rome airport to transport them ourselves, but nixed that idea. Thought driving a van on the beltway around Rome would be way too stressful. We’d rather arrive at our new home more relaxed and ready for our boys new adventure.

As we progress through this process, I will keep you all updated. Please keep this whole process in your thoughts and prayers. These are our children flying without mom and dad close by.  Oh, important note, they will have tee shirts in their crates that smell like us. 😉