Buongiorno Amici!

Good morning my friends from Sorrento, Italy! It's hard to believe that we are here. I kept on asking John, has it sunk in yet, and finally, well, it truly has.

This adventure started out a bit rocky, if I was being honest. My goal was to get us to this beautiful place unscathed. 

From our delayed flight in Louisville and almost missing our connecting flight in Philly - we were down to the minutes folks, and we were the last to board our flight to Italy. Personally, I have never run harder in my life, looking like a complete idiot in this crowded airport, sweat dripping down my face, with my backpack bouncing up and down - that felt like a 50-pound weighted vest along with dragging my carry-on down the Philly airport (that place was HUGE!). Huffing and puffing, we made it to our flight to Naples. Whew. 

The flight itself was wonderful. It almost didn't feel like you were on a plane. Except for the economy seats after several hours of sitting felt like eternity (seriously, more leg room seats or first class is the way to go on international flights). I am not one who sits regularly or has an easy time "relaxing"....and then with 5 minutes of sleep or so (who is counting..) we arrived in Naples, Italy. 

We were all tired, and hungry and we thought of what our first meal would be like in ITALY! Then, like a herd of cattle, we are moved into the Naples airport. The weather was hot and I loved it. You could smell a slight tinge of saltiness in the air. 

Passports stamped, then off we go to get our rental car. Yes, that's right, rental car. Have we ever driven in a foreign country? No. Do we know the language? Not really. Do we know the road signs? Um, nadda...and after a hot minute (literally hot..) we received our brand spanking new Fiat 600....yea baby!! She is a beaut!! We hopped in our Fiat, and we were off. One does have romantic ideas of what it would be like driving or arriving in Europe...yea, it didn't exactly go like that...😉

Google maps in hand, John driving, and me navigating......and almost 2 hours of INSANE, I mean, total insanity, what-the-heck are-we-doing, and me yelling (I don't know what I am doing!!!) and cursing at Google maps for the 10th time- by the way, watch out for the vespas/motorbikes - they do not follow rules - maybe they don't have rules...

Anyway, where was I? Google maps was not helping the situation, we arrived in Sorrento at our Airbnb. Tired and hungry...we sat for a moment looking out from our balcony at the Gulf of Naples. There were tons of people the beach and we heard some ladies in the ocean, just laughing and carrying on, and a lot of Italian chatter. The cool breeze was warranted, as one of our air conditioners was broke and our host was diligently working on how/when to get it fixed. (Ahhh, modern conveniences) But we looked at each other, red eyed and drowsy and exclaimed..."WE ARE IN ITALY!!!!!" 

Our AirBnb is literally next to the water, like I can fall off my balcony and hit the water and the rocks. Beaches are different here. No sand, just rocks and the crystal-clear ocean. We walked along the walkway by the ocean and found a little snack shop and I got my first Granita al Limone (Italian ice), and it hit the spot. We continued and saw beautiful sites along the way, and came upon Angelos Ristobar, a little whole in the wall restaurant with a beautiful terrace overlooking the harbor. We also met Antonio, he owned this little bitty market next door. 

We feasted on our first Italian meal. John and I had pizza (OMG!!!) with Italian beer, and Lydia had pasta aglio e olio, one of her favorites. So, so good. Then we went to Antonio's market and bought some wine, Italian beer, water, homemade mozzarella, housemade salami (from Antonio's factory?), and homemade bread. 

Antonio told us that a classic Italian breakfast is mozzarella, salami and bread. I could get used to this. 

After our bellissimo meal, Lydia and I got into the ocean. Definitely need water shoes here. The waters were so clear, but the bottom was rocks and some covered in moss...which made things slippery. We carried on in the cool ocean and my face started to hurt because I was smiling so much. 

As I sit here, typing this, overlooking the ocean, I look at this elderly couple who are so sweet to each other, they were the first on the beach, she is smoking a cigarette, and he seems like the mayor - he knows everyone! I get a bit misty eyed and still can't believe we are here. Today, we don't have much on the agenda...tomorrow is another story. I just want to savor each moment. 

Before I conclude, I must tell you about the lady I met at the Louisville airport. Our family had just passed TSA and we were putting our shoes back on. The lady sitting across from me had lovely hair and I complimented her on it. She said, "Oh, thank you! My hair dryer even broke this morning!!" Well, low and behold, I found out she was Italian and we shared stories. I felt like I have known her my whole life. Her and her husband were so kind and, on their way, to see their son on the West Coast. When we get back from our trip, we are going to get lunch and share more stories...as I was talking to her...my daughter lovingly rolls her eyes at my husband and says, "She has never met a stranger..."

It's true. You just never know who you are going to meet along the way. Someone who could enrich your life, even for a moment. Cherish those times, the unknown and don't be afraid to stick yourself out there...you never know what blessing may come of it.

I reflected on this "meet cute" and thought...I just know this is how it's going to be in Italy....and so far...that has been the case.

Ti abbraccio forte (a big hug),

Claudine