If I had stuck to the schedule, I would be arriving home about now. But I got home Thursday night at 11:30pm. Bryan and I drove all day Monday, arriving at 4:30am local time. Tuesday we helped dismantle furniture, remove cupboards from walls, fill holes, move things down to the garage, transport things over to a storage place from where they will be taken to Romania, etc. Wednesday we loaded the van, and another one (and 4ft high on its roof rack), then drove over to the place where my parents will stay in future visits to Italy. Thursday we loaded up the van and drove up through Mont Blanc, then France up to the channel. We drove almost straight onto the ferry and got home 16 hours after we left Rivanazzano for the last time. I drove over to Bristol on Friday to empty it into their garage there.
The flat that we emptied was my first home, the place of my earliest memories and the place of my summer vacation adventures for over a decade. It was sad to leave it after all these years. Since it is a place with so many memories, I ate more calories than I burned this week – living in Italy creates many culinary memories. I will miss the sweet focaccia for breakfast, the local salami and true lasagna, not to mention the ice cream. But since it is only 16 hours away, perhaps I’ll get an opportunity to head down there again. Maybe when we go to Italy next year as a family we’ll swing through the old town for one or two culinary treats!
