Blogs from Calabria, Italy, Europe - page 5

I left the girls in Catanzaro Lido at 5:30 in the morning, because I had to fly back to the States. The first flight was a 7:15 am, and then I connected through Rome to Chicago. The girls were going to go into the mountains to see the grand opening of a play that Giacomo wrote. The play was playing at an outdoor theater, and they were going to stay in a chalet in the area. I had two flights to get to Chicago. My first flight was an Alitalia flight from Lamezzia Terme to Rome, and the next was an American Airlines flight from Rome to Chicago. Both were uneventful and I arrived in Chicago on a bright, sunny afternoon. I spoke with Liliana the next day, and she said that they ended up having ... read more

We left Positano early on Tuesday morning. Ottavio, our taxi driver, was at the hotel promptly at 9 am, and we made our sad goodbyes to Tiziana and Dante (her dog). The girls would have liked to have stayed for another week (or maybe a lifetime), but it was time to move on to the south of Italy. We first stopped in Pompeii, the Roman city that was buried under the volcanic ash from an eruption of Mount Vesuvius 2,800 years ago. We had allotted about 2 hours for the tour, and we decided to use a tour guide so that we would have a better understanding for the city. We were all glad that we hired Antonio. He speaks perfect English and did a fantastic job of making this prosperous, beautiful city come alive once ... read more

The last few pictures of the farm...headed onto Sicily for the next!!... read more

Pirapora So we finally arrived at the first farm! It's located in a small town called Zambrone in Calabria, a region in southern Italy.  When Jon and I walked up to the house we could see the most spectacular view of the sun setting over the Mediterranean Sea.  Its amazing!! A little background on the farm: it's family owned by Giovanni "Johnny" and Franco who inherited the land from their parents. Johnny is married to Lauren who is English, they have 2 children, Luca age 5 and Sophia age 3.  Franco is married to Rosey who is Brazilian and they have 2 children as well, Michal and Sarah, both somewhere between the ages of 14-16. Together they operate a B & B and restaurant in the summer, which is 80% sustained from the farm.  They have ... read more

HAPPENSTANCE IN SPADES: I woke up a bit later than I expected (7:55) after being up a good part of the night, probably stressing about the next leg of the journey, my trek to Catanzaro. I often have dark thoughts asking myself “what am I doing here thousands of miles from home, friends, and family?!” I sort of recalled an 8:45 train, so I took a short shower, walked the few blocks to the moving walkway that took me down the hill, and then walked fast, helped by my new suitcase wheels, the rest of the way to the train, knowing I could always take the 10:45. Turned out there was an 8:39 train that was running late (8:45) which I jumped right on. In the seat across from me was a lady from Sweden, 70 ... read more