Support the Timberjay by making a donation.

Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Mamma Mia! Dassa a spiicy meataball!

Posted

Wonderful cuisine is on my horizon....because on Oct.16, I am going to Italy! The sale of a family lake cabin this past summer has provided the wherewithal to make it possible for me, my new beau Bill, son Keaton and girlfriend Ashley to fly across the pond. What a momentous time it will be for all of us, that is, once all the prep work is done.

   I am without a doubt finding this pre-travel time to be somewhat nerve wracking. None of us have ever traveled abroad, except for Bill’s short stint while he was in the U.S. Army. There are lots of things to do to get ready in a very short time, considering we didn’t decide to go abroad until late July, when we closed on the cabin. Rushing to get our passports has been the biggest complication. We expedited Bill’s, mine was slowed down dramatically due to a request for verification on my last name change, which then put the arrival date of my passport to Nov. 3. By then I’ll be back in Ely, baking Spritz cookies for Christmas, so I spent an additional $75 to expedite my passport. A very necessary move because I am the one holding the purse strings for all but Bill, so I need to be on the plane.

  I have a great support crew assisting me with the details. My astute hair-stylist-extraordinaire/friend/therapist, Janet from Hibbing, has been such a comfort as we get ready to go. She offers the use of her luggage, so many travel tips, and an extra dye job scheduled for this week to insure I arrive in Venice with hair of blazing autumn color! On the advice of other friends from Hibbing, I had enlisted an experienced travel agent to put the trip together, thus removing the stress that could have leveled a rookie European tourist like myself, let alone the rest of the group. Traveling with temperamental young adults is dicey enough at times so smoothing over any potential troubles will keep the vibes jovial. The agent linked everything together, planes, trains, buses, hotels, all the way to purchasing advance tour tickets which will prevent waiting in long lines. She has done a tremendous job. Putting details into someone else’s hands has left me to manage the smaller stuff.

   For the past couple of months I’ve been busy ordering travel items such as earplugs, money belts, wrinkle-free clothing, electronic adaptors, and even a couple inflatable animal print pillows to name a few. I’m trying to bring essentials, some comfort items, and still fall into the traveling lite category. The last time I flew was in 1988 when I went to Toronto. Everything besides the small bathrooms has changed since then. You nearly need a tech school course to know how to proceed with a trip abroad. I have been researching quite a bit to get on top of all the rules and regs we need to know. Websites like travel.state.gov are such a tremendous help and so is the book, Rick Steves-Italy.

I know there will be things overlooked, and expect a few discomforts along the way but I am going into this adventure with the attitude, “Enjoy the process, live out of your comfort space, learn and grow.” It’s one of my goals to help everyone else have the best trip they can! We’ve purchased travel insurance in the event of injury, illness or an occurrence out of our control. A bit of important security for sure.

   I am also secure knowing the weather will be cool enough to really enjoy our hikes. We won’t be huffing and puffing in the heat! October is a great time to visit Italy as there are fewer tourists and the temperatures tend to be in the 70s rather than into the 90s. In readying us for the trip, I picked up a simple book on how to speak Italian. It can’t hurt to know a few key words, although I have been told that English is frequently spoken in the tourist areas where we will be spending our time. My son downloaded a mobile phone app that allows you to scan any word and have it translated to English.

This in itself will be a huge help with reading menus, street signs and steering me into the proper gender restrooms. Technology in all the right places. The teens have been busy watching Youtube videos to educate themselves on places we plan to see. It’s great to see them learning and so excited to be going.

  The itinerary is smooth and incorporates a lot for just seven days of actual on-the-ground tour time. We are flying from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, then transfering to fly into Venice, referred to by Rick Steves as “a puddle of elegant decay.”  Hence, after rotting in historic Venice for a couple gondola-filled days we will take the train to Florence, the home of the Renaissance. Nothing rotten about this in my books, but some travelers cannot move past ancient odors to enjoy architecture and certainly the culture itself.  We will spend a couple more days in Florence, enjoying the food, such as “gelato” (soft italian ice cream), art galore and fashion. I know when I arrive at the Acaddemia to see Michelangelo’s David, I have promised to procure a special collector’s item for my friend Mona, of Side Lake. She has informed me that in a kiosk outside the main entrance of the Acaddemia one can apparently purchase boxer shorts with a screen print of David’s privates on them. Clever money-making idea for some screen printer! Mona needs the boxers for her costume collection, so I completely understand her wish. I will probably get a pair for my collection as well. Aside from this commitment, my shopping plans are wide open.

   Rome is our final stop and we will again take the train south for those last few days. We will be touring the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Catacombs. Dispersed among the scheduled tours throughout this trip are portions of days when we will be heading off to explore some historic places on our own such as the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain. When we leave Rome our bodies will be exhausted but our spirits full of the riches of our experience. Pasta and pizza will have taken on a new meaning I expect!

  We will fly from Rome to JFK Airport on the 24th of October, concluding our 2015 Italian Blast Tour, and will continue to savor this incredible time spent together for all the years to come.