Family Ties

When I post this blog, my sister and brother-in-law will be in the air, probably close to landing in Rome. I expect that her visit will give this reluctant traveler a lift, and an opportunity to see Italy with a fresh perspective.

Bill and I left our home on April 26. That is almost three months ago. We have been on a cruise ship, traveled on trains, roared down autostradas, driven cautiously down steep, narrow, winding roads, and walked literally thousands of steps. We have slept in every kind of hotel bed in Spain, France, Austria, and Italy, and visited towns in those countries as well as Germany. We have eaten every kind of food you can imagine (including, as my loyal readers will recall, that famous French sausage), and laughed and cried over every kind of situation you can think of. We have been communicating (or attempting to) in French, German, and Italian for three months.

But my blog is not called the Reluctant Traveler for nothing. Every day of this journey has been a dichotomy of joy and distress for me. While I have relished the gift of this adventure, at the same time I have missed my family and friends. While we’ve been gone, we have had a granddaughter born, our son has purchased and moved into a house that we have never seen, my daughter-in-law is about to give birth to another grandchild, our grandkids have been swimming, playing tennis, getting new haircuts, and growing taller.

And we have a month to go. Well, 27 days actually. And we (or to be honest I must say I) need a shot in the arm. It will be wonderful to see the beauty of this country and the eccentricities of its people through some new eyes. My sister and brother-in-law will be with us for 10 days. We will be able to show them some of the things we have seen and tell them some of the things we have learned. Their visit will be a boost that will likely last until the end of this month, when we will take off for the final days of our trip to France, and then head home.