Day 1

We arrive at our villa and are greeted by our real-estate agent and the home-owner who gave us a tour. Much to our dismay, the owner did not feel compelled to clear out all of her personal belongings before our arrival. Unfortunately, this not only created a sense of clutter, but also allowed for very limited space for our own belongings.

So, we will need to ask the houseman to store a bunch of things before we can begin to unpack and (as expected) we will need to turn one of the bedrooms in to a closet.

By lunch time, we were all bleary-eyed. We napped a little, and then went for a ride around our new neighborhood, located the kids' new school, and then went to the grocery store (which took forever as it was all so different). We promptly had a "snack" at the house of prosciutto e melone plus crusty bread and cheese - FANTASTIC!!

Then we went in to town for dinner. Once we were in the historical center of Rome, we were quickly reminded of why we are doing this. What a beautiful city. We showed the kids the Piazza di Spagna and the Coloseo, Foro Romano and Circus Maximus. So they got a little taste. Of course, Charlotte was the most enthusiastic. We ate outdoors on the cobblestones at a little place on Via Margutta (Osteria Margutta) that was recommended, and everything we had was good. Avery was out of his mind stir crazy and thankfully had some small breaks from running around to sit with the little boy at the next table and work on a puzzle.

Now just put the kids to bed after much complaining about who is sleeping with whom, etc. It's been an exhausting and long day.

Cant' wait to get settled. But there is so much to do!

We arrived

Needless to say, our children weren't in the best of moods being woken up "in the middle of the night" when we landed in Roma. Immediately, upon disembarking, one is struck by the hot mediterranean climate. It appeared the air conditioning in the airport was typically Italian - ie. seemingly non-existent.

The line for passport control was enormous, but we've never been in a line that moved so quickly. The agent was completely stamp-happy. He was stamping passports so fast that when we handed him our stack of five, he was half way through stamping them before he even noticed that we all had visas. Then he had to go back and stamp them all again on the visa page - or at least half of the stamp landed on the visa page. Josh is convinced he had a hangover. "Welcome to Italy - where all are welcome!"

Our luck continued: the first 11 items that came off the baggage carousel were ALL ours! We did get a lot of stares. Was it because we had so much luggage? Or, because we got our luggage so fast. (We learned later that just last week the mayor of Rome waited an hour and a half for his luggage and vowed to investigate and fine the airport operator).

We were well past customs when I asked Josh where it was. Apparently, we'd already cleared without having filled out a single form nor seeing any sign of an agent. I guess they figure all the very best goods are Italian so what could you be bringing in five duffels, five boxes and 4 roller-boards?

The only frustrating part of entering the country; the only thing that didn't go completely smoothly, was the squabble over how much we owed Aeroporti di Roma for using a porter to transport our belongs from the baggage carousel to the curb. It should have been 40 euros (4 euros per bag - a hefty fee) but the officious agent was charging us 60 euros claiming our luggage to be "oversized." An argument ensued which Josh eventually won since we had been quoted the lower price at the carousel. But she was a real pit-bull.

Now, Avery and I piled in to the van with all our luggage and Josh and the girls waited for the ride to Peugeot to pick up our leased car.

The journey begins

We have just embarked upon our journey. While on the one hand it seemed this day would never come, on the other, it was unexpectedly emotional leaving our home and friends behind. I don't think our apartment has been that clean since before we moved in. At least certainly not since we've had 3 children!

We were surprised that we were able to pack all of our clothing, shoes, accessories, books, pharmaceuticals, sporting equipment, etc. in 5 large duffel bags and 5 boxes with plenty of room to spare. In fact, we ended up throwing in things we hadn't planned to take just to fill up the boxes. Josh also took his bike in a separate bag. We took 2 cars to the airport: one hired and one friend - Bobby who graciously agreed to help us to the airport.

So off we go to Rome via Washington. With 3 kids in tow it would have been nice to grab a non-stop flight from Chicago, but the free upgrades to business class on United (Thank you Global Services) were too tempting to pass up. And heck a stop in a new city is just part of the adventure, right? Too bad we didn't schedule in a tour of the White House.

So far, the kids have been extremely preoccupied with their personal entertainment system (and Avery with the phone). Olivia even managed a cat nap on the first leg down to DC. The next leg, however, may be more difficult.

Preparations for departure

August 11, 2009

It's 19 days and counting down to D-day (that's departure day). So, we have our Visas; we have a place to stay - at least for a month; the kids have a school to go to - Rome International School; we have some mega-van picking us up at Fiumicino on August 31st along with our 16 pieces of luggage! We have some euros waiting for us to spend. So that's pretty good, right?

We still need to secure a long-term car rental, and we'll need to buy the kids' uniforms, and BIKES when we get there...but that's for there.

As for here, our Chicago apartment does not look like it's about to be uninhabited for a year. In fact, life continues on a daily basis...getting the kids ready for camp, taking the kids to the doctor (Avery is sick), appointments, workouts, dental visits. When should one have time to pack for one year? It is summer in Chicago and the weather is beautiful! I keep vassalating between freaking out that we'll never get out of here, to feeling like it's just a long vacation, and do we clean up our whole place before going on vacation? Of course not.

Plus, we want to enjoy seeing our friends, and saying so long in this late, splendid summer. The Wedners are hosting a Buon Viaggio party for us this Sunday evening! And our neighbors in the building are having cocktails in honor of our departure (is this a good thing?!?)

Ok, time to go to make more lists of things to do before we leave...and then go to Yoga.