Siamo arrivati!

Well here we are, back in the motherland, arriving on Nonno Tony's birthday... he would have been 97. It was amazing to hear Italian again. We arrived at our apartment quite late but still had time for cornetti from the 24 hour place next door. When my alarm clock went off at 8:00, I hit the snooze to try and overcome the jet lag. But then the Roman wake up call started: hammering and drilling. So, good morning Rome! Off to find espresso and fresh fruit!

Booking seats

We're flying British Airways to Rome for the family "roots" trip. BA doesn't allow you to pre-book seats until 24 hours before your flight. Last night we had our countdown with two laptops to book 7 seats together as soon as the website would let us. It was more stressful than I imagined.

Ritorno a Roma

In a week, on what would have been Nonno Tony's 97th birthday, I arrive in Rome for the start of my "roots" trip. We've been planning this for almost 10 months, not expecting the turbulent year it has turned out to be. I haven't prepared enough for the "roots" part so I am open to more unexpected encounters and adventures. However, until I'm on that first plane, I'll be fretting about mundane things like which foundation garments to pack.

Olive oil cures

Last week my ear was plugged up, making it difficult to concentrate and walk in a straight line. The only thing I could think to do was go home and sleep. After a day it had passed but it reminded me of Nonna Fausta and her olive oil cures. She was one of the few remaining people who could master the art or science of curing ear aches, sprains, eye problems, and many more ailments with warm olive oil, the right pressure points, and, I'm sure, some special words. No one in the family is left with this special skill.