Ciao Bella!

So.....my long awaited Italian vacanza is finally here....this time tomorrow I will be in Italy.....woo hoo! We will be flying to Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and then driving to......

.....Bardi....isn't it beautiful? Bardi is a pretty small market town up in the mountains but it is the main town for a whole host of small villages.....my in-laws came from these villages....my father in law Giovanni from Costageminiana and my mother in law Luisa from Casanova, just the other side of the mountains.

My in-laws both left for London to work when they were about seventeen years old- they grew up about 20 minutes away from each other in Italy but didn't meet until they got to the big city. I always think it is so romantic that they must have been within touching distance of each other in Italy, at the market or a hundred and one other places on many different occasions - since they were the same age and the villages they came from were really small, but they never actually saw each other! They married in London and then had their family here....I think my father in law would have gone back to live in Italy but my mother in law became very attached to London and so here they stayed.

My father in law used to tell his children that Costageminiana was the capital of Italy.....when my husband first went to school, the teacher asked the class what the capital of Italy was and you can guess his reply....he never lived it down....although I am sure his Daddy was probably secretly very proud and had a great chuckle over that!

I always got along very well with my in-laws, they were really special people, but I know I am hoping that this trip will give me another insight into them just by seeing where they came from - and the places that were undoubtedly always in their hearts.

I met my husband and his family about fifteen years ago but have never been to Bardi.....I have heard so many stories about it and seen so many photos though, that I almost forget I haven't actually visited! I am so excited to go and to take the children there. My husband spent most of his summer holidays there as a child so he has really happy memories of it and a very strong connection .....we still have a lot of family there so I am sure there will be a lot of reminiscing.....along with a lot of long dinners!!

As some of you probably know, my father in law passed away just this March and my mother in law just fifteen months before that, so I know that at times there will be some sadness while we are in Bardi......my father in law loved Italy with a passion and I know it's his voice that I will hear a lot of the time as we explore the places he grew up in.

They would be thrilled to know that we will be there on holiday. My father in law's younger brother and sister live there -I have to tell you that his brother, Zio Lazzaro, is the youngest sibling at age 70 - I saw him in March and he looks not a day over 50, seriously - a true testament to the happy and healthy life he has lived in a truly beautiful area. He and his wife used to own the local osteria and while my mother in law was a really wonderful cook, Zio Lazzaro's wife's cooking is apparently absolutely amazing...uh oh, I'm in trouble....best not take my skinny jeans!

My brother in law has a new apartment there and that's where we will be staying....from the window you can see where my father in law lived and the church that he went to as a boy. My mother in law lived about 20 minutes away but the house is still there even though I don't think it has been lived in for some time.....I just can't wait to see it though.....I have always wondered what made an incredibly shy girl who was barely seventeen and who spoke not even one word of English leave her home to travel to a city as busy as and as alien as London must have been....how's that for an adventure?

We will spend 6 days or so in and around Bardi and then we will drive via the coast and the very pretty town of Lucca to Florence.....

I have visited Florence a couple of times but not for many many years.....way too long! We will be spending around 4 days in Florence before flying back from Pisa....and hopefully seeing the famous leaning tower.

This is how I would like to be travelling......

......but right now, it is more like this, still some work to do....

I hope to blog while I am away.....we have our laptop and should have an internet connection....I can't wait to share more about our journey.....my 100th post is coming up quite soon and I thought while I was away, I would do a little Italian shopping for my giveway :)

Arrivederci....ciao for now!