I think it was October of 1986 or so when we took our first trip to Italy. Bill & I both worked for the airlines at San Francisco airport and because we flew standby, we had to dress up to fly. I wore a crinkly material white patterned dress and Bill a suit jacket. It sounds so old fashioned now, dressing up to fly, like, did we also carry hot potatoes in our pockets to stay warm? LOL! But alas, such as it was. We flew into Milan Malpensa and picked up a rental car. As we drove out of the airport we encountered ladies of the night in skimpy clothing huddled around a fire set in a big metal trash drum. We had no reservations and no set destination. There was no internet, no reading of reviews prior to choosing a place to stay. Somehow that first night we drove about 45 minutes away to a town called Stresa, on the shores of Lago Maggiore. When we awoke the next morning we were astonished and delighted by our surroundings, and thus began our first journeying through this beautiful country.

But my love of Italy began much earlier. I am of Italian descent on both sides and I remember spending time at my grandparents small apartment in Boston where parties were held with everyone speaking Italian in a raucous and joyful atmosphere. When I was about 10, my grandmother Antonetta visited us in California after having just returned from a trip to Italy and she brought me a Pinocchio marionette puppet and told me of her visit to Venice, the streets were made of water and life was conducted by and through these waterways. This was a magical idea to my 10-year old mind, I was a swimmer and imagined myself swimming to school in such a setting.

This trip has likewise been magical. To a lake that represents the grandeur of a bygone era. Some of it updated to match the present day, some faded about the edges but still a powerful draw for people of all over to relax, walk, hike, bike and breathe in the beauty of mountains, water, architecture, and food that is unlike much of the soulessness encountered in other present day areas around the world.

Each visit changes me and gives me a roadmap for my future, which I have known since childhood should be here, in the land of my ancestors…