Ciao!
If you are reading this page, you most likely received an email invitation from me. This post is about why this blog exists.
In 1997, my parents took their four children and spouses to Italy for an unforgettable celebration of their 50th anniversary. I had spent my junior year abroad, so for Len, on his first visit, like me many years before, it was love at first sight. Since then Len, Benita and I have had the great fortune of traveling to Europe three times. We so wanted to share the history, architecture, art, culture, people, food, smells and sounds with Benita and explore and learn more ourselves. As tourists, we travelled from north to south and many places in between.
But there was always something nagging at us…we wanted to be more than tourists…we wanted to live in a town long enough to become part of the fabric…be recognized by name by the locals at the pizzeria, market and cafe…cook and shop and make pizza and play bocce with the locals…that was our dream.
In anticipation over the years, we have watched countless Italian cooking shows, travel shows, house hunting shows, and anything else Italian, always with an eye on our dream. And finally the time has come.
Our goal for this site is, to some extent, to take you along on our journey. Many of you have asked us to share, and this is the result, with help from Len (let’s make it a business), Benita (artistic influence) and me, the writer. I don’t tweet or Facebook; I’m not looking for thumbs up /down. This is simply and lovingly our way of sharing photos, stories, recipes, or whatever as we live and explore life in Cortona. With excited anticipation… ciao, ciao for now!
Judy
Blogging In Italy 