partenza

For those of you following my blog (I think there are nearly two hundred or so of you kindly reading about our journeys), I'm sitting on a train right now watching the Italian countryside pass by my window for one last time on this stay in Italia. We are headed from Genova to Milano where we will board a flight to Germany, leaving Italia behind but holding on to all our memories. We spent the last few weeks at the villa enjoying Genova in its glorious Christmas costume on the nice days and making sea glass ornaments, canestrelli, and paintings as gifts on the rainy days. Oh, and during a few continually rainy days we built a kitchen out of cardboard boxes.

building the kitchen

cooking in the kitchen

cooking in the kitchen

the kitchen

beating a rainy day by playing with shaving cream

creating some mixed media masterpieces

Holden's gallery (that became our Christmas cards) 

sea glass Christmas tree ornaments

making canestrelli

making canestrelli

adding the powdered sugar

canestrelli

boxed canestrelli for Christmas gifts

serenading us in front of the fire

enjoying the fireplace on a slightly chilly night

And Genova put on a particularly good show for us in the last few days. The weather turned beautiful and the city truly transformed, strung with Christmas lights throughout the centro storico and all the shop windows filled with decorations and Christmas goods. If there were one time that I thought the city of Genova was truly beautiful, warm, and inviting it was during the Christmas season. We even went down to Piazza Ferrari two days before our departure and watched the Christmas tree lighting and listened to the carolers.

centro storico strung with Christmas lights

waiting for the lighting of the Christmas tree

Christmas tree in Piazza Ferrari

And the weather was still warm enough to visit the beaches, not to swim but at least to wade and run around. We were able to say goodbye to new friends, catch up with old friends, and even have an early birthday celebration for Holden.  And while some parts of our Italian life and some of our new Italian friends we will especially miss, it was nice to know we were headed home for the holidays.

visiting with Jeff Ludlow (old friend from architecture school and Dave's college roommate)

gift exchange with Jeff

Holden's Real Madrid jersey from Jeff

getting Holden's ukele restrung at his favorite shop in Genova

one last visit to Holden's favorite guitar store and workshop

one last visit to Holden's favorite guitar store and workshop

one last run through the pipe at the porto antico

sketching at the drawing table in Luca and Anna's office

Holden with his Sampdoria jersey from Fabrizio (their former goalkeeper)

Holden's early birthday party with the Italians at the villa

one last Saturday pancake breakfast (with Luca and Anna)

saying goodbye to the villa at Via Piaggio 14

arriving with our luggage in Milano Centrale

While it is sad to end this chapter of our lives, we look forward to what new adventures the future holds for us. It's funny but when you really look at the world, you realize that we truly are all the same and that we put up these borders pronouncing our differences for no reason at all, except our own insecurities and fears. Yet if we just open our hearts - happiness, love, and friends can be found anywhere. Love is everywhere, if you just look for it.