Montefalco Montelcino Gubbio Cortona

12/15 - 2:59pm

I find myself taking in the sights, smells, sounds, tastes and touches of these final days in Italy and really living in the moment.  We fly home in 3 days and I am caught between the excitement of seeing my family, friends and the Pacific Ocean while digesting the reality that I will not be waking up in this beautiful foreign country.  As I sit here on the couch looking out to are backyard which has brought so many memories over the past 4 months, swimming races in the pool, sitting in the lounge chairs reading a book, cheese boards under the pergola and my absolute family favorite kickball I am challenged to never forget these times and cling to them knowing that this chapter has come to an end.

I’m transported a few days back when the four of us took our last journey into the wine region of Montefalco and stopped off at a tiny family winery where the 17 year old son (the 4th generation soon to be winemaker) spent time sharing his passions of the family business with us as we drank their incredible vino.  Looking at this boy I see a life that I hope to be able to pass down to my children, something simple, authentic, and yet full.  The whole family works together, eats together, farms together and drinks together.  This simple picture of country side life resonates deep in my soul and I long for this to be a part of our life.

As expected and unavoidable this week has flown by and our adventures now history.  From Christmas dinner with the Camerotas,  bright lights in Gubbio, ice skating, wine tasting in Montelcino, swimming in the thermal baths, and sushi in Cortona we haven’t had much down time to catch our breath.  We picked up our pig this morning and dug the hole at Candido’s house where we will be burying him tomorrow morning and then eat him with our friends from the village for our final dinner in Umbria.  And what better way to finish off a 4 month journey. 

This has truly been some of the richest and deepest experiences I have had and to have been able to share it with my family, well, thank you God for this, I love You!