Getting Ready

After months of planning, the beginning of my adventure is almost here. What an enormous task it’s been to end my life here, if only temporarily, and prepare to start anew!

Because I am a “planner” I began packing my suitcase weeks and weeks ago for my April 2nd departure. It’s been such fun to decide what stays and what goes, however I keep finding myself constantly digging through the suitcase unpacking things which I hadn’t thought I’d need; coats, jeans, that favorite pair of walking shoes…. While I realize I can purchase many things at my destination, the high European prices and weak dollar mean that products cost 3 times as much there as they do here, so I want to take what I can reasonably carry. Unfortunately, airlines are tightening up their policy about the size and weight of checked baggage. Some of the European airlines, Germany’s Lufthansa for one, have a 50 pound weight limit. With that weight limit I might have to seriously consider jettisoning the clothes in favor of 50 pounds of chocolate. You can never go wrong with chocolate!

Money has also been a challenge. I normally carry traveler’s checks, however after consulting with my bank and being informed that they do not carry denominations larger than $100 I quickly realized that carrying $10,000 in traveler’s checks was going to be a nightmare, resulting in a 10 pound handbag which could double as a doorstop…or a weapon should I need to beat off an overly amorous, handsome European Casanova. Wait a minute, what am I thinking? Why on earth would I want to dissuade the advances of a handsome man??

Ultimately, I’ve decided to take some foreign currency in cash, a bit in traveler’s checks and I’ve left the rest in my bank account to be accessed by debit card. I also am taking two credit cards. Hopefully I have planned for every eventuality financially!

My adventure begins in the lovely Tuscany area of Italy. I visited Tuscany in September with my mother, and after 10 days I knew I wanted to return for further exploration. During our 10 day visit to Tuscany, I enjoyed the slower pace of Italian life. That savoring of family, friends, and food that the Italians do so well. Mom and I stayed in Siena during our visit, but made day trips to some of the surrounding hill towns like the city of towers, San Gimignano, and the epitome of beautiful urban planning, Pienza. One place I particularly liked was the medieval town of Cortona, made famous by the book Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. Cortona, a lovely, small city high upon a hill with a panoramic view of the Tuscan countryside, has that homey feeling. Although I have read descriptions of Cortona as being “cold”, it felt warm and welcoming to me and I was thrilled to locate an affordable 2 bedroom apartment for rent on Craigslist.

Vacation rentals in Italy are shockingly expensive, easily running $3000-$4000 per month for a 1 bedroom apartment. I found this gem for a bargain price of 800 Euros, about $1300 per month, and once I began to correspond with the owner’s personable daughter, I knew I’d found my home away from home, for 3 months anyway!