Goodbye, Reggio Emilia

 

It's time to say goodbye to our little town of Reggio Emilia. But, before I do, I feel impelled to respond to my faithful readers.

My last post spurred quite a few people to write to me expressing loving concern. I appreciate you all, and you should all know I am okay (and Conan knows exactly how I feel). The purpose of this blog throughout the year is to keep you all updated and to also document the various aspects of this trip. Think about a typical two-week vacation: there are amazing sights, your energy is up and life is great, you have to leave, you're exhausted, etc. Travel for this many months also takes that rhythm, except you don't go home. You keep going. So that's where I'm (and we) are at. And, if you're really concerned and what to lift my/our spirits, feel free to donate to fun causes: @julianna-griffin-3 (Venmo). We'd love a hot air balloon ride; that would totally lift our spirits. Hehe.

Okay, so our last week here entailed a few things: basketball game in the stadium that Kobe Bryant's father played in (fun fact: Kobe lived here for many years! Way cool, and if you're inclined to watch a video of Kobe speaking about this in Italian, here you go: Kobe: Reggio Emilia). We also went and saw some cool human theater and because there were no more cheap tickets left, we ended up in a rich-person box! Of course, we didn't bring the phone for either of these events, so you'll just have to believe me.

Other than that, we did go to the town of Pisa to see that famous tower; Sila got a haircut; we got gelato and more gelato; and we did our normal routine: farmers markets to get an excessive amount of cheese and prosciutto, exercise, computer work, etc.

We're off to Salerno tomorrow, and we're excited for a new place for a couple more weeks, as well as to see some old stuff, which I'm sure I'll post about. Until then, happy Halloween, everyone! Oh, and I changed the setting on Sila's and my blog: I had it that you couldn't comment unless you have a Google account. If you're so inclined, you should be able to respond now.