Slow Tour

In my past life as a government functionary, every time an event occurred it was always immediately pursued by a debrief.  What went well?  What did not go well?  How do we do it better next time? What are the principal learnings? …. Well, it seems that learned habits are hard to shake - which is how we came to conduct such a debrief in the wake of our last family trip overseas.  

The principal learning which arose from that trip was that we derived the most satisfaction and enjoyment from those times when we managed to forge some sort of relationship with the folks we met along the way.  Or, put another way, stop ticking-off a list of visits to “must-see” attractions, and make an effort to immerse yourself in the place you find yourself.

It’s that lesson which is the driver of this planned excursion in September and October this year.  We plan to spend about six weeks in Italy, trying as much as possible to be an active participant within the place rather than a passive observer of it.  Four of those weeks will be spent sharing a villa in the hills above the walled city of Lucca in Tuscany with our dear friends Rob & Jeans, and (hopefully) a few visitors for whom we have some space in the villa.  Then, once we depart Tuscany, Michelle and I will spend a couple of weeks in Trastevere in the city of Rome, primarily to wander, sip espresso, dine out and in, and amuse people with our appalling attempts to communicate in Italian.

And that, pretty much, is the extent of our planning.  What occurs will be reflected - as truthfully as I dare - in posts to follow on this blog.  I’m happy for anyone to vicariously join us here.  Feel free to share the link to this blog.  Feel free also to whack a comment below.  I can take criticism (up to a point - at which I think I can figure out how to delete the comment 😉).

Ciao tutti.