Welcome to Sunset at Covivole... (aka, my 'Casa Nuova'!) This is a bigger and better photo than the tiny one above, so I wanted this to be at the top of the page when I finally had the guts to send the link to all you friends out there. Many of you are hearing the 'moving to Italy' news for the first time ... others heard it but didn't believe it, and still others have known for a while what was brewing but haven't seen the pictures.

At any rate -- credit goes to my techno friends (and cousins!) who convinced me that a Blog was an easy, inexpensive way to keep in touch with people. You can click on here at any time and see what I'm up to. The stories here already (posted with the most recent here at the top -- go all the way to the bottom and read in reverse if you want to absorb them in order!) are the saga of what's taken place and how this has all happened so far - some will bore you to tears, others I hope will make you giggle. Think of it as an online journal that you get to peek inside whenever you wonder what I'm up to over there. I'll be updating it regularly with observations, pics, and general 'musings' about the move to Italy as it all happens over the next few months. (Part of the reason that it took so long for me to send this link to everyone is that I just finally learned how to get pictures uploaded!)

One thing you'll notice as you read this -- everyone here (myself included!) is referred to by a nickname of some sort (names have been changed to protect the innocent, guilty, or terminally boring among us.) Viaggiatore, for anyone who is wondering, means "Traveler" in Italian. That's because even though this isn't a publically published blog, it still gets "crawled" by search engines. Hence, if you got to this link randomly, you don't really know who I am or who all my friends are without a bit of pretty good detective work (and I can't imagine why on earth it would be worth the energy?! -- but if I've learned anything from living in DC its that one never can be too cautious.) And if you see yourself referred to here but hate your nickname either suck it up or make a new suggestion that's worthy. But I digress. Enjoy reading. Comment if you wish, or email me directly (you've got the address - that won't change) if you want to chat. This is my attempt at staying in touch with all of you when we can't get together for a glass of wine and chat. Would love for you to return the favor -- bookmark me here, and check back whenever you feel like it to see how the "la Vita Bella" is going...! Ciao!