Well, here it is well over a week since we arrived back “home” in Italy. Saying those words will never get old. It still seems like a far fetched dream, yet here we are living this reality. We thought we would have our wifi up and running with a simple plug in, we should have known better. Nothing is “simple” nothing. Well, the one thing I think was pretty flipping simple was purchasing our home, in Italy….sight unseen. Everything else has been quite the struggle.
We flew out of Orlando, Florida on Sunday 6/20/2021. The preparation for this trip was not as bad as February. We knew now we could enter Italy without fear of being turned away. We were still required to covid test (negative) on rapid testing prior to boarding. We flew on Delta/Alitalia. Our flight leaving Orlando was delayed about an hour. This put us in panic mode for our connecting flight. We arrived into Atlanta, Georgia and things were not so organized. We sprinted to our gate (we only had 2 hour layover and now down to an hour with our delay). Thinking it would be this long process of checking documents, testing results and more documents, but, to our surprise it took all of 2 minutes. They just failed to inform passengers you had to go to a specific check in line prior to waiting at the gate check in line. So, a lot of back and forth, waiting and more waiting. But, not all the documents that were required in February. The process was significantly simplified.
The second flight leaving Atlanta direct to Rome was delayed as well. Another hour of lost time, sitting and waiting. So frustrating and the anxiety of flying just rears its ugly head (for me). Add the mandatory mask, I swear they had the heat on, and I’m ready to jump ship (but I’m on a plane….). The long haul wasn’t all that bad, until we of course were mid ocean and hit awful turbulence. Watching the “in flight monitor” of where in the world is Kerri, did not bring any comfort. A couple of prayers along with looks at Mike, getting his “we are ok” look back and a squeeze of my hand….we got through it. We put on Goonies to help. There’s something about an old & fun childhood movie that just helps calm your weary brain. Putting Goonies on is always a good idea.
While in flight, flight attendants were informing anxious passengers that as of 6/21/2021 – the day we arrived – that the procedures in Rome were being changed. They had no additional information. So we all just waited to see exactly what this would mean. I was dreading the nose swab, having just had a 2 week awful migraine prior to our departure. Thank God, it was down to a bad headache during the flight.
Monday morning, it seemed like it would never arrive…..but, we made it back home to Italy! We grabbed our carry on backpacks, personal bags and we headed off the plane. There were all the testing ques set up still, with Rome Airport personnel standing in front with their arms crossed behind their backs. As if it had literally changed overnight while we were in flight. Amazing! Thank you Jesus!! Now off to immigration. This process took all of 2 minutes. There was not a sole in front of us. We both got stamped and we are officially in Italy!! Not 1 question about vaccination, testing, documents or anything else that had brought so much unnecessary pre-arrival stress. I have to say it was wonderful, however, for all the passengers who only received their vaccination to travel…I think this is very unfortunate. I’m not getting into the whole vaccination issue here, I personally feel it should be a personal decision. Period. I just feel for the ones who felt obligated to receive it, only to travel.
From here we grabbed our bags that were coming off the belt, then off to meet Kailee and her friend Maggie. They arrived 2 hours earlier. We were scheduled to arrive at the same time. Delta changed our flight at least 4-5 times putting us in 2 hours after them. Off to the rental car, this was a little challenge. It was a different off site company, so we had to find that shuttle. There is some construction at FIU, so the shuttle service to the rental was not where we thought originally. A little confusion, and we were packed into the shuttle bus off to the rental. The next task, shoving 2 huge suitcases (Kailee and Maggie are here for 3 & 2 months) 2 carry on backpacks, 3 regular backpacks and 4 personal bags, all in a compact car! We were determined to make it work, we did it and finally off to Poggio Nativo!! Once leaving the Rome area, the ride is simply beautiful. All the mountains in the distance are so pretty!
We arrived to our home and our neighbor, Lallo, a skilled welder was installing our new door. It looks absolutely beautiful. It is worth every penny we paid! It allows for so much natural light to come into the kitchen now. It also has our new lock we bought at home and brought last trip. This is a keyless entry, so setting a code will be so much easier for friends and family looking to stay. I will post photos of our new door in separate post.
Our Vodafone modem had been delivered while we were still in Florida. Our wonderful neighbor went to the post office to pick it up for us. We assumed all was well, we could simply plug it in and like a switch, wifi would work. Nope! Off to Vodafone day 1. Apparently, Vodafone sent the wrong modem. We have no landline, and we needed a different modem. To pass us over, they gave us a SIM card hotspot. There were issues with this, Mike, myself and Kailee all are on Sprint/T-mobile and we are financing our phones. We don’t “own” the phone so we couldn’t unlock the phones to install this. So Kailee’s friend Maggie put it in her phone. We got back to the house and still had no service. Off to Vodafone, trip #2. This time, Vodafone gave us a Laptop SIM card stick. We got all the way home, only to find out the little box didn’t include the adapter. For the love of God……Vodafone trip #3 the next day. Finally on day 4 after a call to our Vodafone rep, Mariam, just as we called, she informed us “it just arrived now”. Oh, ok Mariam lol. Back to Rieti to pick up our new modem. It’s still not working ideally. It could have something to do with the stone, brick and concrete walls. We are going to try to get wifi extenders at MediaWorld. So….stayed tuned!
Everything at the house was exactly how we had left it. Just a quick clean up (after having been closed up since mid March). A quick cleaning, vacuuming and dusting and it felt like home again. We saw almost all of our friendly neighbors, such incredibly kind people. They all seem as happy to see us as we were to see them!
Many amazing photos to come. It may take a month to upload and post, but I will keep trying! I hope all is well wherever you all are. We are here, loving life. We are trying to embrace all the stress and daily frustrations we run into. Trust me, they are daily. However, we are in Italy. How bad can it really be.
"Quit being a bystander and start becoming a disciple" ~ Blessed is she.