“Are you going to Narnia? Take me along with you To meet the Lamb who is a Lion. I want to learn to love Him too…” (Song by The Second Chapter of Acts) I can’t even remember where I first heard about the Italian medieval hilltop city of Narni, but when I did, I immediately [ Read More ]
Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
Ancient places often have ancient names, and in Italy, the names of some of the medieval hilltop cities often reflect the simplicity of an era long, long ago. “Civitavecchia” simply means “old city.” “Civita di Bagnoregio” means “city by Bagnoregio.” “Castiglione del Laga” means “castle by the lake.” “Citta della Pieve,” where our Italian house [ Read More ]
“Am I just dreaming?” I honestly couldn’t tell as we sat around a beautifully set table on the terrace of the stunning Italian farmhouse overlooking the neat garden of herbs framing a lovely pool. Just beyond the pool was an olive grove with rolling Umbrian hills providing a remarkable backdrop. Sometimes experiences in life are [ Read More ]
“Location, location, location!” Anyone who’s ever bought a house learns this mantra right from the start as a significant priority, and it makes no difference if you’re in Tennessee, the Pacific Northwest, or somewhere in the historic backroads of Italy. If Dan and I had continued to search for another year or two, we still [ Read More ]
There’s a good reason why I won’t tell you Flavia’s last name. If I did, you’d seek her out, fall in love with her like we did, and we’d end up having to share her, which I don’t think I want to do. Flavia was the first Italian to convince us– immediately– that Citta della [ Read More ]
The July sun was brilliant as Dan and I inched our way higher along the winding, narrow road leading constantly upward toward the ancient buildings that lined the horizon at the top. There are scores of medieval hilltop cities in Tuscany and Umbria– most of them hundreds and some even thousands of years old– built [ Read More ]
It’s still very dark when we wake. My husband, clean shaved and dressed, makes his own breakfast while I’m still nursing my coffee in my bed. There’s a 7 hour time change we’re adjusting to on this first morning back home in Tennessee after 2 months in our beautiful Umbrian home, and Italy is still [ Read More ]
To travel is to encounter turbulence at some point. It just is. Usually, the movement isn’t enough to fret over, but when I think of “turbulence,” I immediately think of two particular times of travel when the plane hit massive bumps and knocks. Once– flying into Boise, Idaho– I literally thought the plane was going [ Read More ]
Sometimes there are stories attached to the way we end up finding really great books– and this is definitely one of those stories. Of course, I could say that it was ultimately God’s divine providence, which I’m sure it was… but the circumstances sure seemed random enough at the time. It all started a couple [ Read More ]
Truthfully, I’m really not that crazy about flying. TSA agents aside, the idea of being up that high surrounded with nothing but air, combined with the claustrophobic annoyance of being closed tight inside a capsule-like vehicle for long hours at a time is barely tolerable. I do it because I have to. Nevertheless, it’s good [ Read More ]