And, she's off.........

For weeks I've been prepping to leave San Diego and spend 3 months in Spello, Italy.

Spello, Italy

The original plan was that Dr. C. would come with me, and we'd spend the time together, figuring out if we wanted to spend part of our time in Italy every year.  (what a problem to have!)
Enter Plan B---now he will come in May for 3 weeks, and the rest of the time, I'll be on my own in a beautiful hill town.
So, why go?  I've had a dream of spending time in Europe for a long time, and this trip will help me know if the dream is just that, or if I could really leave all the "stuff" behind, and live simply in a small apartment half way up the hill and travel through Europe from a home base in Italy.
I plan to take a two week Italian language immersion class the week after I arrive, and hopefully my conversation skills will improve dramatically. I can understand most of what is spoken and written, my conversational skills are not as rapid as I'd like.

I will be just south of Assisi in central Umbria

I love Italy; the pace is slower, my inner clock slows down, the food and wine taste like they should, and I love the people.  I have always felt at home here, not something that is easily explained but I have  felt comfortable here from the first time that I visited.
So I'm packing my suitcases and programming the GPS and changing my smart phone to a Global plan, and will be headed to Europe on Monday.

Everyone asks what I'm taking:  clothing-wise, a mix of layers, since I will get there when the temps in the evening will still be cool, and then when summer hits, it will be hotter.
Culinarily, I'm taking my knives, a set of collapsible US measuring cups, a pair of tongs, and a gravity operated pepper mill. I'm also taking yarn for knitting, and my Kindle Fire HD loaded with books and apps!
I plan to blog on my way (airplane food anyone?) and while I'm there, sharing my experiences, as well as the food,wine, and characters I meet, so I hope you'll check in with me once in a while and see what I'm doing. 
Until then Ciao from San Diego!