​Weathering the Storm with the WP#136

I am back in Rome, and it feels good. Si, it feels good. It was interesting however to go to London on a quick business trip, 3 nights/2 days, meetings with colleagues and potential new business partners last Wednesday and Thursday and, being it was only a 2 ½ hour flight to London each way, it felt very good versus the flights from the states, which can be 7 to 10 hours depending on the European destination and from where I fly in the states. Really, for me, this is a preview of the future, as you know my intent is to be here on a more permanent basis. Also, knowing the best way in and out with regards to the land transport both here and London, makes this kind of trip very easy. However, since the permanent residency is not yet in place, I will still have to cross the pond several more times at least. ​

I am very glad I attended this latest event in London called the Global Travel Marketplace and I connected with some new potential partners from France, Spain, and Africa, which I am trying to expand in my portfolio of destinations I cover, and more later in a future blog. I also connected with some Italian companies, hotels, and tour operators, and was, at least in part, given the amount of time here in Rome able to understand their Italian. Replying in Italian is a different story and that will take more time. In the end, it was a good conference and trade show event and look forward to working with them in the future, as I am always looking for new ideas for my clients here and beyond. I also was able to understand and even reply in French to some of my French colleagues, but that is because I learned to speak French as a kid, and it is funny what you retain. ​

What I found most important from last week and being gone, even the few days, is how much I missed being with Rosa. I mentioned in last week’s blog that the most important thing in my life is my relationship with her and while we were only a one-hour time difference away, I felt a void. I know how I will feel when I must go back to the states in a few weeks to wrap up part two of the housecleaning in Minnesota and then drive east. First the long flight back via Amsterdam. I am used to this, then the whirlwind loose end wrap-up and the 1500-mile drive with the last of my possessions there in Minnesota in a U-Haul trailer to my east coast residence, for now, over 3 or 4 days. Originally, I needed to be back there for a conference outside of Boston, but that has been cancelled, but more when I am rolling down the highway. I don’t want that to come along too quickly. ​

With all its problems, Rome really is not a bad place to live and of course, it makes a huge difference that I have Rosa in my life and that is why I am here. I told you of the bureaucratic red tape here and it took two weeks, yes, somehow magically, the internet we had, paid for, finally worked yesterday, so not using the data on my Italian phone as a hotspot. It is good to know it is here when I need it and I expect that Rosa will ask for a partial refund, given that we did not have internet for two weeks. Another bump in the road and one seemingly overcome. Everywhere has its issues, here in Italy, in the UK, for sure and America is no special case, but for me, home is where the heart is and that is here with her and yesterday, we went to mammas for lunch and then, with all the food, ending up taking a nap. Not a bad thing to do on a Sunday. Did not even do any work, which is not my style. ​

After lunch, and the nap, we drove together to a family friend’s house, and this place was huge, more on the periphery of Rome, but still Rome and a gated house. It was more like 5:00 pm or so, who knows, but we enjoyed our time at the house. Apparently, Rosa’s momma and this lady worked together at the school and has known the family since before Rosa was born. She is the oldest of three sisters. And so, some time chatting, and this lady’s husband was watching the Rugby World Cup, so I joined him. My not so good Italiano and his not so good English and we chatted about sports. He too, was a teacher, I believe a gym teacher back in the day, so it was nice. The ladies did their thing, and we did our thing. ​

At the end, their daughter stopped by to feed her bats. Yes, I said bats. I guess she live in the same community as her parents and she raises bats, some from Italy and apparently some from Africa, so she shared her experiences and her bats in their bat house. The babies were very cute and the adults, as they flew around and on us, very interesting, so the weekend, after returning from London. We also discovered a new farmers’ market, for us anyway, and made for a good balance to a very nice weekend home. They had some nice fruits and vegetables, so we stocked up at bit. It will be a place we will return to at some point, definitely. 
Ciao for now and as always, I want to thank you as always for your support of my crazy little world and my small business. As always, I look forward to your comments, questions, concerns and continuing the discourse through whichever means you read my posts!!!