Terry, my partner, and I met several years ago, both having lost our spouses to cancer . By the time of that auspicious meeting, we had survived grief and recognized the possibility of a new, albeit late life, opportunity to love again. Our first conversation, held over plates of appetizers at a party, told us how much we had in common. He was a retired doctor who had lived in Italy while pursuing his medical degree at University of Bologna. He began drawing and painting during his scant spare time and continued his hobby through the years.
Though somewhat less dedicated than he, I also had spent many hours drawing and painting, a hobby since childhood. My interest in the arts led to a degree in History of Art and later in Archaeology. In both disciplines my emphasis was on Roman art and the Roman frontier, which together led to a season in Italy working on an archaeological dig at the Palatine Hill in Rome.
Terry and I lived on Amelia Island, Florida–a beautiful barrier island where we had many friends who shared our interest in the game of petanque. We had moved into an historic home in Fernandina’s well-known historic district. Why on earth would we want to leave such an idyllic place?
The answer to that is multifaceted. First, traveling was in our blood; we both loved to visit places we had never seen or wanted to see again. And Terry and I had both lived abroad so were undaunted by that prospect. But in addition, we were both concerned about conditions in the United States. The political rancor, the continued gun violence and, on our own little island, the rampant development that was changing all that we loved about the place. Finally, and perhaps most important, we looked at the next five years of our life and decided that the time for one last, great adventure was upon us.
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Lurching towards Italy 