Started the morning relaxing at home…pretty nice view.

The kids started the day with “scuola”, learning about the Roman Colosseum in anticipation of our upcoming trip to Rome. After they passed their quiz, we walked to town and Sean and the kids played in the church square while I spent some time at the tourist office beginning to coordinate the logistics for our trip to Rome on Sunday.

Meeting up in the square, the church doors were open so we were able to walk around inside.

The Church of San Gennaro (opened in 1589) is the center of town and is quickly becoming a favorite spot. The church is located in the town square where Leila likes to practice her dance moves, Josh likes watching the local kids play soccer (perhaps he’ll join in one day) and it is close to everything I need to run errands and coordinate the day.

At 11:00 it was time to catch the bus to Positano. The bus ride to Positano is about 30 minutes. Positano is similar to Praiano with its buildings built into the cliffs, winding roads and beautiful ocean views…but it is so different. Positano is a much bigger and far more touristy town. It is SO crowded with people and full of shops. Most of all, Positano made me realize how lucky we are to have made our home for the month in Praiano.

The best part of Positano was a delicious pizza, our first gelato of the trip and a run around the beach. These two loved every minute of it!

We have quickly settled into our Italy routine of sleeping in, practicing Italian, exploring town, eating pasta and staying up late drawing, writing and dancing around the living room.

Not only did we survive the streets of Praiano, I’d say we conquered them! It’s insane how something that seemed impossible quickly becomes truly enjoyable. We have walked and bused our whole town and gained a great new confidence. We are running into familiar faces, putting our very limited Italian to use and venturing out on solo missions for runs and errands.

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Our basic vocabulary and big smiles are helping us get by. Bongiorno, scusi, per favore, gratzie, prego, and perfecto can get you pretty far. That said, we are making our self-instructed family Italian class a priority every morning. Leila has labeled everything in the house with their Italian name and Josh has learned how to say “mamma scoreggiato” (mom farted). Needless to say, Sean is no longer in charge of Italian class!

I attempted my first load of laundry today. The washing machine took 3+ hours so there is a good chance I’m not doing that right and by the time I got it hung out on the line it started to drizzle. We took a damp 10 minute walk down to check out the beach and found a path full of treasures. Along the path there are ceramics embedded in the rocks and there were enclaves with plants – fairy gardens – gold fish tanks – live birds etc. Truly magical.

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From door to door our journey to Praiano took 20 hours. The flights were long but tear-free. Our transfer in Paris was simple and quick. And our arrival in Naples was early.

There was nothing idyllic about Naples. A small but very busy airport, it was loud, dirty and did not feel very safe. None the wiser, the kids killed an hour playing on a small playground while we waited on our ride. Nicola, the owner of our first Airbnb, was so gracious to pick us up at the airport. Thank goodness, because I don’t think I could have handled the ‘train – SITA bus – local bus’ alternative.

After 45 minutes of city driving, we went through an incredibly long tunnel and emerged into paradise. Mountain cliffs to the left and beautiful blue ocean to the right. Over the next 45 minutes the scenery became more and more beautiful and the roads became narrower, steeper and windier.

Nicola pointed out sites, restaurants, bus stops, etc. and it all was beginning to feel very overwhelming as I imagined trying to navigate these streets. The streets in Praiano are approximately 10 feet wide. That 10 feet somehow accommodates two-way traffic (driving very fast) and pedestrians. I thought there was surely an alternative…there is not.

Arriving at our home for the next month, I quickly forgot about the intimidating streets. The home is a beautiful oasis. Down a long flight of stairs you enter into our gorgeous terrace with ocean views and lemon trees. The home is spacious and has everything we need to feel at home.

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Josh wasted no time pulling a dozen lemons off our tree and he and I made fresh lemonade. We then took a family trip to the grocery store – which is fortunately only about 100 feet from our home. We selected our first fresh pasta (there are about 20 options in this one tiny store), tomatoes, zucchini and garlic and made a delicious dinner. It took Sean and I awhile to figure out that in order to use the stove you need to turn on a switch and making coffee is still proving to be challenge…but I’m confident we will figure that out soon.

Tomorrow we tackle the streets!

Leila has a great blog entry and a video; check it out: https://atravelinggirl.home.blog/

It’s been “slim packings” around here; with everyone limited to ONE carry-on bag.

I pack about ten times this much for a three day trip to the beach but I feel surprisingly confident with our meager supplies. I look forward to the simplicity of choosing between 3 pairs of pants and 5 shirts (honestly, that’s basically what I do every day so this shouldn’t shock anyone). I welcome the hopeful lesson that comes with being able to get by on a single bag that includes clothes, school books, basic art supplies, a deck of cards and the requisite travel journal. I crave “less stuff” and “more fun”.

Worst case…I hear there is great shopping in Europe!

Leila has produced her first travel video: ‘Packing for Europe’! It’s awesome, check it out (turn on the volume).

I’ve always been a big fan of a good plan.

Our plan is to travel for four months (I had hoped for more but Sean didn’t like that plan). Our plan is to take a break from the endless list of tasks that go along with two careers, two young kids and too too many activities. Our plan is to show our kids the wonders of travel and hopefully spark a life-long curiosity for seeing more of the world.

We’ve been pre-planning for about four years. That phase involved a lot of day-dreaming, reading, saving, talking…arguing…compromising…more talking. True planning began six months ago. That phase has been full of complicated flight logistics, endless hours researching the perfect airbnb’s, surprisingly easy school meetings, uncomfortable work conversations and of course those two careers, two young kids and too too many activities.

There have been tears about missing dance recitals and distress over not being able to bring along a bike (Josh’s version of a security blankie). There has been far too much money spent at REI and far too many stressful conversations with my mom (yes I promise we have valid passports and no I’m not worried about the kids being kidnapped). There have been unimpressive attempts to begin learning Italian and overzealous bookings of cooking lessons, gelato tastings, concerts, kayaking trips and more. There have been squeals of excitement and impromptu dance party celebrations. There have been long bedtime snuggles spent talking about the amazing adventures that await us in Europe and enthusiastic discussions about adopting a dog when we return.

Today we are 15 days away from departure and putting this plan into action. We are excited, anxious, determined, grateful, ready to go and convinced there is something we are forgetting. If we are lucky…things won’t go exactly according to our plan.

March 31 – July 13

Italy – France – Ireland – Portugal – Spain

Emma, Sean, Leila (9), Josh (6)