LAST DAYS IN ITALY!!!

Oh my goodness! I have been working on this blog for over 3 years now, and I thought I was truly looking forward to it's completion, because it was a labor of love that took so much of my time! But, now I am working on my very last post of Roam Italy, and I find myself a nostalgic blubbering mess! It is my story, and my heart and soul are in the photos and the memories. I can look back at the pictures and remember the feelings, and the sounds and smells, and the joy of the moment! Life in Italy had many, many hardships, but it was also the most exciting adventure of my life! I am not a writer, so I will not write a book here about my feelings on this. But for those who followed the Watson adventures faithfully on here, just know that I am grateful for your appreciation and support, and grateful for the opportunity to share our experiences with you. A lot of people followed my blog, but there are a few die-hard fans (besides both sets of awesome grandparents and the favorite uncle Greg) who I want to acknowledge and thank for giving me feedback from time to time -- Bill Moeller, Robin Kimmelman, Robyn Essig, Courtney Epstein, Missy Robinson, Stacy Billhartz, Wendy Freeman, Dorothy Auty, Donna Graul, Kathy Koch, Bill and Ro Boston, Dawn Meeks, Sharene Brown, Su Schultz, Joy Dunlap, and Shirley Lawing. I'm sorry if I missed someone who was devoted and I just wasn't aware! Thank you! I will, after a time, shut down this webpage and remove it forever. But, don't panic! Before I do that, I am getting it printed for the kids and for me and Bryan.

So, over those last few days, we spent time driving around to our favorite nearby places and soaking it in. I even took pictures of all of it again, even though I already had them -- feeling an ownership and wishing that would help them stay with me.

More than anything, I think I will miss seeing this mountain everyday.

Beautiful, peaceful Gorgazzo

Andrew was very sad and quiet.  Aged 11-14 in Italy is an important time.

Sara, not so sad -- excited to go back to the states!

We had to say goodbye to our beautiful home of three years, and our "hometown" of Dardago…

Poor Andrew, again!

I was a lucky girl to have this view from my house!

We did have happy faces upon moving into the TLF for a few days though!

And on that VERY last day, we went to say goodbye to our favorite people, and places we ate, and places we shopped…

Goodbye Il Gelato, you have spoiled us FOR LIFE!  None better!

Goodbye to our favorite restaurant and waiter, Stefano, at San Giorgios.
(Stefano's not the grumpy type like he looks here!)

Goodbye to my favorite busy coffee shop ladies, at Stradella's

Goodbye to my dear friend Esperia, and her mother, at Viaggi Travel

And goodbye to signore Enzo and his daughter, at Best Art, who made all of my travel art purchases look amazing.

Goodbye to the Aviano market, every Tuesday

At this point, I really have no more words. Arrivederci Italia! The Watsons will never forget you!

END, ROAM ITALY

Bryan's Farewell

The office going-away was a lot of fun! We had a potluck picnic at a pavilion on base. Everyone was relieved to eat, drink, be merry, and relax after the successful TJAG visit.

Bryan, thanking everyone for their hard work and challenging them to keep it up when he is gone!

Maj. Davis and MSgt. Chester presented Bryan with a carved Roman Rudis sword and display box!

On the box... must be a lawyer thing...

The departees -- off to find more AF adventures!

Give swords to men -- it had to happen, right?

This was an amazing group of people for Bryan to spend his days (and a lot of nights) with! We will always remember the Aviano peeps with love and gratitude! And that applies to those who were part of it and left before we did -- that includes you and Evan, Courtney Epstein! (Hoping you notice your call-out! Thanks for all of your blog-following loyalty! Miss you all!)

Mama mia, we were getting close to leaving at this point! Only 4 more days in Italy! Excited and sad all at the same time!

TJAG's Visit

During our last week in Italy, the event we had been planning for many weeks finally took place. The three-star JAG General was visiting Bryan's office! Whew! What a finale for our time in Italy. It was a lot of work to get ready for, but it all went extremely well! The General and his Exec were with us for 3 days, and these are photos from the big office party/dinner we had at Bornass Ristorante about halfway up the mountain. We chose it for it's amazing views! It was a great party and it was so wonderful to have the whole office there and to eat the fabulous food that was prepared for us!

TJAG,  his exec, and Bryan

Gorgeous view, overlooking the base and miles of Italian landscape

April, Sylvia, Don, and Aubs (with Adam and Vernon photobombing!)

The fabulous Italian ladies of the office -- Linda, Sylvia, and Sonia.

Angela, Vy, and Adam

Danielle and Don

"Ciao-ing" down!

After this amazing spread, we still had pasta and desserts!

TJAG presenting Bryan and the office with the American Bar Association's  LAMP award!
Winning this award was a HUGE honor for Bryan's office!

All smiles since everything went so well!

Rimini and San Marino

Robin and the kids and I took a little trip down to the Adriatic coast (eastern side) of Italy. Robin was happy to spend time with us during her R&R but she needed some fun and adventure too! Unfortunately, Bryan was too busy getting ready for an inspection to join us. We went to the beach town of Rimini and had a fantastic hotel by the beach.

On the way down to Rimini, we stopped in at the town of Poggio Renatico. This was where Robin had once spent some deployed time. We stopped by the family-owned little pizzeria that fed Robin every day. They were happy to see her again and I sure loved trying their pizza! No wonder she ate there everyday! It was some of the best pizza I had in Italy!

YUMMMMMMMM!

Sara and little Giulia

From our base of Rimini, we day-tripped to the Republic of San Marino -- another micro-country within Italy (the other is Vatican City). We were so sad that Bryan couldn't be with us because this ended up being one of the most perfect travel days we ever had! It was a gorgeous day and San Marino was interesting, beautiful, immaculate and charming. We began with a tram tour of the train tunnels through the mountain. These tunnels sheltered thousands of Jews in WWII. The trains had stopped running, and each Jewish family had a section of the tunnel to "live" in, with their respective space marked by painted red lines.

Tunnel exit

We blazed through the tunnels quickly on our tram, but there were photos and descriptions of the Jews' time there.

Since San Marino sits up on top of a mountain, the day was all about steep climbs and panoramic views from castles! I will let the photos of the rest of our day speak for themselves! Picture perfect!

An amazing day! One we'll never forget! We went back to Rimini for another night and then headed home late the next day.