I’m admittedly obsessed with Lonely Planet travel guides. I’ve had a few different brands over the years but always come back to them. As soon as we found out we had orders to Italy, I went online and bought three. The Lonely Planet guide to Italy’s Best Trips has a photo on the front that […]

It’s definitely fall in Italy. The weather has cooled off, the leaves are changing, and it’s time to harvest some of my favorite things; pumpkins, truffles, chestnuts and olives. We were super excited to be able to join a group tour headed to Luzzano to pick olives and learn about the olive oil extraction process […]

Admittedly, my Italy bucket list is not small. So when we finally had our first long weekend where I could start checking some locations off my list, I was super excited. I decided for our first trip we’d take a drive down to Paestum. This small town in the Campagnia region is home to some […]

We are very lucky to be stationed in a country with a strong US military presence, especially for our first post on this program. Having the base close has allowed us many perks including shopping at a commissary and exchange (my girls love the easy access to lucky charms), access to navy medical, and the […]

I finally have wifi again!!!! Yay!!!! Time to catch up on some blogging. So, a few weeks ago we decided to hire a private driver for a quick one day tour of the Amalfi coast while the weather is still nice. To be honest, my husband does not handle driving here very well. Most drivers […]

I am a busy body. I guess bred into us as Americans. We constantly need to be doing something or kept entertained. I’ll admit… I bore easy. I edit photos, watch a movie, and chat with a friend on Facebook all at the same time because one thing is not enough to keep me contented. […]

Unfortunately, we’ve kind of been on house arrest since we’ve arrived to Naples. We’ve been playing a waiting game to receive the appropriate identification cards, establish a bank account, locate an automatic car which is difficult to come by (I know… I know… I should have learned to drive stick by now), etc. The guys […]

We’ve arrived in bella Napoli. It’s not exactly what I was picturing. Naples is raw and gritty, lacking the traditional elegance that comes to mind when you think of Europe. However, that also means it’s not stuffy or pretentious. It has a causal vibe and a way of making you feel welcome and comfortable. I […]

July 14th, after 8 weeks of intense training, Andrew successfully completed his course and received orders to Naples, Italy. To say our families were excited about our placement is an understatement. Although we were anxious to get started on our adventure, we had A LOT to do and very little time to prepare for an […]