Happy birthday to me :)

I start this year with excitement for what lies ahead! I would have never thought this is how I would be spending a year of my life - still seems a bit surreal. Atlanta has been very good to us. We've been blessed with amazing friends here and a good home. It's hard to leave for that reason, but one must make choices in pursuit of new things.
As for new developments...we've booked the moving company, have decided to pack on our own, have bought new luggage to suit our travel needs, and are still in search of the perfect Merrell shoe.

Luciano, you have a dizzying intellect.

So the "final" verdict on the Tourist-Visa is this: We don't need one! Woohoo!

Well, let me be more precise by using the words of Luciano at the Italian consulate: "Well, it is possible you need a visa, but most likely no one will check, and anyway - there is really no visa for what you are trying to do so you probably won't need one... well, except of course in the case where one is necessary. Enjoy your vacation!"

I realized before we made the decision to leave that we had to shift our world view on customer service. This sort of ambiguity is quite common over there and hopefully after a month or so our brains will be re-wired to that way of thinking. It should be quite liberating!

The visa process

Getting clear answers on this topic has been impossible! To be safe, we've sent an application to the Italian Consulate for a Schengen visa that will allow us to travel through the Schengen states for more than the 3 months allowed to US citizens. Today I missed 3 calls from the Italian consulate!!! We are keeping our fingers crossed that there are no issues -- we only have about 8 weeks before leaving and these things sometimes take time.

The big announcement!

The idea had been roaming in our heads for quite some time. The thought that life may be different in other places and a need to find out what that was like. One day we turned the idea from innermost thought into a plan -- a personal adventure into foreign cultures and faraway places. We invite you to follow us on our personal legend as we record our travels and thoughts over the next eight months. We start this September in Florence and then on to Barcelona. In the meantime, join us for the next eight weeks of planning as we finalize our move from Alpharetta to Via delle Pinzochere, Firenze!