Its funny, but whenever we go to Orbetello (where Harriet’s parents live), I arrive with such a giddy expectation of having fun and relaxing. We have always been warmly welcomed, pampered, and spoiled by Nelusco and Maggie. I think I have always seen this place as my break from real life, where I can really shut down, and, I guess in some sense, be a bit selfish. Vacation is about that to some degree, isn’t it?

We arrived last night around 2:15am, an hour and fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, thanks to Harriet’s great dricving through the northern part of Italy up until Genova. This gave me time to rest my eyes and prepare for the final stretch of the journey, south from Genova, past Pisa and Grosetto, and finally a few kilometers past Orbetello to the Ancedonia exit. You might type in “Orbetello” on Google Maps to see where we are!

So far, Jude has really enjoyed Provinca. (The name of the neighborhood the Natali’s have their house.) He is very social around new people, and loves spending time with Nonno and Nonna (Nel and Mag). Last night, we all went for a walk on the laguna and grabbed an ice cream. Everyone was out in the old town, all the stores were open and it was generally a great relaxed atmosphere!

I had my first 40mns run today and got totally destroyed by the humidity. My body wasn’t built for it, so by the time I got home, I had well overheated! It’s now 6 hours later and besides lots of water, a cold shower and a healthy dinner, I still feel like I’m radiating the heat I picked up/produced from that run (!!) …and they say its going to start getting hot and muggy from tomorrow on! We’ll get some pictures up soon, I’m sure!

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