Back in Italy

My parents arrived this morning, a little delayed but still nice and early into Rome airport. I woke up when it was still dark at the ungodly hour of 5:00 which I NEVER do. Once I stepped outside I thought how fresh the air felt, how calm the streets were with no one on them. I even thought that I should once in the odd while get up at this time and take a stroll...(yes, I was still half asleep to have such silly thoughts) but my notion of peace and quiet changed as soon as I made it to my metro station which was PACKED with people waiting for the first 5:30am train! I never expected so many people in the morning, I even had to STAND on the train it was so full.

Anyway, that is over and done with and I hope never to be repeated. My parents are resting now and I think it still has not really hit home for my dad that he is back in Italy for the first time in 52 years. This is his first time in Rome, his first time anywhere really, as when he lived in his small village down in Calabria the furthest he went was to the neighbouring towns of San Sosti and San Donato di Ninea. He never even went to the main city of Cosenza. The one time the family left the region of Calabria was when they went to Napoli as that is where they had to get the ship for Australia!

So tour guide Leanne will be in action this afternoon, and she is keeping her fingers crossed that the skies don't open as it is very overcast and humid outside.
Opps...forgot to touch wood AND metal (got to touch metal too here as that is what the Italian's do rather then touching wood...) now the rain in this last minute has started to gently fall. Che palle!

San Donato di Ninea



My dad's village Policastrello (which is actually so small it is a frazione of San Donato. This means that it does not have it's own comune like the larger village's.)