Buon Viaggio...or something like it.

Some precious friends of ours are leaving for Naples today.  They have never ventured to Italy before.  They are Midwest folk who uniquely have a broader palette than what most people here I know have.  This couple will not be the kind to return to the states and eagerly share with us that although they liked Italy, the people there just don't speak any English!  I have had the privelege of sharing dinners with them and these are the kind of people who aren't afraid to order something off of the menu that they can't pronounce, but want to try it simply because they like the way the name rolls off the tongue, even in a butchered Fargo-like accent.  They will not complain of their visit because the food had too many spices, or because the endless symphony of traffic was too much for their ears.  We have put them in touch with our Italian brother and a Neapolitan sister who are there so we may vicariously live through them over the next 10 days.  If we can't hug or lay eyes on our Italian friends, atleast our American friends will have laid eyes on them and will be able to tell us just how they looked as they shared cappuccinos. Our memories now have edges that have become smudged over time.  Jim and Sharon will tell us their travel tales when they return and recount the steps that Dennis and I took what seems, so many years ago.  If only you could bottle the smell of a wood-fire Neapolitan pizza into a jar or trap in a bottle the noise of the city. Customs might stop them and confiscate my jar as no one can resist the smell of a pizza verace, not even a customs agent.

So I wish my friends  a buon viaggio (or something like it). I am jealous.  Just a little. Ok, A LOT.  I am readying myself for work this morning. Same routine day after day.  I wish I was packing for Italy (or maybe I don't). Today I am not sure I would come back....

Buon Viaggio, Jim and Sharon. (or something like it)