Before we go
Castellammare del Golfo is home for June 2026.
I need a reset. Luckily, one is coming in 6 days.
We’ve been planning a return-visit to Sicily since we finished our last trip in 2023. Affordability is questionable, but we honestly think we can live there for less that we do here - for at least a month. It’s been a hectic and busy beginning to 2026. Who knew this would be the perfect time to change scenery for a while? Who knew I would need it now more than later? And in warm weather, too? Each time we’ve traveled to Italy or Sicily, it has been in the cold of winter; this will be our first trip when all the stores/restaurants will be open and the grass will be green.
Len and I have debated the idea of purchasing a home (a 1 euro home - who are we kidding? We don’t want to EVER build again - or a tiny, ready to move-in apartment) in Castellammare del Golfo for years. We even conversed with a realtor long before we sold our Athens, Ga., home. All we came away with after the call was that we must learn Italian. and that is a near impossibility.
Len is a dual-Italian citizen, it’s his heritage. It’s the birthplace of his grandparents and the draw is intense. His cousin Cesare owns a party shop in the heart of the historic district, and his family still calls the harbor village home. We have visited with him many times during our brief stays there, but it was never long enough. Since our initial meeting, some family members have died, many younger than us. They could manage an English conversation, and we have lost that now. We long to connect to family who truly understands that, in the end, family is all that matters. We don’t have that here. Would we there?
And also, would we be able to live in Italy for an extended period of time? We have no clue. Traveling there briefly and actually living there on a day-to-day basis, well, those are two different bridges to cross. We’re not getting any younger, so we might as well give it a shot, and if it’s not for us, claim that and move on. Who knows what we’ll come away with? Maybe it is home and we just don’t know it yet. Maybe the Nonnas will accept me, take pity on me, clothe me in my very own apron and scold me as they instruct me on the proper way to make sauce.
26 days. We’ll be in Castellammare del Golfo for 22 of those. Then off to a remote island for off-the-grid quiet time - that’s our splurge. Each time we return to a familiar destination, we always build in a jaunt that is new to us. The Aeolian Islands will be a first. I look forward to sharing every moment - good and bad - with you, so please follow along, per favore. We’re going to be in so much trouble!
Andiamo.
