Our Walk About Italy!

Our daughter kindly taxied us to the bus depot. I don't think we tipped her enough though! 😘 And, we enjoyed a lovely ride up to Calgary on the Flix bus ... savoring the sunshine and Autumn colors

Amazingly, we triggered NO bells or whistles through security. That had to be a first! Usually one of us is out of bounds ... 🥴

We had an ontime departure and got to load in Zone 1. We are learning there are many perks to flying "Premium Economy" including white linen dinner and breskfast service ... lovely white wine ... comfy wide seats with footrests that raise ... blankets that we didn't need because it was warm ... pillows and oodles of leg room!!

But all of this luxury doesn't hold a candle to the most unbelievable thing that happened so far on this trip ... maybe in my life!  I still cannot wrap my head around what transpired as we were seated in a nice little restaurant sipping some wine and enjoying some appetizers.

I got up to take a walk and refill our water bottles and when I returned to the table, the old boy was chatting it up with a fellow who had been seated at the table beside us. My hubby never misses a chance to talk with a stranger!! 

We learned he was travelling overseas alone because his wife had a medical issue just a few days ago. He spoke about feeling guilty for leaving her behind but he had a couple weeks off work and she suggested he continue on without her.

Before I continue ... a little back story is essential. I am an only child and am grateful I got to know one of my cousins on my mom's side (Betty Anne) ... but ... due to family strain arising from the estate of my grandmother, I never got to know the others.

I watch my grandchildren enjoying such strong loving relationships with their cousins ..  and ... it magnifies my interest in generating bonds with the family I have never known. 

So, recently I reached out to Betty Ann and two of my girl cousins (Laura Lee and Cynthia) to see if we could meet for lunch. We have set a date for Nov. 7th. I also have a cousin named Rick Peterson who I have not seen for about 55 years. His mom (my mom's sister Doris) passed away in her sleep about 53 years ago when my cousin Ricky was just 12 years old. He had an older brother, Dell, who was about 14 years older than him. After my Aunt Doris died, my Uncle Ivan and the boys moved around alot. Consequently, my mom's side of the family completely lost touch with all of them. 

So anyway ... a few years ago, my cousin Betty Ann and I had talked about looking Ricky up. Bette had heard he worked with the Calgary police service ... but for some unknown reason, she and I never followed up on our good intentions.

Okay ... so back to our conversation in the airport. We learned that the solo traveller seated beside us is currently living in Kelowna but used to live in Calgary. During the conversation. he shared that he retired from the police force some time ago. I knew it was a long shot, but when I heard that, I felt compelled to ask him if he had ever known ... or ... heard of ... or ... worked with someone called Rick Peterson?  

He got a very quizzical ... maybe hesitant (?)... but very strange look on his face. I filled the subsequent pause with an apology for asking such an odd question ... but ... explained that I had a cousin named Rick and wondered if he might know him.

At that point, he looked at me and said ... "I am Rick Peterson."

What??!!???  It seemed too crazy to be true. I asked if he had a brother Dell. He confirmed it to be true! His dad was, indeed, Ivan.

So, there I was ... looking into the eyes of my long lost cousin!!

Seriously ... it felt entirely surreal!  He was equally astounded to hear that our mothers were sisters. 

So ... it feels like some wildly, divinely designed serendipity was at play here. Who finds long lost relatives at the airport while heading away on vacation?!?

We took a photo and shared a hug before we had to board our plane. I will look forward to sharing my "find" with my other cousins ( who are also his cousins) when we meet for coffee. And, we might have to travel out to Kelowna to spend more time reconnecting with him!

Isn't that just the best story ever?? My heart was so full as we landed in our spacious premium seats and enjoyed spectacular service and white linen meals. We also slept for about 5 hours too. And, if all that wasn't enough to convince me that the Universe was conspiring to do me good ... we even arrived in Rome 40 minutes early!

The good juju continued as we were able to take an earlier shuttle from the airport to the train station and then paid a bit extra to take an earlier train from Rome to Naples.

From there we hopped on the local train and arrived in Sorrento a couple hours ahead of schedule!!. 

The cab couldn't get us to our airbnb because roads were closed due to a religious celebration! There is a carnival happening outside our door tonight!! The fireworks just sounded too! It's a bit too busy for me but as I am writing this ... the old boy is down getting some authentic street food from one of the vendors! Apparently it's made from cow nose or pigs feet! 😬

By the time we got to the Airbnb, our 20+ hour commute was catching up with me. I could have kissed our host when I saw that he had placed a bottle of Italian wine on the table for us. It tasted so divine!

We found our way to the grocery store and reminded ourselves... more than once as we scarfed down our pizza ... that we are in Italy! 🇮🇹

We are so grateful to be here and look forward to exploring more after a much needed sleep! For now, we really need to tuck into bed. I will say goodbye for now and catch up with you again tomorrow!

Lots of love,
❤️ k&j ❤️Read more