The Countdown Begins

The suitcases are out (the green makes them stand out from all the black ones on the luggage carousel). The flight is booked as is the apartment in Rome, the train from Rome to Palermo, hotel in Palermo and our base in Sicily, Villa Farli , our flight from Catania to Rome and our hotel in Rome for the final night. I've also been assembling our documents, passports, e-tickets, hotel confirmations and directions, maps and guidebooks. Whew! Mr. Nag has two responsibilities: rent a car and obtain Euros - not done yet but I'm sure I can count on him. Right?

I'll be working this week as well as packing, getting my hair cut, refilling prescriptions, throwing out food that will go bad, making sure that Max has enough food for Baby Nag to feed him, etc..... I'll be too tired to go.

I've had two setbacks:

1. All my spring pants are too small. By coincidence they all shrunk somehow. This necessitated a shopping excursion. Didn't find much. Looks like I'll be pantsless (wonder how that will go over at St. Peter's) or else stuffed like a sausage into last year's wardrobe.

2. My Italian is even more pathetic than I imagined. I exchanged 5 or 6 emails with the owner of Villa Farli. At first she pretended I was making sense. Finally she suggested that I speak English. That worked for me. Oh well, I understand that most Sicilians don't speak Italian either.