An old friend came to visit, and has been with us the last couple of days. We went to summer music camp together when I was 14, and the next time I saw her was about 30 years later when she happened to be in Nashville on the night of our final concert in our symphony gigs before we quit and moved to Italy.

She did a little sightseeing on her own when we were working, and then we took her to see (and eat at) some places we love in our area. Ferento, the ancient Roman theater, set out in the countryside; and Celleno, the “borgo fantasma” (ghost town), which is like a little Civita di Bagnoregio — accessible only by footbridge. These places are evocative of more famous sites in Italy, but really off the beaten path; so, no big crowds, and no selfie sticks!

Especially now that we’ve released our memoir detailing our lives in the course of moving and working here in Italy, we get a lot of inquiries about how we did it. It was an insanely complicated process, of course - which is why we wrote a whole book about it!

Take a look around at all your belongings, and get ready to sell or donate most of it. Unless you are George Clooney, you will not be able to afford (logistically, financially, or mentally) to move overseas with most of the things in your house. That sounds scary, but the “letting go” of material items is one of the most liberating and exhilarating aspects of a major move like this.