Wrapping up our most social excursion abroad . . .

On the top of El Castellot near Ferhan's school.

Our most recent soggiorno in Montecarlo has come to an end, and it has been different from any other. Different from the early years, when we focused on language classes, studying genealogy, writing, making quilts and learning our way around. We still need to learn to speak Italian better, and of course we still discover interesting new places each time. But the biggest change this year is that we had more social interactions than any other time.

Special friends at Mont Blanc, France.

We started the trip with a spectacular 10-day tour of the Alps with Greg and Robbie Heath, Gary and Joan Albert and new friends Thom and Billie Kight. This took us through five countries: Austria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and France. From there, we took a Flix bus to Montecarlo, arriving Aug. 23. This was the first time we’ve been in Italy in August, and as expected, it was brutally hot!

Roger, Rosemary, Gina, Lisa

We met with a variety of cousins, some from the United States and some from Italy. Besides having my brother Roger and his family visit, I also enjoyed a wine tasting with Pam Wagner and her family. Pam is an American second cousin on the Seghieri side of the family. I had met her only one time previously in the states.

Davide and I on Mt. Piglione

Italian cousin Davide Seghieri and I climbed the dual peaks of Monte Piglione together, a memorable time of bonding. Claudio and David Del Terra stopped by on their bikes for a visit in our home. Rocky Ferraro and his companion Nia took time out from their extensive self-guided tour of Italy to visit with us.

Don dining at Pallini

Don Mansfield, an old friend from our days at the University of Washington, stayed with us for three days with his wife Kathryn. Two dear friends from our church in Gig Harbor stayed with us for a few days, and we had meals with several friends from our church in Altopascio. We’ve become friends with two amazing American ex-pat couples who have purchased old homes in Montecarlo and Tofori and have totally transformed them. We enjoyed time with a warm and witty British lady who lives in San Salvatore. We gave an informal tour of Montecarlo to a group of six American tourists who were accompanied by cousin Gina Natucci. Our downstairs neighbors stopped by for dessert and conversation, and one of our elderly neighbors invited us into her home for a chat. Sonny Blinkinsop, an ex-student of mine from Olympic High School and his wife joined us for a excursion to Svizzera Pesciatina and lunch at 3 Angeli in Pescia. We even had a visit from three people—Julie, Massi and Deborah—who were previously only Facebook friends but are now in-person friends.

Enjoying a gourmet dinner at the Festa del Vino with imported America friends Heather, Suzanne, Marcus and Thomas.

We spent some time with a relatively new friend, Shandra, who is working on the purchase of a convent in Vorno. We introduced her to Joseph and Aurelio from our Altopascio church at a dinner in our home.  Shandra is optimistic that the purchase can take place in 2025, and that the villa will become an important stop for pilgrims on the Via Francigena. This is a project that Lucy and I hope to become more involved with in future years.

We are gradually increasing our familiarity with people who own the restaurants and shops in Montecarlo These are not necessarily people we can count as friends, but it gives us a certain amount of comfort to realize we know their names and that they recognize us as residents.

We are wrapping up our European excursion with a week in Spain, together with Dan and Sandra and family (minus only Josie). We’ve watched Ferhan play a soccer match, toured his school, splashed in the Mediterranean Sea, shopped and hiked and rode bikes in the hills and plains between Barcelona and Terragona.

We’ve packed in a ton of exploring and socializing in our 11 weeks in Europe, and now we’re getting excited about returning to our equally amazing family, friends and home in Gig Harbor. We often say that two or three months away is just the right amount of time, because we are not rushed; we have time to see people, explore new sites and revisit old favorite places. Now, though, we can hardly wait to get back to home sweet home!

Our first doctor's office visit goes well

We reached another milestone today, our first doctor’s appointment under the Italian health care system. I enrolled us in the system a few weeks ago, but since we had no need at the time for a doctor, we didn’t ask for an appointment. But last week, Lucy came down with a cold and sore throat, and it worsened on Sunday, so much so that we canceled a planned lunch with some friends from church.

She rested all day Sunday, and by Monday morning, she had improved slightly, but we wanted to make sure that we were taking the right steps for continued improvement. I went to the doctor’s office in the morning, and the secretary told me to bring Lucy between 1 and 2 p.m. and get in line to see our assigned physician, Dr. Fulceri. We arrived seven minutes early, and at 1 p.m., Dr. Fulceri came out of his office and called several names. Apparently, about three people ahead of us actually had official appointments, and the rest of us would have to wait in the order that we had arrived. I’m not sure why the secretary hadn’t given us an official appointment, but we would be the first in line after the other appointments. Interestingly, a sign on the secretary’s desk said that her afternoon hours were from 3-7 p.m., so the doctor was operating with no secretary, no nurse, indeed no aides of any kind.

Dottor Fulceri

We had to wait about 40 minutes before the doctor came out and asked for the next case. Lucy and I went in together, and we were happy to find that Dr. Fulceri speaks a bit of English. Basically, we could describe Lucy’s issues in English and be understood, and likewise he could explain himself in Italian and we understood. He first looked us up on his laptop computer and saw that we were registered with him as new patients. After listening to Lucy’s lungs and looking in her throat, he concluded that the infection was limited to the area around her vocal cords. Since her symptoms had improved since yesterday, he recommended taking ibuprofen twice a day to reduce the swelling. He also looked at her Achilles heel, which has been bothering her since she strained it in August. He confirmed that it felt swollen and recommended an ultrasound to see if it is healing normally. However, since this is our last week in Italy, that will have to wait until we return to Gig Harbor.

Office hours for our medico

Overall, we felt reassured that our basic medical needs will be in good hands during the months we spend in Italy. Yes, the waiting room and doctor’s office were old and a bit shabby by American medical standards. There were no nurses or physician’s assistants, and only one part-time secretary. But our wait was not particularly long, and the doctor took his time, listened carefully and seemed knowledgeable, polite and compassionate. There was no fee, no request for our insurance information, and we had no paperwork to fill out, although the doctor did ask Lucy to bring in a list of her medications and doses the next time she visits. I can see why most Italians are quite satisfied with their medical system.