Off and on before the trip, I kicked around the idea of meeting up with Aaron and his family somewhere in Italy. Aaron and family are currently living in Austria, and so a few days before (and after kicking around a totally unworkable plan of meeting in Venice), we made plans to meet in the resort town of Grado, at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea, and spend part of the day together.
I hadn’t factored in just how far back in the Garfagnana mountains we would be when we started this journey. I also hadn’t counted on the fact that the autostrada could just come to a complete halt and stay that way for a half-hour or more. It took us driving over two mountain passes and three hours to even get to the autostrada from our apartment in Petrognano, and we still had to cross most of northern Italy, both ways, in a single day. Somehow, Kath and I did it, and being able to catch up with Aaron, Carrie, and the kids was worth it.
The day was a bit stormy and cloudy, but the company was enjoyable. We really enjoyed our time with the Lukas family, and I hope to see them again soon at some point.
