Plan your work........

When I started chatting up my idea to make a foundational Retirement-in-Italy journey, I naturally met with a 180 degree spectrum of reactions and suggestions -- ranging from predictably knee-jerk where-Amuricans-should-live advice to excited encouragement and offers to keep me company in my lonely wine-soaked exile.

Unexpectedly, I got a lot of interest from various friends wanting to tag along.

Some Francophiles currently biding time in India thought it might be a nice leg off their own vacance. Take the train from Nice, meet up with me. Museums, antiquities, oregano and basil in their tomatoes instead of cumin and curry. A good time had by all ultimately was derailed by aging parents and needful planning for the re-immigration (emigration? immigration!) to the good ole US-of-A. (And troof be known, prolly my disinterest in 5-star dining didn't help!)

I had a couple of serious conversations about making a combo Franco-Ital tour with my GBFF (another Francophile with plans to déplacer en France). But his plans to actually RETIRE from his job at the end of this calendar year (damn your good planning, Marcel!) put the kibosh on him travelling in 2015.

A friend from work briefly approached me about coming along with her and her childhood friend on a package dealio -- but that is not the scene for me (see throwing up in my mouth) and (secondarily!) I wouldn't want to be the third wheel in an all female band. (Nightmares from high school/summer camp/ freshman dorm, anyone?)

 So that left me going alone.