My first greeting is heaven itself. There, smack in between the Arrivals and the rental car offices is the most delicious sight I could not have dreamed up on my own. A charcuterie shop equipped with hanging prosciuttos, salamis, cheeses, and more. I stopped in at the cafe nearby, took a seat facing this amazing sight, and looked on as I sipped my first of many capuccinos to come in the next weeks.
My very first capuccino
I can cannot conceal my love for food and fast machines. And the Ducati's shop in the airport leads me to believe that I am not the only one that feels this way. 
Ferrari store, exhibit B
It's amazing what you are able to experience hanging out at an airport. Here are a pair of Italian Olympians on their way to China. Forza Italia! As you can see, i'm slightly more excited than the kid in the yellow shirt. Maybe he is from France.
I had a photo of my father just upon his arrival, but after 24 hours of travelling I will spare him the cruelty and jump instead, directly to us enjoying a first of many "spritz". This drink is a very popular aperitif now in Italy consisting of Aperol (an Italian bitter), Prosecco (an Italian sparkling wine), a dash of sparkling water, and an orange slice. It is absolutely delectable and I will be making these for everyone upon my return. Mark my words!
We followed up this discovery with an old faithful. In hopes that it would still be open, we walked to V.San Felice to see if our favorite pizzeria, La Bella Napoli, was still open (or if they had shut down for the month of August as all Italians and much of Europe goes on vacation during this month). My father used to come here as a teenager with his friends after their basketball games. Luck was on our side and in near disbelief we entered the familiar locale, sat down, and began ordering. Of course, it had to be pizza with sausage, prociutto (cooked), and mushrooms and a pasta dish with seafood (shown here). I belive that we were briefly transported to heaven. 
I have to admit that I jumped ahead slightly. You see, after we arrived and after our first night at the house, we spent an entire day cleaning. The house sits here all alone during the year, except the few times a month that our friends use it to escape the summer heat, cook-out, etc. So it needs a very thorough cleaning. In addition, the humidity is tremendous during the evenings and so we have to take mattresses, etc., and sit them out in the sun for a number of hours. Here they are, drying up while we are cleaning like maniacs!
This is my very serious, no-nonsense, religious bed. The furnishings in this house are a mixture of the furniture we had in our apartment in bologna before we moved to the U.S. and items that could be dated back to my great-grandparents. I'm really not sure and I'm afraid to ask.
This is the master bedroom sans mattress.
Adventures with muriatic acid. That "cloudyness" are actually fumes.
After a hard day of work: Dad with his cigar, his beer is nearby.
Of course, my reward as well.
Here is a record of the work that is waiting for us. The portico wall has severe water damage which we will fix with a generous spread of cement.
More wall to be repaired. Over the wall is the terrace where the entire surrounding wall on the inside also needs to be repaired.
The ceiling of the porch (portico) needs to be repainted once we have fixed the terrace wall above. 
Francesca Maso, happy to report for duty.
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