I have done it. I've committed to attending the writing retreat at Lake Trasimeno, Italy, that I took part in this past June. I am waiting for instructions on how to pay the deposit for 2024, so I guess I'm technically not locked in until I do that. But I definitely plan to go.
There will be two different dates next June. The one I would have preferred is only for past participants, and does not include as many afternoon excursions as we did this summer. But that one is the same week as a conference that I missed in 2023 in order to go to Italy, and that I also missed in 2022 because I would not agree to attend a conference with no Covid precautions in place. And, of course, I missed it in 2020 and 2021 before that because it was canceled for the first two years of the pandemic. I am on the national board, and am really missing all my friends in the organization. So I'm planning to go to the conference, which is in St. Louis this year -- and to the earlier week of the writing retreat in Italy.
The earlier week is set up pretty much like the 2023 writing retreat, with afternoon trips to several nearby villages. That means it's a little more expensive than the other one, but I do get a discount for committing early.
I was in Italy for four weeks in 2023. My tentative plan for 2024 is for at least that long, maybe slightly longer. I'll fly out after my son graduates from college, spend several weeks in different parts of Italy and in the week-long writing retreat in Umbria, and then maybe fly straight back to St. Louis instead of home, to attend the conference.
My son might fly out and join me there for a few days of the time. But first, I must figure out where I want to go. I'm tempted to visit Venice again; on the other hand, it's far from the other places I want to experience. So I may skip it this time and travel south instead of north. The last trip focused on my father's ancestral towns. This time, I'll probably return to those. But I would also like to visit the towns on my mother's side of the family, which are mostly near Rome and Naples.
I also plan to learn more Italian before I go. I would like to be able to do some real research, and not just wander the streets of the villages.
Stay tuned for further plans!
An evening meal at the 2023 writing retreat in Tuscany. Next year's retreat will not be held at this agriturismo, but at the nearby home of the author who runs the retreat.
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