This month we say ciao to dear friends, Peter and Carol Bellini, as they transplant themselves from the U.S. to Italy, near the town of Stresa on Lago Maggiore near the alpine border.  Peter was born there and has felt the pull to return ever since; Carol fell in love with Peter and Italy soon thereafter, and they’ve planned this delicious phase of their lives for as long as we’ve known them.  They graciously shared this Shangri-La with us long ago, and the experience changed our lives.

While there we drank deeply, not just of the wine but the food, the people, the culture.  Much of Northern Italy was once part of Austria, so Leitner is not such a foreign name there.  Indeed, I once Googled “Maria Leitner”, my great grandmother who emigrated from Austria eons ago, and up came a You Tube video of a present day Italian TV newscaster.

So now, we will live vicarious through them, thinking about what it’s like to live the dream, Bellini-Style.   Dreams are important to have, even if living them seems impossible.