Buckeyes in Europe -- Plan, Pack, Travel

Spinelli on Assignment

Mark Twain's time-travel fantasy "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" is a fanciful juxtaposition of time, place and purpose. The opposite of Twain's historical and humorous out of time fantasy is Spinelli on Assignment (SOA), a contemporary match in time and space that includes a health dose of the author's viewpoint and perspective, all floating above an undertow of humor.

The viewpoint and perspective of SOA is that of me, John Michael Spinelli, a native of Ohio on perpetual self assignment . I've amalgamated my civic and business accomplishments with my years as a journalist covering Ohio politics, issues and lawmakers to produce a body of work with a unique style and focus.

Buckeyes in Europe (BIE) is my new blog covering my return to Italy in 2006 to visit the small hometowns of my father and mother, Mike Spinelli and Jane Gallucci, who although they met and married in America, were born in towns only 30 miles apart in the poor, southern state of Puglia, always renowned for its olive trees but now being touted by some as Italy's next up and coming tourist area.

My wife Kathy and I are in launch mode for our upcoming trip to Italy. Like astronauts entering the space capsule hours before launch time to work their checklists, feeling both excited and anxious, we are likewise readying to successfully catapult ourselves to Europe. Once there, we'll spend several days in each of my parent's birth places -- Faeto (or Fait, according to native Italians) for my mother, and San Marcos in Lamis, near the Gargano Peninsula along the Adriatic Sea, for my father.

In BIE I'll give you bite-sized, flavorful travel samplers of our adventure, which begins in London and ends in Paris, with molto stops inbetween including Amsterdam, Bellagio, Milan, Lucca, Cinque Terra, Rome, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Bologna, Venice, Barcelona, Chartres and Blois in the Loire River Valley. Of course, what isn't planned is where the real adventure will lie, and I'll be ready and receptive for what the road or track ahead brings, be it the Via Appia or a high-speed Eurostar train.

Consider SOA launched. More episodes will follow. New to the blogosphere, I'm as excited as a teenage driver sitting behind the steering wheel of his first car, looking at the open road ahead and wondering where it leads. SOA is about to enter traffic, so keep an eye out for it as it comes to an email near you.