Briefly …

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Fontana 2

Bernini’s “Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi” (Fountain of the Four Rivers), with the “Obelisk of Domitian”, Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy.

Yes, I’m back! Although it was wonderful revisiting Florence and Rome with my two good friends, the highpoint of my holiday was reconnecting with my family in the Republic of San Marino. They treated me royally, making sure that I saw all the sights, including a tour of the tiny country; the medieval castle that now serves as its government’s seat; a day on the beach at Riccione on the Adriatic; and a visit to the property that was once my family’s farm. I must say that it was quite an experience walking about places that I only knew from stories told to us by Dad. It was truly remarkable.

Thank you all that followed my trip’s progress on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. Your “likes” and comments were all greatly appreciated. I’m not “back” yet, though, as I’m preparing to leave for a much-anticipated trip to visit Zia in Michigan. I hope to return to WordPress in July — if some problems can be resolved.

Prior to leaving for Italy, I notified Support that I was not receiving notifications of a blogging friend’s posts. I know this is a fairly common problem and had hoped I could pass along their resolution to any who needed it. Well, we traded a few emails, each of theirs requesting further clarification. Their final request was for a screen print, which I supplied. Aside from a “form” email asking me to rate their response, that was the last I’ve heard from them about the matter.

While I was away, the problem grew worse and now I am only receiving notifications of no more than 5 blogs that I follow. I have sent another email to Support and await their response. Since I’ll soon be in the Land that the Internet Forgot, there’s little I can do about the situation, no matter their response. I do hope this will be resolved before my planned return in July and will let you know of any progress, or lack thereof.

Thank you all for your understanding and I look forward to “seeing” you in July.

 

68 thoughts on “Briefly …”

  1. Welcome back! Sort of! You had one great trip, I enjoyed every bit of it and felt like I was on holiday too. I’m so glad you had a great time and am happy you are home safely.
    As far as these blog posts, are you missing notifications from WordPress blogs? I’m having problems with Blogger blogs, they are all going in my spam folder. I get the WordPress ones, like I got yours, but Kitchen Riffs, This is how I cook, and many other blogger platform blogs are going in the spam folder, I have to go searching for them everyday. I can’t seem to change it either, Then my blog wasn’t sending my email subscribers who had gmail addresses any of my updates! Yeah, it was a frustrating week last week.
    Anyway, maybe this helps.
    Have a great trip and give my love to Zia.

    Nazneen

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    • Hi, Nazneen! Coincidentally, yours is one of the very few blogs that I received a notification of a new post yesterday. My problems seem to be all WordPress related. All I was trying to do was tie up a few loose ends before I left and now everything is a mess. That will teach me!
      I’m glad you enjoyed traveling along with us. It was a memorable trip in many ways, all of which fantastic. The trick now is to figure out a way to go back. 🙂

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  4. Welcome back! I’ve had many issues with notifications before and sometimes they mysteriously disappeared (the issues I mean). It helps to unfollow and then follow again. WP support is pretty much useless – I’m amazed you received any response at all!
    Glad to hear you’ve had a great trip. Have fun with Zia and please give her my best wishes.

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  5. Hi John/ I wondered what had happened to you. This is the first blog of yours that has appeared on my Reader for a long time. Glad to hear you’re well and travelling to beautiful places. Good luck with WordPress – vinceremos:)

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  6. Hi!
    Nice to read that you had a trip to Italy and San Marino and enjoyed it so much.

    I have te same problems with wordpress. By miracle I was receiving your latest post in my reader today! At the same time I’m receiving posts of blogs I never chose to follow. :-I

    Problem solving at the wordpress kitchen is rather difficult, you have to endlessly explain to same things, even to different people. Just like in hospitals and everywhere 😀 People, particularly of the ‘helpdesk’ type, seem to not read, not listen, not concentrate on the meaning of words, only ‘communicate’, whatever that is, most of the time through standard messages, still with a tricky personal touch (Hi ‘Rosa’)… A screen print,… yes I know that one. (I had my whole blog mixed up, images in the wrong places etc.)

    Well, it is so much more relaxing to cook and drink a glass of wine and than draw a little.

    Looking forward to your next posts. Have a nice time in Michigan.

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  9. Sounds like you had an absolutely fantastic trip! Can’t wait to hear all about it and I’m sure you have some recipes up your sleeve to share. Have a wonderful trip to Michigan and hope they are able to clear-up all of the issues with WordPress meanwhile!

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  12. It’s good to hear that you’ve been having such a good time. I looked up San Marino – I’d never heard of it before – what an interesting history! I bet you had some good food too.
    Take care – I look forward to your return to blogging in July 😉

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  14. That’s rather disturbing news about wordpress, I thought they were the leading platform for websites and blogs; I’ve been thinking about self hosting but the conversion would be around $300 so now I’m hesitant.
    I’m so glad to have been a part of your Facebook Entourage for your celebration trip, thank you for sharing it with us. My European family treats us like royalty too, it’s nice to hear that yours did as well. Your family farm sounds incredible, it’s lovely that you had an opportunity to visit and experience it. Do you speak Italian or does your family speak English? Mine only speak Hungarian but my cousin’s wife is learning how to speak English so if I get into a jam and can’t remember a word or two in Hungarian, I just say it in English and she usually translates it for me!
    I wish you the best of luck with your internet problems. Say Hi to Zia, can’t wait to see what kind of delicacies you both whip up!

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  15. Lovely to hear that your trip went so well John – must have been amazing to visit the part of Italy that your family originated from and to spend time with family there! Look forward to hearing more about it over the coming months.
    Hope all the issues with WP are resolved soon for you – frustrating to say the least!

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  21. Pingback: Briefly … | Umbria & Italy | Scoop.it

  24. Hi & bye John, loved what I saw of your trip on Instagram, all those delicious meals! I hope WP gets your dilemma sorted, I’ve had mega frustrations too, and as Stefan stated, unfollowing and refollowing seemed to help. Enjoy your visit with Zia. 😀

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  26. Thoroughly enjoyed your photos on Instagram, ah, Rome. (sigh) To see the places of your father’s stories would be an incredible experience, like watching it come alive right before you. Priceless.
    I know what you mean about notifications, both receiving too many or not what you expect. I switched to bloglovin so I can see all the updates I want to by date, or by blogger. You’ll have to spend a few minutes including the ones you want to follow, but it’s pretty easy.
    Have a safe trip to see Zia, see you in July. 🙂

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  27. Sounds like your trip “home” was wonderful. What a great feeling it must have been to walk on property that your family once walked upon years ago. Have fun on your visit with Zia. See you back here soon.

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  28. Bouno Sera John. Welcome home to repack and rearm and head out for more travel. I really enjoyed following along on your travels to Italy on facebook. BTW it is orange barrel season in Michigan… Take care, BAM

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  29. Welcome back to the states, John! I follow you on Facebook, but haven’t seen a single post of your trip, although I’ve been so busy lately I can’t even post on my own blog. I must check that out. And I’m very distressed to hear about your WordPress problems. I just had a site built in WordPress for a client because they are supposed to be so stable and reliable. News like this is not encouraging. Have a great time with Zia and see you in July!

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  30. Hello and goodbye! 😉 Glad you had a great time on your travels, and I’m glad you’re getting to go to Michigan — I know how much you enjoy those trips, and I’m sure Zia is so eager to hear all about your travels. How interesting to have seen the old family homestead! Sorry you’re experiencing problems with email notifications, but a lot of people seem to be having this problem at the moment. You’ll be glad to know that I got your email notification, though! Have a fun trip to Michigan, and look forward to seeing some food around here again. 😉

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  33. Have a great visit with Zia John. Send her our best. I loved following along your journey as you know and I’m still quite hungry. I’ve been craving pasta more than usual lately. 😉 Safe travels and I look forward to catching up soon.

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  34. Sounds like you had a fabulous time over in Italy. I’m sure when things slow down you’ll be sharing your adventure with the rest of us. In the meantime enjoy your visit with Zia in MI 🙂

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  36. Oh, you lucky dog, you! And speaking of dogs, i bet someone was sure happy to see you! What a fabulous trip and thanks for sharing it with us! I’m not a huge, actually very tiny Facebook person, but it was fun seeing what I saw. I loved Italy and hope to get back. so fun for you to see family and history and reconnect. What a journey and legacy that you will be able to pass on. Hope Zia is well and she’s probably chomping at the bit to hear every word of your adventure. Drive safe!

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  37. THRILLED that you are back, so looking forward to the photos..and hearing all about the FOOD! I had to sit on my hands to make sure I did not deluge you with emails while you were away, I knew you would be busy and having a glorious time.. time enough to catch up when you are settled back into home again.. love love.. c

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  38. Thrilled you are having such an interesting summer! Hope you find your Michigan Zia in blooming health and that you share some wonderful time together! Just wonder what kind of a reception you got from Lucy and especially Max coming home 🙂 ? Not used to being left behind!!! Hope he will agree to get in the car for your trip: oops, perhaps it will be a journey to the doggie hotel again 😀 ?

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  39. Glad to hear you had a wonderful time overseas – and extra glad you’re going to visit your Zia. (I’m extra glad for selfish reasons, namely to do with scooping up ideas from your future blog posts.)

    Have a superb time! 🙂

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  40. Blogging can sometimes be so frustrating especially when we’re relying on others to sort out their fair share of the issues. The response seems rather pathetic. I’m so pleased you’ve had a wonderful holiday celebrating your very special birthday. And what a terrific experience to visit your family’s roots and feel that connection with your father and where he came from. This must have been an incredibly special holiday xx

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  41. Welcome back, John, it sounds like you enjoyed the trip of a lifetime, how amazing for you. Have a wonderful time with your Zia and forget about internet woes for now!

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  44. Well it is good to know I am not the only one having WP issues with blogposts from those I follow.
    I did not receive info about this post from yesterday. Today I unfollowed and then hit follow so I hope I am back on the list although it did say I was “following” already. Strange.

    I appreciated your likes on my posts vie Twitter but missed your own tweets and I am sorry. I hope I can go back and find them and relive your journey. Sorry, John. You know I am an avid fan of yours. I need a Twitter Tutorial, too.

    Have a wonderful time with Zia and I look forward to reading all about it in July.
    Italy sounds amazing. How to find you on Instagram( I have an account but don’t really use it) and never saw a single FB entry. Hmmmmm.

    Missed you a lot!

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  45. I’m so pleased to hear that you had such a wonderful time in San Marino, John. I’m certain it was a tremendous time to feel a great connection to your family story. I hope you’ll be in a position to tell us more about that when you return in July. I’m so very sorry for the troubles you’re experiencing with receiving blog notifications. It’s not unusual for me to “lose” one or two, and after a time go back and figure out how to “add them back,” but all but about five? I don’t even see how that could be possible. How frustrating for you. If it happens to you, it must happen to others, so WP should be quite concerned. What a mystery! Enjoy the rest of your time “off,” and i’m going to just expect you’ll be back. You’ve been missed, John!

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  47. Great to see you back, but now I am worried because I did not get notification of a new post from you, and stopped by just to make sure there was nothing new….

    that is odd…

    Looking forward to your return in full swing next month!

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  49. I’m sure you had a fantastic trip, especially seeing family. I remember very long ago, my husband was in the service in Germany & flew his parents over to meet him in Italy. They visited the little village in Sicily where his mother grew up and it was the same as you – the royal treatment. They even killed multiple chickens for a feast. He always remembered how the kitchen in their house was on the top floor of the house so that the heat would vent out. But it was a huge deal to have American relatives visit and when they went to Mass that Sunday they were escorted to the front pew. John’s mother always said a lot of extra prayers at the end of Mass and when she was finished, they turned around & the entire congregation was standing there politely waiting for her to finish so that they were the first to leave.

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  50. Oh John you are so kind to be so diligent in resolving the notification problems – especially while you’re on vacation! You’re too much my friend! So glad you are having a wonderful trip. Headed over to check out your pictures.

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  51. Good to hear from you, John, and glad to understand that your trip to Italy/San Marino was great! Now enjoy some decompression time with Zia and, WordPress quirks aside, I look forward to reading your full account of your trip – including, needless to say, details about the wines you liked the most over there! 😉

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  52. It’s been fun hooking up with you via Instagram and following you around on your travels, out and about sightseeing, eating delicious food, having a good time and taking pics of it all so those of us tied to our desks can enjoy it too 🙂

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  56. Welcome back…… seems like quite a few of fellow foodies were on vacation, myself included 😛 anyhow..hope you had loads of fun…and Florence and Rome are beautiful places to go to…!!

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  57. I’m glad you had such a good spring, CJ. Family, food and lots of sightseeing. Sounds like the perfect way to spend a month or two.

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  58. Pingback: Be It Ever So Humble … | from the Bartolini kitchens

  59. allora sei un cittadino estero ha ha ha…perché San Marino è una piccola bellissima Repubblica all’interno dello stato italiano, simile allo stato del vaticano! in realtà usi e costumi sono italianissimi! ma che bella scoperta, spero che tornerai presto per raccontarci altri particolari
    buona giornata
    ven

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    • That’s true, Ventis. We have dual-citizenship with San Marino. I’d never been before and thoroughly enjoyed my visit. My family treated me very kindly and I have promised to return for another visit. Next time, I hope my brother or sister will join me. They really must visit our homeland. 🙂

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  61. It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. I’ve dreamed of going to Italy for many years. In fact, I’ve been walking the shores of Lake Huron while listening to audiobooks of “Under the Tuscan Sun” and “Bella Tuscany.” Hopefully one day I’ll get closer than that!

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