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Mini-Series: The First 60 Days in Italy—EPISODE III
Last episode (Hotel Life, an Empty Venice, and Our First Weeks as a Family in Italy):
We arrived in Italy without a home and into a country holding its breath. Our first weeks were spent in a hotel—learning how to live inside uncertainty, navigating quiet streets during COVID, and meeting Venice at her most still. Those early days weren’t about sightseeing; they were about arrival, togetherness, and learning how to move through a new world as a family. [READ: Hotel Life, an Empty Venice, and Our First Weeks as a Family in Italy — bridge episode]
Not long after we moved into the hotel, Zhaniya’s birthday arrived, and rather than waiting for things to feel settled, we chose to mark it as we were—newly arrived, slightly unmoored, and ready to celebrate anyway. What unfolded on the waters of Lake Garda, beyond the walls of a castle in Sirmione, became a memory best told in images.
Lake Garda | Sirmione
A Photo Essay
Image: Stopped at the Edge, Just beyond the walls
We arrived for Zhaniya’s 10th birthday.
We were heading for the castle.
But borders had other plans.
That day, Italy asked us to choose differently.
Image: The Red Zone, View of the castle from outside the approach
Guards at the edge.
A gentle but firm no.
We were too far outside our region.
No argument.
Just information.
The day paused—briefly.
Images – The Reroute, Castle views from the water
So we turned toward the lake.
Equal parts fear and resolve.
Uncertain rules.
Clear intention.
Zhaniya’s birthday ensues.
If we couldn’t reach the castle by land,
we would take to water to view her beauty.
Image – The Revelation, Castle walls encircled by water
Beneath us: underwater hot springs
Warmth rising where centuries sleep
Stone rose.
Water wrapped.
The castle revealed itself—not as destination, but as witness.
The birthday found its shape here.
Not mastered.
Not planned.
But fully present.
3 Takeaways:
- Sometimes celebration begins when the plan ends
- Being redirected doesn’t mean being denied
- The outside view can still change you
Our baby girl’s birthday didn’t unfold inside the castle walls—but it unfolded exactly where it was meant to.
Read next:
If you want the companion to this story—3 Amazing Castles in Italy—we’re publishing it on Thursday.
Series navigation:
Mini series: The First 60 Days in Italy
→All episodes in this mini-series
→Italy World Page
Coming up next in the series…
Episode IV — Buying Our First Car in Italy and Our First Epic Winter:
Because Italy wasn’t just giving us scenery.
It was giving us tests disguised as celebrations.
And we were learning—moment by moment—how to meet them as a family.
Stories don’t always arrive in order.
If you’d like to follow our family’s journey as it unfolds—across episodes, countries, and seasons—you can receive our travel passport below.
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