I stumbled upon your Hoi An video cause I’ll be in Vietnam in March, then got curious about your name and dove deep and have been listening to your story... You've been keeping me company and I've enjoyed listening to you… and your laugh is infectious! Thanks 😊
Wow, thank you so much, @ahampton4156! You might enjoy reading this brief article I just posted that goes along with our "Finding Family" playlist from when we first started our channel. We are delighted to have you with us! -Judy 📝 Why we called our channel, "Finding Gina Marie": findingginamarie.com/articles/why-the-name-finding-gina-marie 🎥 Finding Family intro videos: ruclips.net/p/PLNT98lWfwdF1QI_-Q6b-zspHSRhbyiu6_
How could we not include that party? What a joyous celebration of family and friendship. Your parents deserve all the best and we're so glad we could make it. ❤️
Oh wow, congratulations! I am dealing with documents that need to come out of New York, and some of it is a real hassle. I just learned that a document that I've waited for for over 9 months may have been lost in transit, and I will have to start all over again with it. Have you had smooth sailing so far (I hope so). It's frustrating and exhilarating as things progress. Are you doing it on your own or have you hired someone to assist you? Best of luck! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie, I just found your channel and am really enjoying you two. I too live in the Bay Area and got my citizenship at the Consulate in SF a few years ago. My husband and I sometimes talk about moving to Italy, and dream about where we'd choose to be. I'm curious as to whether you are getting your citizenship here or in Italy? Either way, I wish you the best of luck on this journey. The day I walked out of the Consulate in SF with my Italian passport in hand was just incredible!
@@dianarider7712 Thank you so much for watching and for sharing a little about yourself! Hooray for you, especially since there is a HUGE backlog of cases in San Francisco. I am trying to keep a mental picture in my head for how absolutely amazing it will feel to have an Italian passport as well. Unfortunately for me, I am a 1948 case, so I will have to petition the court in Napoli, Italy. I've actually been working on an update episode since we finally have enough information to be able to petition the court in New York State to release my grandmother's birth certificate. You would not believe the headache and the hoops NYS will put you through. You inspire and encourage me that this can happen for me as well. What did you think about the cities we included in our video from last year where we visited six cities in Italy? We opted instead to travel full time for the time being, and that's been perfect for us. We do have a trip planned for June to visit two cities at a viewer's recommendation, so stay tuned for those! Do you have any places in mind that are pulling at your hearts that you're considering, even if it's just for fun? -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie, we've been several times, and have traversed the country as much as we could, without rushing, or trying to feel rushed. On our last trip we started in Lucca, like you, because it's familiar to us and we just love it there. From there we went to Val d'Orcia, where we visited Montepulciano, Orvieto and Pienza. Then we went north and stopped in Verona for lunch on our way to the Dolomites, before going to Como, then flew home from Milan. I wish we could have spent more time in Verona, especially after watching your video about how much you loved it there. But if there's one place I can recommend that maybe you haven't been, it's the Dolomites. We stayed in Castelrotto, and I did not want to leave! Jaw dropping beauty like you've (we've, anyway) never seen! It's close to Verona too, so keep that in mind if you do settle on Verona, however a car is probably a must. Don't really know, as we had a car during this portion of our trip. And Como, you have to visit there. I hope your 1948 case works out. I can only imagine the work involved, and the frustration that must ensue from time to time. I was very fortunate to be able to apply and get my citizenship here in SF. It took two years, but me, my son, my nephew, cousin and her son all applied and got our citizenship together. Happy travels, and again, loving your videos! We won't be going again for at least two years so I can't wait to see where you go next!
Hi Diana, I know I read your comment after you posted it and I'm wondering if I responded elsewhere. Regardless, thank you for the suggestion of the Dolomites. There are still so many parts of Italy we want to experience, and there is just not enough time, especially in northern Italy because we're at the mercy of cold weather! Do you recommend the other cities along your route after Lucca? Thank you for your well wishes regarding my 1948 case, which has been a slog so far, especially because of being adopted and also because of how NY State protects all of its documents and the very long delays to get anything from them (up to 11 months!). I am so glad that you were able to get your dual citizenship through SF, especially since I've heard that they have a big backlog of cases, so you must have moved through it at the perfect time. We will be back in Italy for a few weeks after we leave France, so we are very excited for that. Thank you again so much for watching and for sharing more about you and your experiences! -Judy
E-bikes for the win! We’ve ridden the Golden Gate in both directions. We love your thoughtful videos, easy conversational style, and informative commentary. We’d love a duo lingo review. Jonathan’s great grandfather was from Sicily and came to the US via Naples. We’ll look into Italian Dual Citizenship. That sounds like a good solution.
Thanks for watching and for your comment! I went ahead and subscribed to your channel as well (your website appears to have an expired certificate that you may want to resolve). We've been able to go back and forth on the Golden Gate Bridge but only with e-bikes (or walking). When we've ridden standard bikes, we definitely needed to take the ferry on the return due to the uphills! We're happy to give you a review of Duolingo. We've had a few questions about it recently, and we are at a point over two years in where we can provide some feedback. How cool about Jonathan's GGF. My father's family is from Sicily (Castellammare del Golfo), and we were delighted to see a bit of it and Naples (the area where my mother's family is from), which can be found at the link below if you haven't already seen it. I'd be curious about your thoughts on the safety of Palermo and Naples if you've visited there: ruclips.net/video/WtNVUkTrH5c/видео.html
@@FindingGinaMarie A million thanks for the heads up on our website - putting that on the "things to do" list (ugh!). We were in Naples in 2018. Truth be told, we avoid big cities for the most part. We find the quieter pace, smaller size and relative safety of small towns and villages more appealing. We actually got out of Naples and spent time on the Amalfi Coast. Sorrento, and Ravello were favorites. We felt very safe, and it seemed a lot easier to meet locals and enjoy the charm of small shops, cafes and restaurants.
@@welltravelledlife We like big cities, but we loved Verona. It's not too touristy, not too big, but not too small. At the recommendation of one of our viewers, we're going to take a look at Turin and Genova this summer. I don't love the crowds at that time of year, but hopefully we'll be able to enjoy it before it gets too crowded or too hot! And website maintenance is an ongoing, inevitable thing on our to do list as well!
@@FindingGinaMarie Verona is a super example of a small town. I spent a semester in Venice, and while I loved it, I really loved the areas around it. My fav is Merano (but not at the height of the tourist season!) We'll look forward to your summer reports.
I can appreciate your opinion regarding preferring the smaller towns around Venice versus Venice itself. We've visited twice but never had enough time for the smaller towns there, unfortunately. Venice itself is lovely and exotic, but I almost think it's lost some of its own cultural identity to tourism, which is a shame. Thanks for staying tuned. We're excited to bring those summer updates to you! -Judy
I would love to hear more about how you are learning Italian. I’ve been twice and hope to spend more time there in retirement and would love to have a better grasp of the language ❤
Hi Jenny, We have been using Duolingo, and although we are on day 771, we still have SO much to learn! I have two additional programs-Italian with Davide and Rocket Italian-but I haven't prioritized them due to time constraints (but I need to change that)! What's been most challenging is that as things get harder, it's easy to get discouraged or overwhelmed. What I like about Duolingo is that I am learning about grammar and writing. The downside is that it's easy to take shortcuts and not practice listening and speaking, which arguably are the parts you will need most when visiting Italy! We have not found the perfect solution yet, so if you end up having a lot of success using some specific resource, I'd love to hear it. We are plugging along and making progress, but it's very slow. -Judy
All these episodes are so good and you guys make them very entertaining! I hope you manage to go through the double citizenship process. I checked a few websites and they often look dodgy or deceiving. Good job on Italian. It's such a beautiful language - but I may be biased. I agree with you when you say one ought to practice to learn it. I'm struggling with Spanish like Kevin did. I have no people to speak it to and Rosetta Stone can only get you to a certain point. Like I guess all the apps. How's your experience with duo lingo? I tried it but dropped it some time ago. Very glad your family was also very welcoming. I gotta say I had a similar experience in America so maybe it's an American thing to be that welcoming: I went to visit """family""" (we just share the surname) in a small town in Amador County and, while I had never met them before, they were so welcoming. It didn't feel weird at all to spend the holidays with them. And they gave me a taste of the American Christmas, with thousands of gifts, which we are definitely not used to here in Italy lol
Thank you for your kind words, Jacopo! ❤️ The IDC/ITC group seems very legitimate, so I trust the dual citizenship process will be successful, it's just a matter of time. Duolingo has helped us, but to converse like a native Italian, we'll have to spend more time there. Accents are different than the ones in the app, and slang or idioms in any language take time to learn. Family can be easier when there's less obligation or history. We're glad you had a good experience in America with your surname family.
Hi! I see your e bikes are Specialized but i didnt catch which model…sounded as if Kevin said “turbovato”? Anyway, if you see this comment I’d love to know what model you have. PS I’m interested in dual citizenship, too; one of my sisters actually visited the small town in northern Italy that our paternal Nonnie is (was) from. I’ll keep watching to see what you find out. (left this comment as soon as I saw the bikes! My husband and I currently have non-E Specialized bikes and when we stopped by the bike shop on a ride yesterday he was eyeing all the Soecialized e bikes lined up on the shop’s floor👍🏻)
Thanks for asking. We absolutely loved those bikes! They were Specialized Vado 5.0. I think even if you don't need the "e," they are super fun to ride. Of course, in San Francisco, an e-bike was a must if you could afford one. It was crazy to see some people's leg strength up some of the STEEP hills we had to climb. As far as dual citizenship, I've been pursuing it for the last two+ years. We finally have all but one of our documents retrieved and hope to file our 1948 case by the end of this year. And then the waiting begins for the Italian court to rule on our case. 🤞🤞 We are visiting Summonte later this fall, which is where my nonno was born and raised. We are looking forward to it as well! Happy to answer any questions I can about dual citizenship if you have any. -Judy
No you certainly couldn't close out this episode without mentioning you having just a twosome with your birth Mom on her birthday!! How special. Did your sisters and you all have the same birth dad? Did your birth M raise her other daughters alone?
Yes, it was very special. And just before we left to travel full-time, my birth mother came to San Francisco and gave me a beautiful birthday party that I will remember forever. My half sisters had a different father. My mother got divorced from him when my sisters were both in college. So I was grateful to be raised in the family I had, but to get to enjoy my birth family in these later years. It’s been the very best of both worlds. ♥️♥️♥️-Judy
I stumbled upon your Hoi An video cause I’ll be in Vietnam in March, then got curious about your name and dove deep and have been listening to your story... You've been keeping me company and I've enjoyed listening to you… and your laugh is infectious! Thanks 😊
Wow, thank you so much, @ahampton4156! You might enjoy reading this brief article I just posted that goes along with our "Finding Family" playlist from when we first started our channel. We are delighted to have you with us! -Judy
📝 Why we called our channel, "Finding Gina Marie": findingginamarie.com/articles/why-the-name-finding-gina-marie
🎥 Finding Family intro videos: ruclips.net/p/PLNT98lWfwdF1QI_-Q6b-zspHSRhbyiu6_
@@FindingGinaMarie Thanks!❤️
AWWW - thanks for the surprise party inclusion - it was so great that you both came. My parents are still in shock!
How could we not include that party? What a joyous celebration of family and friendship. Your parents deserve all the best and we're so glad we could make it. ❤️
Your family pulled off a spectacular event, Linda!
I am doing the same thing with citizenship. Very exciting.
Oh wow, congratulations! I am dealing with documents that need to come out of New York, and some of it is a real hassle. I just learned that a document that I've waited for for over 9 months may have been lost in transit, and I will have to start all over again with it. Have you had smooth sailing so far (I hope so). It's frustrating and exhilarating as things progress. Are you doing it on your own or have you hired someone to assist you? Best of luck! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie, I just found your channel and am really enjoying you two. I too live in the Bay Area and got my citizenship at the Consulate in SF a few years ago. My husband and I sometimes talk about moving to Italy, and dream about where we'd choose to be. I'm curious as to whether you are getting your citizenship here or in Italy? Either way, I wish you the best of luck on this journey. The day I walked out of the Consulate in SF with my Italian passport in hand was just incredible!
@@dianarider7712 Thank you so much for watching and for sharing a little about yourself! Hooray for you, especially since there is a HUGE backlog of cases in San Francisco. I am trying to keep a mental picture in my head for how absolutely amazing it will feel to have an Italian passport as well. Unfortunately for me, I am a 1948 case, so I will have to petition the court in Napoli, Italy. I've actually been working on an update episode since we finally have enough information to be able to petition the court in New York State to release my grandmother's birth certificate. You would not believe the headache and the hoops NYS will put you through. You inspire and encourage me that this can happen for me as well. What did you think about the cities we included in our video from last year where we visited six cities in Italy? We opted instead to travel full time for the time being, and that's been perfect for us. We do have a trip planned for June to visit two cities at a viewer's recommendation, so stay tuned for those!
Do you have any places in mind that are pulling at your hearts that you're considering, even if it's just for fun? -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie, we've been several times, and have traversed the country as much as we could, without rushing, or trying to feel rushed. On our last trip we started in Lucca, like you, because it's familiar to us and we just love it there. From there we went to Val d'Orcia, where we visited Montepulciano, Orvieto and Pienza. Then we went north and stopped in Verona for lunch on our way to the Dolomites, before going to Como, then flew home from Milan. I wish we could have spent more time in Verona, especially after watching your video about how much you loved it there. But if there's one place I can recommend that maybe you haven't been, it's the Dolomites. We stayed in Castelrotto, and I did not want to leave! Jaw dropping beauty like you've (we've, anyway) never seen! It's close to Verona too, so keep that in mind if you do settle on Verona, however a car is probably a must. Don't really know, as we had a car during this portion of our trip. And Como, you have to visit there. I hope your 1948 case works out. I can only imagine the work involved, and the frustration that must ensue from time to time. I was very fortunate to be able to apply and get my citizenship here in SF. It took two years, but me, my son, my nephew, cousin and her son all applied and got our citizenship together. Happy travels, and again, loving your videos! We won't be going again for at least two years so I can't wait to see where you go next!
Hi Diana, I know I read your comment after you posted it and I'm wondering if I responded elsewhere. Regardless, thank you for the suggestion of the Dolomites. There are still so many parts of Italy we want to experience, and there is just not enough time, especially in northern Italy because we're at the mercy of cold weather! Do you recommend the other cities along your route after Lucca? Thank you for your well wishes regarding my 1948 case, which has been a slog so far, especially because of being adopted and also because of how NY State protects all of its documents and the very long delays to get anything from them (up to 11 months!). I am so glad that you were able to get your dual citizenship through SF, especially since I've heard that they have a big backlog of cases, so you must have moved through it at the perfect time. We will be back in Italy for a few weeks after we leave France, so we are very excited for that. Thank you again so much for watching and for sharing more about you and your experiences! -Judy
E-bikes for the win! We’ve ridden the Golden Gate in both directions.
We love your thoughtful videos, easy conversational style, and informative commentary. We’d love a duo lingo review. Jonathan’s great grandfather was from Sicily and came to the US via Naples. We’ll look into Italian Dual Citizenship. That sounds like a good solution.
Thanks for watching and for your comment! I went ahead and subscribed to your channel as well (your website appears to have an expired certificate that you may want to resolve). We've been able to go back and forth on the Golden Gate Bridge but only with e-bikes (or walking). When we've ridden standard bikes, we definitely needed to take the ferry on the return due to the uphills!
We're happy to give you a review of Duolingo. We've had a few questions about it recently, and we are at a point over two years in where we can provide some feedback. How cool about Jonathan's GGF. My father's family is from Sicily (Castellammare del Golfo), and we were delighted to see a bit of it and Naples (the area where my mother's family is from), which can be found at the link below if you haven't already seen it. I'd be curious about your thoughts on the safety of Palermo and Naples if you've visited there: ruclips.net/video/WtNVUkTrH5c/видео.html
@@FindingGinaMarie A million thanks for the heads up on our website - putting that on the "things to do" list (ugh!). We were in Naples in 2018. Truth be told, we avoid big cities for the most part. We find the quieter pace, smaller size and relative safety of small towns and villages more appealing. We actually got out of Naples and spent time on the Amalfi Coast. Sorrento, and Ravello were favorites. We felt very safe, and it seemed a lot easier to meet locals and enjoy the charm of small shops, cafes and restaurants.
@@welltravelledlife We like big cities, but we loved Verona. It's not too touristy, not too big, but not too small. At the recommendation of one of our viewers, we're going to take a look at Turin and Genova this summer. I don't love the crowds at that time of year, but hopefully we'll be able to enjoy it before it gets too crowded or too hot! And website maintenance is an ongoing, inevitable thing on our to do list as well!
@@FindingGinaMarie Verona is a super example of a small town. I spent a semester in Venice, and while I loved it, I really loved the areas around it. My fav is Merano (but not at the height of the tourist season!) We'll look forward to your summer reports.
I can appreciate your opinion regarding preferring the smaller towns around Venice versus Venice itself. We've visited twice but never had enough time for the smaller towns there, unfortunately. Venice itself is lovely and exotic, but I almost think it's lost some of its own cultural identity to tourism, which is a shame. Thanks for staying tuned. We're excited to bring those summer updates to you! -Judy
I would love to hear more about how you are learning Italian. I’ve been twice and hope to spend more time there in retirement and would love to have a better grasp of the language ❤
Hi Jenny, We have been using Duolingo, and although we are on day 771, we still have SO much to learn! I have two additional programs-Italian with Davide and Rocket Italian-but I haven't prioritized them due to time constraints (but I need to change that)! What's been most challenging is that as things get harder, it's easy to get discouraged or overwhelmed. What I like about Duolingo is that I am learning about grammar and writing. The downside is that it's easy to take shortcuts and not practice listening and speaking, which arguably are the parts you will need most when visiting Italy! We have not found the perfect solution yet, so if you end up having a lot of success using some specific resource, I'd love to hear it. We are plugging along and making progress, but it's very slow. -Judy
All these episodes are so good and you guys make them very entertaining!
I hope you manage to go through the double citizenship process. I checked a few websites and they often look dodgy or deceiving.
Good job on Italian. It's such a beautiful language - but I may be biased. I agree with you when you say one ought to practice to learn it. I'm struggling with Spanish like Kevin did. I have no people to speak it to and Rosetta Stone can only get you to a certain point. Like I guess all the apps. How's your experience with duo lingo? I tried it but dropped it some time ago.
Very glad your family was also very welcoming. I gotta say I had a similar experience in America so maybe it's an American thing to be that welcoming: I went to visit """family""" (we just share the surname) in a small town in Amador County and, while I had never met them before, they were so welcoming. It didn't feel weird at all to spend the holidays with them. And they gave me a taste of the American Christmas, with thousands of gifts, which we are definitely not used to here in Italy lol
Thank you for your kind words, Jacopo! ❤️
The IDC/ITC group seems very legitimate, so I trust the dual citizenship process will be successful, it's just a matter of time.
Duolingo has helped us, but to converse like a native Italian, we'll have to spend more time there. Accents are different than the ones in the app, and slang or idioms in any language take time to learn.
Family can be easier when there's less obligation or history. We're glad you had a good experience in America with your surname family.
Hi! I see your e bikes are Specialized but i didnt catch which model…sounded as if Kevin said “turbovato”? Anyway, if you see this comment I’d love to know what model you have.
PS I’m interested in dual citizenship, too; one of my sisters actually visited the small town in northern Italy that our paternal Nonnie is (was) from. I’ll keep watching to see what you find out. (left this comment as soon as I saw the bikes! My husband and I currently have non-E Specialized bikes and when we stopped by the bike shop on a ride yesterday he was eyeing all the Soecialized e bikes lined up on the shop’s floor👍🏻)
Thanks for asking. We absolutely loved those bikes! They were Specialized Vado 5.0. I think even if you don't need the "e," they are super fun to ride. Of course, in San Francisco, an e-bike was a must if you could afford one. It was crazy to see some people's leg strength up some of the STEEP hills we had to climb.
As far as dual citizenship, I've been pursuing it for the last two+ years. We finally have all but one of our documents retrieved and hope to file our 1948 case by the end of this year. And then the waiting begins for the Italian court to rule on our case. 🤞🤞 We are visiting Summonte later this fall, which is where my nonno was born and raised. We are looking forward to it as well! Happy to answer any questions I can about dual citizenship if you have any. -Judy
No you certainly couldn't close out this episode without mentioning you having just a twosome with your birth Mom on her birthday!! How special. Did your sisters and you all have the same birth dad? Did your birth M raise her other daughters alone?
Yes, it was very special. And just before we left to travel full-time, my birth mother came to San Francisco and gave me a beautiful birthday party that I will remember forever. My half sisters had a different father. My mother got divorced from him when my sisters were both in college. So I was grateful to be raised in the family I had, but to get to enjoy my birth family in these later years. It’s been the very best of both worlds. ♥️♥️♥️-Judy