We have now been in Italy for one year. On one hand it is hard to believe, but on the other it seems like we have been here much longer. It has been forever since I have updated the blog too. Honestly, I forgot all about it for awhile. Sorry for those who were following.
Let's see if I can sum up the last year. I will begin with all the positive things about Italy. OK, first on the list: I AM IN ITALY AND THERE IS LOTS OF WINE! That means I have easy access to all of Europe. Our adventures here started by meeting some wonderful friends. We have enjoyed festivals and local fairs. Just one month after moving into our house we experienced the largest celebration in all of this area of Italy right in our front yard. I think our dogs gained 10 lbs. that week from all the ice cream and food they were fed each night. We sat and watched the parade at 10pm at night, the fireworks at 11pm on a school night, and just the enjoyment of watching people from the comfort of our front porch. We have enjoyed traveling locally. There is plenty to do within a few hours of our house. There has been sled riding and skiing lessons on the edge of the Dolomite mountains in the town of Asiago (home of the famous cheese). We watched cows being brought down out of the mountains for the winter with a marching band, tractor parade, traditional herding costumes, and the cowbells ringing. As spring approached we decided to venture outside of Italy to the Netherlands. I fell in love with that country. I have never seen anything as beautiful or surreal as the flower fields. Of course we visited during tulip season. Then we had the opportunity to visit the Shroud of Turin. The Shroud is believed to be the loin cloth that was used to bury Jesus. It is only put on public display every 10 years. We approached our one year anniversary by taking a small weekend getaway to a small farm located in the Alps. The family was amazing, but the most amazing part was that we experienced snow on the first day summer. It was beautiful and we will be returning to this small farm in October for another getaway. This highlights the positives of this past year.
Now the not so positive part. I LIVE IN ITALY! These people are insane when they drive. A friend who lived in Egypt for the past 3 years swears this is nothing compared to there, but it is crazy. Every day cars zoom up and down our street with no concern for children on the sidewalk. The only saving grace is the fact that we have a high fence around our yard and the kids can not get out the gate without a key or pushing a button. Jeff and I have both walked out in front of numerous cars trying to get them to slow down. More than once we have had to jump out of the way just so they would not run us over. Problem #2 is riposo or the hours of rest. From about 12:30-3:30 everything closes. This time could not be any more inconvenient. There are many times I just never step foot in a store because the hours are not convenient. #3 is the weather. It is humid as hell in the summer and it rains all the time other times of the year. I guess if I would have moved here 15 years ago after living in WV for my entire life it would not be such an issue, but after living 6 of the last 10 years in AZ with its perfect weather this sucks. Hot would not be so bad if these people believed in AC. Most houses do not have AC. Thank goodness we have two units, but they cost us a fortune to run. The one upstairs is in the far corner of our room. We have to run it on high all night with fans in the hallway and the entrance to the kids' rooms just so their rooms are tolerable. I can't wait for central air again. It also makes one think twice about going out to eat because most likely the restaurant won't have AC or won't have it running. I will end my ranting with these two final bad things about Italy: it costs a fortune to drive on the autostrada (interstate) here and the food is quite bland. Northern Italy food is not Olive Garden. It has very little sauce and very little spice.
Jeff and I are now finished with our master's degrees so we have more time to travel. It is expensive, but if we do it right we can stretch our dollar and enjoy the experience. I personnally have a long list of places I want to visit over the next two years. I know we won't be able to see them all, but I sure hope we can see some of them. Keeping this blog updated will help me keep track of our adventures until I get them scrapbooked. I am putting it out here for the world (to hold me accountable) that I will have a scrapbook of our first year in Italy finished by the end of September.
Here is to surviving another two years in Italy.
