The slow boat to China arrived in Livorno and my car was on it.....Yippee!!!

Off we go, the dogs in tow....on a train to Pisa!  When we were shipping my car, there were only a few places it would arrive, so we picked Livorno, which is right near Pisa so that we could do some sightseeing.

It was an early morning, and we took the dogs on their first train ride.  Let me say that in Italy, dogs are well loved and welcome pretty much everywhere.  So we hopped on the first of 3 train changes and set off to pick up my pretty convertible! Train #1, no problem, a quick hop.  Train #2, even better....dining car, great A/C, plenty of room for the babies, beautiful views of the sunflower fields of Tuscany! Train #3....oops delayed.  No problem, we will wait for the replacement.  Hmmmm....delayed again.....well, apparently there was a bit of an accident and someone decided to check out via jumping in front of the train....not a great omen.

Finally train #3 and we are headed to Livorno....not so much A/C on this one....and did I mention it was a muggy 95degrees....oh and at the last stop all of the people that were delayed got on at one time...it was a hot sardine can full of Europeans.....not so fresh!!

Allora, we finally arrive, catch a cab to the port, just in time for our appt to pick up the car.  Not too much paperwork and we find the car in great condition and ready to roll.  Zip out of Livorno and to our hotel, so we can start off to Pisa in the am.  

I swear I didn't photoshop him in

Arrive in Pisa, thanks to Siri's directions and a kind sunglass vendor shows us right to a parking space.  Apparently he didn't notice that we both had sunglasses on and were not in need of a new pair of "Ray Bans" or "Maui Jim's".  He didn't look pleased!  Well, Pisa is not very large, and we could see the tower from our parking space.

Now my first memories of the Leaning Tower of Pisa are from Bewitched....the episode where Aunt Esmerelda decides she will straighten the tower....I know, I am dating myself, but I bet most of you know what I'm talking about!  And Craig and I decided that we would have to indulge in the cheesy pics of holding up the tower with our hands....with a twist, we settled on a "pushing" the tower shot.  Let me just tell you that it was difficult to get the shot in, because EVERYONE was doing the cheesy tower pose!!

The area was beautiful, as were are learning most of Italy is.  Once we pushed the tower over and looked around, we decided to head of to Florence, which was conveniently, on the way home.  Did I mention it was hot.....now above 98, and the dogs were a bit bored.

Hop back into the car, and set toward Florence.....ahhhhh, glad to be in a car with A/C!  Whoops!!! What happened to the A/C?????  We just paid for a new $1200 compressor, before we left the states!!!!!  No and I repeat NO A/C!!  YIKES!!  It is molto caldo!!!!  HOT HOT HOT!!!

After an hour of driving and now it is 105 outside, we scrapped the plans to Florence and headed home.  Let me just say that cranky, doesn't even begin to describe the ride home, and I'll leave it at that!!!  We were home a day early and the dogs were thrilled to be out of the oven car!

On Sunday, Craig decided he wanted to go for a ride.....Seriously??? Do I really want to get into a car again???  Ok, I will do it, but only because we are going in his car and I know the A/C works!  We decide to take a ride to Asiago....yes, the cheese place!  It is the mountain view that we see outside of the house.  And being a mountain, there were 2 things certain....a winding steep drive and it was about 10 degrees cooler!!  And it was a steep drive!!!  But gorgeous! 
 
We stopped for some cheese.  I always thought of Asiago cheese as similar to Parmesan.  Apparently, I was not aware that there is Asiago Pressato, the dry, aged cheese and Denominazione di Origine  Protetta or DOP.  DOP is delicious and we bought a kilo!! Yes, 2.2lbs of the stuff, it was that good! We are definitely going back, it is only a half hour ride from our home.

We truly are enjoying our life here in Italy.  I managed to pass the test for my driver's license, so I can drive in the oven/car now!  I have joined a local gym/pool, which is right by the supermarket so I can walk there for GPG....Gym, Pool, Groceries!  We are doing our first entertaining, this weekend, dinner with one of Craig's co-workers, so I get to cook.  On Tuesday, I am hosting a luncheon for Army wives that live in Caldogno, just an informal get together.  

I am settling in to "housewife" status....not the Bravo dramas, the cooking, cleaning kind.  I have adopted the Italian way of laundry....hanging clothes on a drying rack, instead of using the dryer.  I have yet to even use the dryer, I swear.  And no, it's not because I haven't done any laundry...I'm actually liking the rack.  And for those of you wondering, I am doing quite well with the small fridge, no regrets.  I am rethinking the no microwave choice that I made.....I may have to break down today and get one!

Hope everyone is enjoying the last bits of summer!  Where does time go????

Until next time......Ciao for now!

Vita Italiano

Life in Italy….we are loving it.  We moved into our house on July 15 and to say that was an adventure would be an understatement.  Traveling has been difficult since we had no car, so people that Craig works with have been kind enough to help us out.

First we moved the stuff from the hotel to the house.  For those of you following the Army Alphabet Soup code….UB, Unaccompanied Baggage.  On Monday the movers came with HHG, Household Goods….the big stuff!!  And when I say stuff, I mean stuff, we have a lot of stuff!!

I met the movers in the morning and Craig stayed back at the hotel with the girls (I think I see a pattern here).  Really cars in Italy are so small that to fit 5 people is more than a notion….oh and 2 dogs.  Things were going smoothly, we were doing fine with the English/Italian translations.  Lots of pointing and charades.  Until it was time to bring the beds inside.  There was no way they were fitting upstairs, no way, no how.  Maybe over the top of the balcony???  Not so much!!

One of the movers went to talk to the landlord, he does not speak English, but his sister does.  Did I mention that we have a wonderful landlord???!!! Giovanni came right over with a saw and cut the railing/grate off the staircase.  No problem…Va bene!  And up the stairs they went.

The railing that was cut!

 Moving went fine, unpacking is a project, and one that has led me to a revelation….we live in excess as Americans.  I know, some of you are saying, Suzi…..we have said for years you have too much stuff…TMS!  I am not talking about my kitchen gadgets…I’m talking about everything and how we live.

Gas, utilities and such are high priced commodities here, and they are not wasted.  Air conditioning is a luxury and invites high utility bills.  During the heat of the day, Italians shut down for riposo.  It is a little difficult to get used to, but a wonderful idea. 

The Army provides appliances for Americans here because of the electric current differences, so of course, we get the biggest one.  Guess what, not only does it not fit anywhere, I don’t even like it.  I moved it a few different places and hated it.  So, (are you sitting down?) I asked to replace it with a smaller model.  Not from 28 to 25 cubic feet…..12.5 cubic feet!  It may sound crazy, but it will work. 

The market is less than a mile away, so I walk there with my cart (yes, I have the old lady cart) every few days.  I buy what we need to eat.  Everything is so fresh here, that I do not want to maintain the habit of buying excess food and having it go bad weeks later.  And I don’t want the preservatives in everything that will keep it going for weeks.  So my small refrigerator and I are bonding quite nicely.

The house is quiet now….Payton and Addy were here for a month and it flew by.  We had a wonderful time with them and I am hoping they will be back soon!!  The three of us had some fun adventures while Craig was working, an extended bus ride among them!  It is good to know the bus schedule before you get on, that way you aren’t on the bus when it is time for the driver’s break.  We made it through 3 bus changes, several stops, the market, the pool and back home!  It just took a bit longer than we were expecting.

The four of us managed to get to the beach near Venice.  Beautiful!!  Our Ocean City sand chairs were not the norm!  Most hotels and condos provide chairs and umbrellas, lined up like stadium seats.  We wandered around, did lots of Speedo watching and only a few topless sights.  It was a glorious day!  I wish I had my camera, but for some reason, left it at home.  I am sure there will be many more trips to the beach.

Finally, we had some rain.  I know that those of you back home would like the rain to stop, but in the six weeks we have been here, we only had one day of rain, and it has been a welcome relief!  Temps were in the 38’s ( that is over 100) and no breeze.  The storm that came through has brought much better temps and we have turned the AC off for now!

Back to our house….we are in downtown Caldogno, right next to a bank.  The house looks very non-descript from the front.  The back is gorgeous.  It was the 2^nd house that we looked at and we fell in love with it.  We are quite lucky!  The kitchen is huge, our veranda/porch is to die for, and it is much more spacious than we dreamed! And we have an amazing landlord.  He lives behind us in a villa that was handed down to his family.  It was built in 1208….not a typo, 1208.  Our house was the barn, and Giovanni, an architect, remodeled it to its current delightful state.  He is now working on the villa, where his family lives, along with his sister’s family and his parents.  That is the norm in Italy, multi-generational living.

Our Landlord's Villa

They were kind enough to give us all a tour one day. It, apparently, was also a castle, complete with a drawbridge and moat.  Those are since gone, but it is amazing to see the architecture and the spaciousness.  I am sure there are secret passages and the like somewhere in the building.  Giovanni and his family have taken us under their wing.  He is trying to learn English, and we are trying to learn Italian…it is a work in progress, but we manage to do well.  They have a big orto (garden in Italian, garden to them means yard), vegetable garden.  I mentioned I like it and miss my garden back home, so Giovanni tilled up some space, so I could put in my own garden!  He is kind beyond words.

He has a daughter who is 10, Addy’s age.  Somehow, despite the language barrier, Patrizia and Addy became fast friends.  It was a joy to see the 2 of them communicate and play with the common language of children.  Of course, Gelato translated easily!

Food and wine here are over the top!  We can’t seem to try enough things.  The wine situation here is fun and somewhat of an adventure.  We had heard of “filling stations”, that is what we call them.  You go in, and much like filling your car up with gas, you fill up your wine bottles.  It is way cheaper than gas!!  We discovered that we could fit 4-2L bottles in my bike basket, so off we went to Louie’s, the local filling station that Giovanni showed us.  2L of Cabernet, 2L of Merlot, 2L of Prosecco  and 2L of Verduza, and then we rode back to the house….Life is Good!!

View from the bathroom

Finally I have a tub!

Our Living Room

The dogs enjoying the yard

I will post more pics of the house, as I get it organized.  This weekend, we are headed to Livorno, near Pisa.  My car has arrived on the slow boat to China, finally.  Craig’s has been here for about 2 weeks now, and it was shipped 3 weeks later than mine….oh well,  now we get a train ride adventure and the Autostrada driving adventure.  Hopefully, with some stops along the way…I am hearing how beautiful Tuscany is right now, and I will make sure I take my camera!!

Ciao for now!!