Italy

Two posts in one day. Oh, yea! So, today's edition of the blog should have read "pasta/rice" instead of rice. The reason I couldn't get my rice to turn out right was because it wasn't rice. It was pasta that was shaped like rice. Go ahead and laugh at me. I'm laughing along with you. When the message finally made it through the great barrier wall, aka my lack of Italian, I laughed so hard it was crazy. Anyway, thanks to all of you who sent me instructions on how to boil rice. I appreciate it. Now, if I move Asia one day, I won't starve. Also, you know your an addict when you are willing to walk 4 miles (2 of them uphill) to get chocolate ice cream and a coke. The lady at the ice cream shop here (also known as the only establishment still open past 7. There isn't a large vampire community here I am guessing) knows me now. When I walk up I get a "ciao" and she automatically grabs a waffle cone. I'm a regular. Please, don't let her know ...

This is a notice to let you all know that I am giving up. I can't even boil rice here. I dont have any idea what the problem could be. After a giant no go on the biscuits, again, I thought about chicken and rice. Anything normal (not that everything isnt good but sometimes you just want some comfort food) but no. I found out that I don't know how to boil rice. We have a steamer and I have never had to boil it. Maybe back in middle or high school I used boil in bag rice once but I don't even remember that time. How did I go from being a pretty good cook (ok, not the best but there were cell group people who would make requests) to bad rice. I made eclairs from scratch at home. SCRATCH!!! No more cooking. I give up. On a nicer note, I'm not sick anymore and I watched Shrek in Italian which was still funny. Nicole

Hey guys, New Experiences: Being sick in Italy is not any better than being sick in America. It is not serious. I am convinced it is a little bit of whatever the kids had (fevers/throwing up) mixed with altitude stuff (headache) mixed with no caffeine and different food. The Dr. (oh, yes they took me to the Dr. against my will btw) was throwing around Influenza and cold interchangeably so I am not sure if I have the flu or just a cold (I say cold but I didn’t need to go to the dr. anyway). She assured me that it was not “the pig,” as she put it. So, anyway, hospitals in Italy look like our hospitals. The experience, however, is different than at home. Here, you sit down and she sits down and you discuss what feels wrong. Then, the Dr. tells you what she thinks it is. They don’t check your ears and throat and all that good stuff like in America. You just talk about what is different. They were all very concerned about a migraine. I am appreciative that they are concerned about me, j...

Hey guys, So, you should know that I am fascinated by grocery stores here. That sounds so like me doesn't it? It is just that they are so small and everything in them is so different from what I am used to. For example: eggs and some milk are not refrigerated. I walked by the eggs today and they were just sitting on the shelf next to the pasta. I also am in love with the fact that you can have your groceries delivered to your house if you don't want to carry them. OK, how about I just describe the whole thing to you. First of all, the store is about the size of a jiffy store. When you walk in there are carts on the right and on the wall facing you there is soap and shampoos. So you know, there are a lot of different shampoos, fewer conditioners, fewer lotions than conditioners and about three different kinds of soap. Your choices are 1-2 brand of each: dish soap, body soap, hand soap and 2-3 brands of laundry detergent. Behind this false wall is fruit and veggies. The size of t...

Hey guys, I am in Bormio right now. It is the place to go to ski but since it is summer there is not that much snow. Instead, it is amazingly beautiful and we spent all day hiking in the mountains. Here are some pictures (and a little storytelling) from the trip. Enjoy: This is where we went hiking. You can see a glacier in the background. In the far away left side of the picture is a little white rectangle before the mountain/back trees start, this is the restaurant we were hiking to today. We were already halfway to it by the time I took the pictures. 4 Kilometers later we arrived. This is my favorite picture This picture was taken right before I fell in. FYI: the mountain water is cold. This was the view on our way back once we hit the road again. Beautiful Some rapids This is probably where I would have ended up if I hadn't been fished out of the water. A butterfly landed on my hand Then it was joined by a buddy on my arm Still hiking along This is where the trail ended Wat...

Hey everyone, Good news! I found grits! It is official, if I find a Wal-mart I am sold. The only thing that I was really and truly homesick for was cheese grits (ok, and walmart but I am being positive). I tried to explain what they are to the family but explaining white stuff that is little and grainy like rice but not made of rice is hard. They didn't understand. Try it sometime with someone who does not know what grits or cream of wheat or any of that stuff is. It is like trying to explain a color to a blind person. So, these grits are not grits but they are as close as I can get. They are kind of like a wheat version of our white grits. You know the difference between wheat and white bread. The texture and the taste. It is almost the same with these. I say add some cheese (yellow although you cannot find that here because they think it is gross) and butter and you are set. I kept smiling all through lunch because of them. I know the grandparents must have thought I was crazy. ...

I was born to live in Italy. Reason 1: Time means nothing Reason 2: You work if you want to Reason 3: They drive 100 kilometers an hour everywhere Reason 4: The food is amazing This goes on to reason, like, 50000 but I'll stop here. On the way up here we never went under 80 kilom an hour. There were tunnels with the sides almost brushing the car and we went 100 kilometers an hour. In these tunnels we would pass cars or bikes in front of us with oncoming traffic close enough to see the drive. They simply moved as close to their side of the wall as they could and we taxied the line. I love it. The lines on the road are more like guidelines for where you should merge next. These little cars can haul. We swam in the most amazing pool complex today. It had 2 kiddie pools with slides and toys, a whirlpool/lazy river thing, an indoor/outdoor pool, a 4 seasons pool, recliners in the pool with jets, etc. There was even a slide that went through the complex and 2 lap pools. It was so much fu...

Ok, a little more on Pisa. Pisa was very pretty It was very terracotta in color. It is the home of Pinocchio and there were little Pinocchio figurines for sale everywhere. There is a river that runs through the heart of the city. Around the old city and the tower/church there is a great wall. I could go back and spend days just walking around looking at everything. There also looked like there could be great shopping. There were little cafés and a lot of baby stores. I loved that there was ice cream about every three feet. I taught the kids a song: John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt, his name is my name too. Whenever I go out, the people always shout, there goes John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt. Na na na na na na na It is a popular kids song and if you have kids you probably know it. So, randomly the littlest kids burst into songs and I have been teaching them English songs. We were in the car and I hear Paolo, the youngest, humming that song. Then, he starts singing: ...

Hey everyone! Short typing today. I went to Pisa and now I'm tired. There is a guy singing outside my window. It is funny. Pics below! Enjoy The view from the car. Just in case you were wondering about my cheese from Parma tale, it exists. Random Castle This is Pisa We rode on this horse in Pisa. It was a nice tour. The tourguide explained all of the places we saw but it was in Italian. This is a university This is Michela (the mom) and me. The kids were on the other side. The leaning tower of Pisa This is the baptistry outside of the church in Pisa Inside of the baptistry from the balcony This is the famous Duomo del Pisa. The tower is behind it. This is the view from first entering the church. These paintings lined the walls. This church was beautiful for its paintings. The church and the tower. This picture was taken from the 2nd floor of the baptistry. I just thought it was funny because there were these signs everywhere that said "Do not walk on the grass" in ab...