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Leaving Milan-Sept 10, 2009

Ciao! Last night we spent the night at Aviano airbase in Aviano, Italy. On the way there we were welcomed, several times, by the city of Porcia. For those of you who have never had the privilege of visiting Porcia, let me outline the town for you. When you get off the autostrada (highway) there are a lot of crops growing in fields. The Gossip Bar is lit up in neon lights and seemed to be a popular place. If you pass some houses you will come to a little town of about one streetlight. There is what looks like a tractor dealership and a restaurant. End of Porcia. We were honored to drive through the town on several occasions, entering from many different angles, as we followed the Italian directions to the airbase procured from an array of people whom we stopped to ask directions.

Well, we finally made it to the airbase and the view was beautiful! It is nice and flat and then randomly there were just these mountains that appeared against one side of the base. I love how the mountains just appear here. If you have ever been to Salt Lake City you know what I am talking about. It looks as if a kid drew a picture with the bottom of the page covered in green, the top covered in blue, and then stuck a triangle in the middle of the green to represent a mountain. It is exactly like that. It is green and flat and you can see forever and then all of the sudden, there is just this mountain rising out of the ground. At home you have flat ground and it gets slightly hilly and builds until the hills become mountains. Not here, they just appear. So, we spent the night and I got a tour of Aviano. Guess what- I found a Wal-Mart. Ok, well it is the exchange and you can’t shop there unless you are in the military, but it is proof that Wal-Mart’s exist everywhere. I had ranch dressing and Doritos so I felt nice and American. All-in-all I will never feel bad for people who have to stay in base housing cause it was great. You know your government is rich when the hotel on base has marble counters and stairwells.

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