I'm lovin' it...

Along came Saturday and the pouring rain...and I mean pouring...ALL day! The Asparigus Festival was rained out in Montalto :( So we go exploring...Tobin was in the mood for some REAL breakfast pastry (well, real as in what we are used to)...off we go. Pescia Romana was kind enough to supply pastries to us (for a fee of course ;) but they were close enough for goverment work! We went north to the city of Grosseto...it poured...so we decided to park and take a walk through the old town. Here me with my new umbrella (isn't it so me! Green and with green polka dots...I really thought that this was a splurge when I bought it 2 weeks ago...I thought it would immediately stop raining...just because I bought it...who knew it was a necessity)...

Inside the walls of the old town/city center/centro, there is very little car traffic (I am afraid we might be getting a ticket for accidentally driving into the centro sent home to us...Yikes). There is a lovely church...San Lorenzo Cathedral...

Here is the inside...I love the stripes...all marble of course...

A little wet, we happened upon a sign pointing the way to a McDonalds...what a sight for sore eyes! We haven't been particularly homesick for much (besides of course our family and friends...and maybe my craft room)...but seeing those golden arches...well, we NEEDED to go there for lunch. After a little touring of the city...we found it...the golden arches never looked so good...

It was quite the experience ordering our food...I thought I would be in trouble (I am such an expert in Italian, you know) but it went rather smoothly, it almost seemed like I was really talking with someone...until she asked if I wanted a Coke...I asked for a Diet...blank stare until I remembered...Coca Cola Light! So I wasn't really speaking English...I was speaking McDonalds! I have to be honest...a Big Mac may have never tasted so good! It tastes just like home...even the fries were the same! Amazing! The kids really enjoyed their Happy Meals...

The rest of the afternoon, we drove through the Tuscan countryside. We were on some serious hilltops and could imagine that there were amazing views to be seen...if we weren't in a cloud! Here is a pic of some rainy Tuscan country...

We happened upon a really neat city...Pitigliano...we will be returning, since it was raining we just did a drive by...but what a town and view...

Even in the rain, we are enjoying this crazy adventure. We have offically been here an entire month...crazy! I am starting to at least hear words when people are talking to me...I just don't know what the words mean! It is a bit frustrating not being able to have the simplest conversation with someone...hopefully, it gets better. I just keep trying, no matter how dumb I sound or how intimidating it seems...

It is seriously unseasonably rainy here. Not that I can tell what the news or newspapers would say about it, but we have heard that this rain is being caused by that volcano in Iceland. I am not complaining (aside from not being able to actually dry ones laundry) it is actually pleasant weather...at least for me! I am enjoying the rain and my Mary Poppins umbrella!

I hope that you are having a wonderful day!

Ciao a tutti!

Opportunity of a Lifetime...

I am not sure if you all know this about me, but I LOVE to go to museums...art, history, science...I just really enjoy them. Out of all museums, I love ART museums...I was almost an Art major in college...I love the use of color, texture, composition, etc. On Wednesday, I was able to go to one of THE most important museums in Europe...maybe the world...The Vatican Museum. What an amazing opportunity! The kids got to spend time with their Aunt Carolyn and Jamie and I went to the museum...Amazing!

Thanks to my guide book, I bought our tickets online...well worth the extra money to pre-register for your tickets...we bipassed ALL of the lines! Went through security, got our tickets and were on our way before we even new it...we called my ticket voucher 'the magic paper'...

As with just about everything lately, it was not what I was expecting...at all! It was very crowded (apparently the Catholics celebrate the Assumption of Mary on May 14th so there were tons of people there), hot, narrow, you end up in a maze of corridors, stairways, and passageways as you loop through the museum. That being said...it was absolutely amazing!

It almost seemed as if the museum itself was more beautiful than the actual works of art. The decoration of each of the rooms, were absolutely spectacular! The ceilings are ornately decorated, the floors are exquisite, and the amount of marble used is just staggering!

Of course, the art is spectacular...though it is hard to know how wonderful it is...they certainly are not big on signs or telling you what you are looking at! What these artist could do with marble is just staggering!

One of my favorite parts was the flooring (I know it sounds weird), but the tile work is just amazing! They are so detailed and the tiles are so tiny...amazing! Here is a close up of that floor above...

This is from the map room...the ceiling is just amazing...so intricately detailed in everyway!

Now on to the art...again, while I certainly enjoyed the museum, I wasn't too sure what exactly we were looking at! But the parts I did know, were spectular...this pic is from the Raphael rooms...the sheer size is staggering! No wonder people were artists for a lifetime! This is a fresco...the colors were just amazing...

As with everything, even the ceilings are decorated in the Raphael rooms...

Then when you think that you have seen it all, you walk into the Sistine Chapel...honestly, it is breath-taking! And utterly fascinating...I took a picture before I realized I wasn't supposed to...oops! The painting style is very interesting...forget historical...Rome was the center of the world so all the biblical stories are set in a medditeranean landscape, wearing clothing for that time and place...fascinating!

Of course, I have tons of pictures. The ancient egyptian items were awesome...the sculptures amazingly intricate...the tapestries were enormous...the frescos were awesome (I am certainly glad they underwent the renovation of the Sistine Chapel...the colors were so vibrant). Everything is so old and ornate and Catholic!

We didn't make it into St. Peter's Square or Basilica...the kids will enjoy that! If anyone has any specific questions...I would love to answer them if I can!

This weekend is pretty busy...apparently, the 8th annual Asparagus Festival is going on here in Montalto...Yes, I said asparagus! There is supposed to be a Mercantino...a market of antiques, arts and crafts, and other stuff! Now, if it would just stop raining...it should be alot of fun! Then on Sunday we have to turn in our rental car for another...goodbye 'sports car' :(

I hope that you have a wonderful day and weekend!

Ciao a tutti!

Viterbo...

After Monte Romano and Vetralla, we found ourselves in Viterbo. Viterbo is a much bigger city/town than any that we have been in thus far (apart from Rome). We found the Centro (said Chen tro) pretty easily and even some parking without too much trouble! The entrance to the centro...

The fountain inside in a really nice piazza...

We walked around a bit and found a great pizzaria...the best pizza we have had thus far in Italy!

A picture of the backside of the castle...

That is it for our Tuesday afternoon adventure.

Have a wonderful day!

Ciao a tutti!

Monte Romano...

Tuesday, I was surprised by my most wonderful husband...he was able to come home early and we went exploring on a Tuesday afternoon!!! Here are some pics of the kids in the backseat of our 'sports car'...it's a good thing we left the car seats at home...they wouldn't have fit! There are only 2 seat belts back there! At least the kids are small...

I can't even back up enought to get all 3 in the pic...

Monte Romano is an interesting town...it is small (really SMALL, even for MT standards)...upon reaching the town we come to a stand still...stopped traffic about 1/2 mile out of town...is it an accident, herds of animals, did they just close the road...no...there is a one-way tunnel to get into town! In this picture you can see the tunnel in the lower left hand corner...

A fun fountain...

We stopped for gelato...I got the chocolate flavor (talk about rich!)...Clayton's was kind of like a chocolate chips in vanilla flavor...


Another great fountain...Fontana del Mascherone...Fountain of the Mask...


Then we continued north and drove through the town of Vetralla...it is a neat little town that I highly recomend driving through...the streets are crazy, narrow, hilly...the best!

I hopefully will get to the next post this afternoon!

Ciao a tutti!

Civita di Bagnoregio...

This has got to be one of the most amazing places we have been to yet (well, maybe aside from the Colosseum). This town is completely void of vehicular traffic...why? One can only get there by the foot bridge! It is completely cut off from the known world because it is built on this piece of rock jutting up into the middle of this valley...crazy! Apperently, when the town was first built by the Etruscans it was connected to Bagnoregio by a saddle but that has since eroded away. So there is the town...on the top of the hill...in the middle of the valley...

Here is a pic of said valley...

This is the inside of the town's cathedral...

A fine picture of the fam under an arch...

There is a path that leads out of the town, down and around and into a tunnel. The Etruscans built this tunnel (tall enough for a woman to walk with a jar of water on her head) under the city and it is thought to be a short cut to the river below...

Pretty cool, if I do say so! So that was our Saturday in a nutshell...a pretty big nutshell! On Sunday, we had a quiet day...it was sunny and I had loads of laundry to do! We did go down to the shore for a nice walk and gelato. Apparently, on Sundays when everything is closed in Montalto...everyone goes to the Marina (beach) and the stores and things are mostly open! It is easy to forget that we live so close to the beach (being so white...redheaded...and easily burned...it is NOT the first place I think of to go). There were already people baking themselves in the sun! The beach is interesting to me. It has dark sand...I am guessing from volcanic activity...they get that black sand. It was the perfect day on the beach for me...pleasantly warm, not humid, with a relatively stiff breeze coming up off the water...perfect! There were not too many shells to be found but alot of drift wood that washes up...just interesting, especially since that was the last thing we did in the States was to walk on the Jersey shore...

I hope that you have a wonderful Tuesday! Tomorrow I am off to a fun adventure with cousin Jamie in Rome!

Ciao a tutti!

Bolsena...

On Saturday, after my food store adventure, we did some exploring. There is a beautiful lake (Lago di Bolsena) to the northeast of Montalto that we decided we needed to check out. We drove completely around it and drove through all sorts of towns.

We stopped in the actual town of Bolsena and went to look at the church there...but it was closed for siesta time...so here are the kids in front of it...not to mention we parked under the no parking sign;)

The front door of the church...

Then we walked around in the castle there...again super cool! This one was very hilly within the castle...it was quite the hike to get around...fun to visit but I wouldn't want to have to carry groceries into it...

The roads to and from this town were quite crazy! Fun to drive on, thankfully none of us get car sick!

Stay tuned for more exciting pics from a town called Civita...

Success!...

There is nothing quite like moving to a new country and not knowing the language to make you humble. Generally speaking, I like to think of myself as a somewhat intellegent person...enter the italian language...Yikes! I am reduced to the most basic one word sentences...I feel like a caveman, nodding, pointing, and constantly saying thank you (you can laugh now at the pictures that are jumping into your head).

On Saturday morning, Tobin had to work so I decided to run and get a few things at the local grocery store. It was pretty deserted, so I felt safe being a bit more adventurous. The italians have the most wonderful deli meats and cheeses (I am sure that you can imagine...a deli here is called a Gastronomia!)...the problem: the lady that cuts them for you only speaks italian! So stumbling along, I get my ham, salami, and provalone cheese...Yay! Only one major communication problem...she kept asking me if I wanted my salami 'fume'...any clues? I finally figured out she was asking me if I wanted smoked salami! Of course!!!! I wanted 'normale'...so major hurtle taken care of.

In most of the grocery stores that we have been in (and that is quite a few) they have these displays for the Italian National Soccer team for the World Cup. They have these little albums to collect something in them...I thought it would be perfect for the boys to collect some kind of baseball card type thing for the soccer team, but again I can't understand italian so I had no idea what it was...I couldn't seem to figure out what exactly they were collecting. So, here I am at this grocery store on Saturday with only a few people, and I finally see a poster talking about these things to collect...I asked the cashier! Remember the caveman! What are these? She rattles away in italian and I give her my best confused look (these come really easily). I finally get it that for every 10 euros you spend you get one (one what you ask...just wait it gets better)...I think great, I can do that, and it is free! Well you need the card (think Safeway card for coupons)...ok, but you have to fill out the paper (of course it is in italian). I ask if I can take it and bring it back (I don't actually remember my address and it is in italian)...she says no, just fill it out here and gives me a pen! Are you laughing yet? Kids screaming, people behind me, cashier looking at me expectantly...so I start filling it out! I didn't have a clue! I think she just had pity on me in the end...but I got one!

Well, I actually got 2 and now Pat can have one and avoid the crazy experience! And we get twice as many soccer thingys...what are they? They are metal, circular...things! One side has a picture of a soccer player and the other has their number and last name...pretty cool! The kids are pretty stoked about it...now I have to buy one of those album things for them!

So that is my success for Saturday...I thought you would enjoy the laugh! I am pretty proud of myself for braving the wilds of the italian language. Today, the bread store lady, Elena, was trying to ask me if I lived in Montalto and for how long...at least I think she was! I think the people that I see on a regular basis are starting to realize that I will be here for awhile...they are starting to smile more and ask questions (not that I have a clue what they are saying), but it is nice to be talked to! Everyone, and I mean everyone, tells me that I have beautiful children (bella bambini)...that is kind of nice...and they are always chatting with Gwen...not that any of us understand them...but they certainly get free stuff because of their cuteness!!!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Ciao a tutti!