In January, the fam and I took a weekend excursion to Pisa to see the tower. It was AMAZING! Living over here you have the chance to see things you've only ever read about in books or have seen on the big screen, but to be there, to actually see these wonders in real life, it's just AMAZING. We stayed the night at Camp Darby, a small military post not too far from Florence and Pisa. It was by far, a very tiny post. The next morning we got up and headed to Pisa, in the cold drizzly rain. (By the way, did I mention it's the rainy season and it rains here A LOT? Well it does. I even had to invest in rain boots. And we could have dreary, drizzly days for days on end. I'd be surprised if half the people over here weren't taking Cymbalta or Prozac to keep happy. ) At any rate, we headed into the Piazza and can i just say, WOW. The architecture you first see is like slap to the senses. The buildings are daunting, they are ornate, laden with frescoes,intricate metal art, stone and gold. And these buildings have been around for years! The architects of these magnificent structures were pure genius. There was the Duomo and the Baptistry, the crypt and then the Tower itself. Lining the streets were vendors of all nationalities selling Pisa memories, and umbrellas, lot of umbrellas. But it was a quiet morning, not many tourists at all. Even the McDonalds was quiet. (But at 6-7 euros for a sandwich, I can understand why)
We walked into the church which was getting ready for services. The doors themselves were made of aged wood and iron, with intricate pictures depicting stories in the bible. The archways in the church looked like huge wish bones that led up to a second tier. the stained glass windows and oil paintings reminded you that you were in a place of worship. But take one look at the ceiling and you would believe that you were in an art gallery. I have to admit the, the churches in Italy are like nothing I have ever seen. They are so beautiful inside, in fact, i could see switching to Catholicism if I had a chance to see that every Sunday. I mean seriously, how could you fall asleep with all that art? You could count the tiles on the ceiling and still never finish in one sermon! Words can't do these works of art justice, you will just have to see for yourself.
February was a short month but seemed to fly by. My schedule became more complicated as I began teaching a college course for the local college here. Two nights a weeks, my family didn't see me and my days all seemed to run together as I prepared lesson after lesson, reading chapter upon chapter. I was in college a long time ago, and took 12 credit hours a semester. But I guess it was easier back then since I wasn't working, didn't have children and a husband, and I certainly didn't have swiss cheese hole mommy brain. I could really retain all that info back then. Now I am lucky to string two sentences together and remember my lecture notes!
February turned to March and we found ourselves still cold, with rain about 4-5 days out of the week. What is really sad is that the rainy season JUST started. Could have fooled me. I swear it's been raining since October. We adopted a cute dog from southern Italy. He's an English Brittney Spaniel from Italy and now owned by an American family. (No doggie complex there). He speaks Italian and English, or rather i should say, he understands Italian and English. He also understands a bit of German. So usually, I have to cycle through 3 languages to get him to understand one command. It's confusing even for me. But he's been a wonderful addition to the family. He has his quirks. He likes to sleep in my bed, at or on our feet. He enjoys the pack mentality at night. He hates car rides and we have come to realize, he gets car sick. He's definitely not the tongue-hanging-outside-the-window-wind-blowing-in-the-face kind of dog. He loves outdoors and will even throw his own toy to himself. It is quite entertaining to watch him hop and toss the toy in the air. Of course, then he becomes crazy dog and completes about 6-10 circuits in the yard until his wildness has been tamed. And he likes to dig holes. It's an annoying side effect to the dog, but we adapt. Other than that, he's a great dog. Unfortunately, it's been raining ALOT so long walks outside are few and far between and muddy paw prints are pretty common in my house now. Believe me, once it stops raining and the ground becomes drier and firmer, I might consider mopping the floors again. Until then, what really is the point? I could do it in the morning or the evening, but then as soon as the dog goes outside, he brings more dirt back inside. It's an endless cycle. Oh, and he LOVES shoes! Not a good thing in my house where shoes rarely back it back to bedrooms, let alone closets.One day the kids will learn, but I won't hold my breath.
We celebrated Easter the other day, called Pasqua here. It is not commercialized as in the states. There are no Italian egg hunts or Easter baskets, although they do sell large Kinder eggs with a little surprises in them. They also have some easter candy but they do not, sadly, have peeps! They don't know the sugary goodness wrapped in a marshmellow that they are missing! Nor do they have jellybeans! Thank good for the American commissary! Also in March, we celebrated the International Day of the Woman, or La Festa Della Donna. Flower vendors were busy that day and days leading up to it, selling bunches of yellow Mimosas. It's another really big holiday here and in Europe, but not really celebrated in the states. It's a shame, it was really nice to receive flowers from my boss and strangers! I enjoyed the unity of it all.
So I believe we are up to date now, aside from some other girl scouting adventures in geocaching. So Buona Pasqua everyone and enjoy the holiday!
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