Thanksgiving

My first holiday in a foreign country!  Well, I take that back.  I spent New Years with my family in Mexico about 6 years ago.  But since I didn't live in Mexico and I do live in Italy.....it's totally different.  And it was the first holiday that I've EVER spent with Nick so it was a big day regardless. 

We're still new here, haven't met a lot of people and our shipment of household items won't be arriving until January so it didn't make sense to attempt a traditional Thanksgiving.  Instead we decided to head off to Florence, the home of the Renaissance.  We spent 2 days walking through this old city, viewing numerous paintings and sculptures by the greats and of course eating.  What is Thanksgiving without food?

We feasted on pasta and more pasta.  Various meats, potatoes, bread, olive oil, these lovely little waffles from corner stands and of course gelato.  Not too bad!  I think it was a good American showing.

Food aside, the art was truly amazing.  Whether or not you are into Renaissance art, one can appreciate people behind the pieces and their significance in history.  Their influence continues today.  Seeing the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo caused me to realize that these men weren't just figures from old stories but were real people.  In addition, Michelangelo's famous 'David' is housed in a museum in Florence plus there are 2 replicas located in the city.  We took a long walk up a hill to see one of these and were given some beautiful views of the city.

The Uffizi Gallery is located in Florence and houses paintings by Leonardo, Raphael, Caravaggio, Michelangelo and Botticelli.  Works containing the Holy Virgin and the Christ Child are in abundance but so are many mythological pieces.   It struck me how religion and mythology were so closely intertwined during this period. 

There is an extremely large church (Duomo) in the center of town.  It dwarfs all other buildings and there's pictures below to get a sense for how big this thing is.  But inside, the dome is decorated with one of the largest paintings of the Renaissance.  The Last Judgement by Vasari and Zuccari.  It made my head spin.  Literally.  When I looked up into the dome for too long I felt dizzy and had to take a break!

While Nick and I had a great time over the long weekend and enjoyed Italy to the fullest, I still missed my family and the traditions I've come to love.  So I couldn't resist making a pumpkin pie when we got home.  I had to settle for Mrs. Smith's since Italy is all out of canned pumpkin but it tasted wonderful.

Something else missing from this holiday was the Black Friday mayhem.  There were no ads to pour through the night before or alarm clocks set for 2am.   In fact, many stores didn't even have their Christmas decorations up yet.  Unheard of in the US!  The first Christmas song we heard over the weekend was in the Hard Rock Cafe (sorry...I really needed a salad after all that pasta).  It was Twisted Sister's rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful.  It was quite pleasant actually.

Pictures from Florence include the replica of David, the Duomo, our quaint little B&B and various statues throughout the city:

First Notes

I arrived in Italy 2 weeks and 2 days ago. It took me a bit to get my blog up and running so this initial post may be lengthy. My life has completely changed within the course of an 8-hour flight. Well, I take that back, my life started changing about 8 months ago when I fell head over heels in love with my then boyfriend....now husband. The story of his life path is not mine to tell but suffice it say, our paths have intertwined and we have suddenly found ourselves newly married and living across the ocean, thousands of miles away from everything we've ever known. One of the beauties of this is that Nick and I are starting a brand new life in a place that is new for both of us, experiencing it all for the first time together. And the place is Italy! It really can't get more romantic than that. :)

So I said good-bye to my sweet family on November 4th and arrived to my awaiting husband on November 5th. The flight was easy and uneventful. I was too excited to sleep so I calmed myself with movie after movie. I never have had time or taken the time to watch many movies so this was a pleasure. My husband had left 6 weeks prior so my #1 priority was to look fresh and fabulous when I met him. Mission accomplished with the help of my very good friend Leah.

Arrival at baggage claim was chaotic, but that's to be expected I guess. I was allowed 4 large bags plus my hefty carry-on so imagine the fun of maneuvering that alone! I found Nick easily, or should I say he found me. I wasn't difficut to spot with my cart over loaded with bags. So onto the bus, which took us to our 'new' car and then onto our apartment located in our new little town situated in the heart of the Italian counteyside.

The small town feel isn't all that foreign to me....I grew up in rural Minnesota. But our apartment is huge! Not at all what I would expect to find in Italy, let alone an Italian village. So let me just mention to our friends and family that there is ample room for you to stay comfortably with us when you choose to visit.

Since we had expected much smaller accomodations I had sold all of my living room furniture, placed most large items in storage and only shipped the bare minimum. Now we are faced with the need to buy items to fill the space. Somehow I don't think my husband is as excited about this 'opportunity' as I am. :)

We have 3 bedrooms, the 3rd is on the 2nd level. We have an adorable winding staircase which leads up to our 3rd floor. We have a balcony which is cut into the rooftop of the building with a view of the town. The perfect location to enjoy that evening glass of local wine and unwind from the day. Keep in mind that unwinding from a day here is much different than unwinding from a typical day in my previous life.

All of life's needs are met here in our small town. We have a church, grocery store, butcher shop, vegetable stand, bakery, pizza place, gelato cafe and last but not least a wine shop. One quick word regarding the wine shop. The wines are local, on tap and delicious! And ridiculously affordable. $5 buys you a bottle and the wine. $3 buys you a refill. Once I learn Italian I hope to apply for a job there! Such a happy place.

My husband works for the US government so in addition to our simple Italian life, we have access to some US services that we would not otherwise. Like a grocery store with some US products, a Walmart-type store for household goods, some fast-food chains, a bank, library, movie theater and post office. It's a great way to balance the transition since neither of us speak the language yet.

And this has been a big transition. I have been used to a small condo in the middle of Minneapolis, with a short walk to work surrounded by the hustle and bustle of corporate America. My social life consisted of Starbucks, shopping on a whim, happy hours, committee meetings, fundraising events, family events, friends events, and on and on. There was hardly a dull moment. Now I work from home, there is no corporate anything around me, when I'm awake; most everyone that I know in my life is asleep and Facebook has become my BFF. Rather than running here and there every night of the week, our weekday evenings consist of walking down to the local pizza place, splitting one of 50 options with my husband and ordering a carafe of red wine. I split the wine with my husband as well but I think I could polish it off by myself without too much trouble.

Yes, life has definitely changed, but it's a welcome change. I loved my life in MN but it was missing something. Now I have that something....or I should say someone, and I am purely excited to start this new chapter.

Addio for now! Will write again soon with details of our trips to Venice and Verona!

Below are pictures with my nephews before departure and of our apartment.