Venezia

So I forgot to upload these pictures until after I had started writing and I can't copy and paste and move things around on here for some reason...so it's a bit out of order. But here was our fearless leader finding where he THOUGHT we were on the map. I'll give him about a 20% accuracy rating. And that's not due to his lack of skills, but due to the crazy roads of Venezia.

Here is a close up of the map...I encourage you to click on it to see what I'm talking about. The white are the "roads/alley/hallways" Good luck following them anywhere!! The water is the Grand Canal which flows all the way through the city.

NOW THE POST STARTS... sorry for the above mix up out of order, but I had to include it!!

Here are some pictures from our adventure in Venezia (Venice). We had no real plan for our day, we just wanted to check out the city and see what we could find. I went online to look up some suggestions of things to do or to see just so we could have some kind of frame of reference. The website I found told me that if we did nothing else, the number one thing we needed to do was get lost in the city. Well...that was easy! I don't know how you could ever learn the city...it was seriously like a massive corn maze (without the corn, obviously!!) It was unbelievable! We bought a map and stopped everytime we thought we were at a big enough church we could locate it on the map to have an idea of where we were. I think we only found our exact place about 3 times all day! Our goal was to make it down to San Marco Square (Piazza San Marco) so we headed in the general direction and just wandered. It took us about 3 1/2 hours (that included a lunch stop) to finally make it to our designated destination! Taylor and I loved the city, we both thought it was beautiful! We had gotten mixed reviews about the city from various people, but we both thought the city was very clean and there was no smell at all. Although we were told that often the smell comes with the heat in the summer...so you're good to go in the fall and winter.

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Below are various pictures from our trip. I don't know what any of the cathedrals or buildings are, I just thought they were pretty. Next time we go, I'm buying a guide book that gives historical details about important places...then I can take more informed and educated pictures.

We just happened upon this after going through many alleys and hallway size streets. There were beautiful buildings and cathedrals hidden on small streets through out the whole city. I could NEVER find this again!!

Sitting down by the water outside of San Marco Square on the bay (I suppose).

The cathedral in San Marco Square.

Part of San Marco Square.

The gondolas all tied up on the bay.

I don't know what the building was out in the middle of the bay, but it was sure pretty!

I just like this picture of Taylor. This was at dinner on the Grand Canal sitting right by the water. We learned lots of lessons from our trip...don't eat a meal right on the Grand Canal...we paid for it big time...literally!!!!

My birthday dinner in Venezia!

This is Venice at night...it didn't come out quite like it looked through my camera. We'll have Taylor's camera soon and hopefully get some really good pics...but it's still kinda cool.

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We have our last night in a hotel tonight. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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I have been living out of my 2 suitcases since September 28th when they picked up all my stuff to ship! On Thursday I will recieve my unaccompanied baggage, so I will finally have some winter clothes, besides the one white long sleve shirt I've worn for a couple days now (I know, gross...good thing I'm across the world from you all. And good thing I have a washer/dryer in our hotel...the 3rd one of our trip so far!!) So tomorrow we move in, on Wednesday I have a program called Spouse Start, and on Thursday my stuff is delivered! Taylor's stuff from Korea has arrived on base, but for lack of better explanation, it's caught up in military bureaucracy and guidelines and we have yet to recieve a definite delivery date.

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We are also experiencing our first example of "slow pace Italian living" we had been warned about by so many. I mentioned that Taylor bought a car on Thursday (well technically he didn't pay for it bc their credit card machine was broken, so they told him just to pay later) but it needed a part fixed to pass inspection and on Thursday we were told "it will be done domani (tomorrow)" On Friday we were told it would be done on Monday, and today we have been told, it will be ready domani! There is no changing the pace of life!

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Oh, and what a great weekend for Tennessee football?! The Vols had a big win that I didn't actually see, but I woke up multiple times while Taylor was LISTENING to it on the computer in the hotel room until 4:30am. He gave me score updates in between me complaining that it was to loud. Taylor would say I'm not a true fan, I would call Taylor a freak of a fan...it's all relative I suppose! And we didn't see or hear any of the Titans game, but I am glad to hear we have our first W!

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Anyway...that's all for now!

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Love, Katie

House Pictures

I know I whined and moaned about the internet at the hotel being awful and I couldn't upload pictures...but I might have been a little wrong. I was getting horrible service the whole day, it kept coming in and out and I just assumed that was normal. I woke up this morning and was checking my mail and everything was working great. I decided to attempt to upload pictures and see what happened and it was successful, so pictures are now available!

And just a little story, a testament if you will to the crazy Italian drivers. We went today to buy a car for Taylor at the local used car dealer that was recommended to us. We were test driving a car (well Taylor was driving) and the guy was in the front seat. We were out on a country road and Taylor is going about 10-15 km over the speed limit. The guy goes "it's okay, you can speed here". So Taylor drives about 20 km over the speed limit and the guy goes, "no, no, go on and speed, it's okay, we're in Italy!". Then we get behind a truck and the guy says, "oh, go on and pass him" (this is a 2 lane road, btw) Taylor says, "well I can't see anything around this truck." The guy says, "nah, that's okay, just pass!" (Taylor is commenting as I'm writing this that he did finally see around the truck before he passed!!) And luckily, we all survived our test drive trips! The dealer was also very amused about the fact that the Jack Daniel's distilery is in a dry county. He thought we were kidding him...he got a real kick out of that!!

Aaand we bought a car...well almost. In true, slow Italian fashion we will probably have it tomorrow, but we decided upon a 96 BMW 316i. It's a nice little 2 door, navy blue, coupe. So for those of you coming to visit...we have lots of room in our house...but small little cars to drive you around in (we both will have 2 doors), but once you get here and see these tiny roads, the decision makes perfect sense.

Now onto the house...voilaaaaaa...here it is!!!

Hahaha...I forgot to mention it was bright yellow with John Deere green shutters on it!! It is a row house and we have both the upstairs and downstairs of the picture you're looking at. The doors you see downstairs open into our living room. And the green you see upstairs (but can't figure out what it is) are doors that open from our master bedroom onto the balcony right there.

This is a picture of the area...

This is one of the spare bedrooms. You will notice, and I mentioned previously, but all the windows and doors have shutters that you open...so the house is closed up in the pictures, but it will all be open!

This is one of the upstairs bathrooms (Taylor's) But it contains the only shower (on the left...it's tiny...but they all are here!) The white towel rack looking thing is the radiator, but it's designed so you can warm your towels on it as well. And if you notice the cream button, type round thing above the toilet is how you flush it! There are huge buttons you push here...I found it very amusing!

This is the master bedroom with the doors that open out onto the balcony.

This is my bathroom upstairs. You can see part of the lovely wardrobe that is sitting in it right now! And also the bidet...those things seem quite intimidating. All the bathrooms have them here, but I've yet to attempt one.

This is the other side of my bathroom...see so much room! I've never had a bathroom this big, and I probably won't for a long, long time!!

Here is the kitchen with the lovely yellow cabinets. But they are like gold over here...any kind of cabinet is beautiful in my eyes at this point!! Our table will go where I am standing to take this picture...you will see in the picture below.

Now I'm standing in the kitchen and this is the eating area. Our living room is just off to the right. If you notice at the left, upper corner, that is the air conditioner. They have a few of them through out the house. I mentioned previously that there is no central heat/ac as we know it in the US, but they aren't' window units either. They are usually controlled by a remote. And heat is obviously through radiators.

This is standing in our front/only yard looking into the living room through our doors...and the patio out there. The kitchen/eating area is just off to the right in this picture. (Just to try to orient you)

I'm standing in the eating area of the kitchen taking the picture and this is the living room. Taylor is walking in our front door.

This is the laundry room off the basement downstairs.

This is the basement...Taylor's "MAN CAVE!!!!"

This is the storage room located in the basement...

This is the garage located right off the storage room. I'm standing at the end where the garage door opens and you can see through the doorway into the storage room as well.

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So...maybe this has made a little sense? I tried to explain it so you can get a visual image, but I know it's tough! Anyway, we're real excited and we move in on November 3rd! And more good news, we got emails today that our unaccompanied baggage has arrived. Wooo hooo that means we finally have some winter clothes here! Now we're waiting on our household goods and my car!

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Alright, we're off to watch some Friday Night Lights...well not really off because we're watching it on my computer. We have very limited resources in the hotel room over here! And we're heading to Venice in the morning (after we get the car registered and taken care of...) so hopefully morning! I'll update about that later!!

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Night!

WE HAVE A HOME!!!!

WE HAVE A HOME...WE HAVE A HOME...WE HAVE A HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!



But to start from where I left off...or at least where I think I left off. (The internet at our new hotel is so slow it took me 5 minutes just to open my blog...let alone read it to remember what I last wrote...I came straight to the "New Post" page!)



Anyway...Monday was Right Start, which is a lot of briefings from the military and as Taylor described it, "death by powerpoint". I only had to be there for the afternoon portion on Monday because they went over housing and a safety briefing for our driver's license. Nothing big went on...



Tuesday was my birthday! Taylor had Right Start in the morning and in the mean time Jenni helped me move out of our hotel on base into an Italian hotel in Aviano...Hotel Oliva. The hotel is nice, but much, much smaller. It's just a room, so no kitchen or anything, but we have a whole wall of windows with a nice balcony. After Taylor finished Right Start we finally had our drivers licenses and we went to rent a car so we wouldn't be so dependant on Mike and Jenni! They have been awesome, but it's a lot to ask to have someone tote you around for a week while you look for houses and attempt to get situated! We both took turns driving the stick shift on these crazy Italian roads...it will take a little getting used to, but it's not bad!



We attempted to go to a nicer dinner for my birthday...but both the restaurants we walked to were closed. They have a crazy schedule over here and they close for no reason...one of the restaurants we tried to go to was the same one we went to on Tuesday night LAST week...who knows why it was closed this Tuesday!!?? So we settled on the only one we passed that was open and it ended up being a Steak/Pizza House that blasted American pop music through out the restaurant. It was alright, although we're not sure how authentic it was since we were eating our prosuitto pizza listening to Rhianna and Jay-Z!!



Sadly, as I mentioned, the internet at our hotel isn't as good as it was on base and it isn't strong enough to support a Skype conversation, so I didn't get to really talk to anyone back home. But we did type back and forth on Skype, so that was good. I mean, it's not like I haven't talked to anyone...I've called home almost everyday as Taylor likes to point out!! :) But as great as everything is here, and it still is, and I still love it...it was a little sad on my birthday :( But a few tears later I'm still standing!!!



And on to great news from today!!! On Monday we were offered government housing. It pretty much means that the government/US military owns the home and they will take care of the rent and all of the utilities, but then we do not get any money put in our account for rent or utilities. If you "live off the economy" (non-government housing), you have an Italian landlord and you pay your rent to them and you pay your gas to the city gas and electric and so forth. And the military puts your housing allowance/utility allowance in your account and you pay from that.



It is generally very difficult to get government housing (aka GURP...Government Unit Rental Program) because if you qualify with dependants then your name gets put on a list and when something comes available you get called. Well somehow with Taylor's remote tour to Korea last year his name was put on the list last year so he was at the top of the list when we got here. (We don't really understand how that happened) When they offer it to you, you have the choice to accept or decline it. If you decline you can not put your name back on the list for 90 days...and you have to wait again. By 90 days you need to have a place because your Temporary Living Allowance (TLA) will run out before then! Basically, you'll be paying for a hotel out of your pocket!



So we were offered this and we agreed to look at it. You're probably thinking, as was I, government housing sounds like it's some low end cheap apartment complex with all American families living there...but surprisingly, it's not...at all! The house is located in San Quirino on a little street with about 5 other duplexes on it with both American and Italian families. The whole complex (for lack of better word...but not complex like you think in America) is not GURP housing...in fact, I don't quite understand how it works!



Anyway, Taylor and I were both shocked and very pleasantly surprised with this house (duplex)! It was built in 2005, so it is still very new. It is 3 stories (including the finished basement) 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bath, living room, kitchen, and basement. It is 1800 square feet, 2700 if you count the attached garage, storage space, and laundry room! Yes, you read that correctly, storage space!!!



You walk into the living room with doors that slide open into our fenced/hedged front yard (small) with a patio out there. The living room is open to the kitchen/eating area. The kitchen includes cabinets, (they're light yellow...but they're still cabinets!!!) a full size fridge, and a DISHWASHER!!! That's unheard of, and we wouldn't even have gotten that issued from base...we wouldn't qualify because we don't have 4 kids!!!



Moving on...There is a door to downstairs which opens into a large finished, tiled basement (Taylor's man cave...he already has big plans). The laundry room is off the basement and there is a storage room off the basement as well, probably as big or bigger than my upstairs room back home in Franklin. It is fully tiled and then there is a door from that into the garage that is also tiled!! This tile here is awesome! The garage is for 1 car, but is so deep you could almost fit two probably!



Then upstairs it is hardwood and there are 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. The master bedroom has sliding doors that open out onto a balcony that is above the patio off the living room. One of the bathrooms is bigger than one of the bedrooms (that's gonna be mine...I already claimed it!!) and the other bathroom contains the shower, but is much more size appropriate for Taylor's needs :) The smallest bedroom is going to be our closet, since the Italians don't believe in building them into the rooms! It will hold all of our wardrobes (big ugly pieces of furniture that allow you to hang clothes...like a closet would do for you!!) Although my bathroom is so big, it currently has a wardrobe in it and there is still plenty of room...I'm deciding if I should leave it or move it.



So I think that's all of it...but we are both SO SO SO excited. I know my other posts talk about how much I love San Giovanni di Polcenigo...and I sure do, and all the houses we looked at were in that region except this, but we'd be stupid not to take this offer! We have yet to see a house this nice and updated with this much space. San Quirino is about 15-20 minutes from San Giovanni. It isn't right at the base of the mountains it is out just a bit in more of a farmland area, although we're only about 3 blocks from San Quirino's town square! And our internet service should be better...we've been told it's very spotty when you get closer to the mountains...and without Skype I think I'd be one sad girl. San Quirino is also where the vineyard was that we went to on Friday...plenty of good things in town :) We've already been looking at furniture (bc we'll need an extra couch now) and grills and all kinds of things. Some may be wishful thinking, but it's fun to browse!



We also met our neighbor already! His name is Rosario and he is 83 years old. While we were looking at the house he invited us over for a glass of vino. So we sat and talked with him for awhile. He gave me red wine, many know I'm not a huge fan of red, but I couldn't turn that down, you better believe I drank the whole thing. I'll be learning to like it soon! Rosario speaks good, but a little butchered English. He used to work on a US military base, but he is a very sweet, funny old man. His wife of 50 years died 4 months ago, so it was hard when he was showing us pictures. He said he'll teach us Italian, a lesson each day :) He tried to make spaghetti for us, but we had to get back to base to sign contracts and accept the house! I love it!!!

So we signed...it's ours! We move our bags in on November 3rd and they will deliver temporary furniture the same day...bed, couch, table, etc. In the mean time we are going to try to buy Taylor a car tomorrow and the plan is to go to Venice on Friday, just for the day. We're going to scope it out and see what we can find. Hopefully go to a nice dinner (birthday dinner!!!) and then take the train back that night!

On Saturday we have a Halloween party at the Piernicks. I was sure we wouldn't be doing anything for Halloween this year so I don't even have a costume. I'm gonna be that girl who is too cool to wear a costume on Halloween...when in truth it is due to lack of prep time and I left my costume box at home! If I had known I'd have this much storage the costume box would have come to Italy...but I had to prioritize!!

Sorry this post is so long, but I knew I had to give details to satisfy my family's curiosity!! I have pictures, but I'm not fighting the battle with the internet to upload them because I'm fairly sure I'd lose. They'll have to be posted on Tuesday when we move back on to base for 1 night...yeah...annoying! Oh well...hope this uploads!! We'll see!

Ciao, ciao!

Buon Giorno!!!

I first have to recognize the fight that our VOLS put up last night against Bama and the HUGE disappointment and sadness when the final field goal was blocked AGAIN by the SAME guy; really!?!?!?! Oh, it was such a heartbreaker...I thought Taylor might actually cry. He didn't, I'll confirm, but it was appropriate to cry, no doubt. So aside from that, it was still a good game and we were happy to get to watch it over here on one of the 10 channels we get on AFN (Armed Forces Network).

Anyway, my gooooodness, I feel like I've learned so much already! Today is Sunday and this is the first day all week that we have had nothing to do...and it's quite nice. We were both exhausted and slept til about 12:30!! But previously, we went through a cultural class on Thursday for a few hours which went over all kinds of basic Italian information that is good to know. Things such as, days of the week, numbers, key phrases, regional information, maps, train info, dining information, gas station info, normal hours of operation for businesses, and all kinds of other useful bits of advice. The second half of the class was on Friday and it was a tour all day where we got to use the information they gave us on Thursday. We went all around Pordenone (essentially, our county) and we went to a bunch of different areas, to a market, a natural spring, a town square (piazza...I think), learned to ride the train, read the schedule, and buy a ticket, ate at a ristorante (a nice restaurant), and did a wine tasting at a vineyard less than 5 minutes from base. So needless to say, it was a good day full of very useful information!

We also went house hunting on Thursday and Saturday. We have looked at 6 houses so far and we'll probably look at about 3 or 4 more and then hopefully make a decision this week. The first house we saw is still our favorite so far. It is in this cool little town called San Giovanni di Polcenigo. There is a lot of pointing and deciphering that goes on, because most of the landlords don't know English. Every once in awhile you get one who knows it, and it's very helpful, but hey, we're the ones in Italy who don't know Italian! We have looked at many houses in the Polcenigo area and it is really our favorite. It is a neat little town at the base of the mountains. When I say town, it translates more into neighborhood for the US. It's bigger than a neighborhood, but they change towns like we change neighborhoods in about 3 minutes you could drive through town...and it's approximately 3500 people or so.

The houses are a whole other story as far as the differences between here and the US! It's interesting. There is no carpet, all tile and hardwood floors. No closets in any bedroom, occasionally there is a storage closet in a hallway or a basement, but not normally. There is usually a small, small shower in one of the bathrooms along with the sink, toilet, and bidet, and then usually one bathroom with a stand alone tub. We have found in all the houses we've looked at that the showers are always in the downstairs bathroom...and the tub is in the upstairs bathroom where the bedrooms are located. There is often a laundry hookup, but rarely room for a washer, let alone a washer AND dryer! There is no central heat or air, it is all radiators and individual room units for air (if the house has it). All windows have shutters that are often closed they include a glass pane that opens out, and if you're lucky screens, but screens are not normal. Built in kitchens (i.e. cabinets, stove, etc) has been about half and half...some have it and some do not. Those that have it have about 2-3 cabinets available for storage...it's very small, but there is generally room to add more furniture to the kitchen for storage space! So many differences to adjust to in the housing department, but none that are impossible! We're actually really excited about finding a house, there are lots of good options out there. Many have been renovated in the last 5-10 years, so while the building looks real old (bc it is...hundreds of years often) the inside is actually quite nice!

There is so much more I could say...but I'll just caption the pictures and be done now :)

This is Aviano! We were driving down a side road while house hunting and this is pretty much the view from base...they are so beautiful. The field is a corn field that has been cut...there is a lot of farmland in the area as well as vineyards. Outside of the mountains it is all pretty much flat land. We will hopefully be living a few miles inward towards the mountains from where this picture was taken.

This is the backyard of a house that I LOOOVED, except there was not a decent living room. You couldn't fit a couch in it, it was so small. But the area was SO SO cute and perfect. It was a block off the square in Polcenigo and you could walk to the pizzeria and to get gelato, and to the market which was right on the water...it was so gorgeous. If you look through this gate it was a little creek/river that ran behind the house and the gate had steps right down into the water.

This was the view from the behind the house, it was of the castello di Polcenigo...the Polcenigo castle that was over 400 years old up on a hill. The water was right behind the stone wall.

This is Polcenigo...not the house we were looking at...but you get the idea what it looks like.

This is the end of the market in Polcenigo. It comes on Saturday mornings and it is right on the water. This is the cheese stand.

This is from our trip on Friday. This water is coming from an underground spring. It runs through the town of Gorgazzo which is adjacent to Polcenigo. The house you see there sells fresh honey from the hives they have outside their house.

Another picture of the stream.

Here is where the spring originates...kind of like the spring by the Farm!! It's real pretty and there are MASSIVE fish in there because there is a restaurant nearby and they get fed all the time! And there were these awful angry geese that they warned us about. They squwak (sp?) at you and are mean and real intimidating. The leaders of our tour were kicking them to get them in the water and to swim away!!

Taylor and I in Gorgazzo.

This is inside one of the local churches in Pordenone. It was so beautiful.

We got to go up in the bell tower. The view was beautiful from the top. Taylor and I were so impressed with the area.

There's the bell tower...all 220 steps winding straight up! That's a long way to go for a hubby who is not fond of heights!!! :)

Here is the view from the top!

This is the vineyard in San Quirino...another town less than 5 minutes from base! The wine was good and so cheap!!!

And here is a picture of me inside the winery. I'm not sure if that is the correct term, but it's where they make the wine! We got a tasting too of 10 different wines...they are very generous with their drinks!! I think I only tasted 2, but those were both good!

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Anyway...I have been very pleasantly surprised here and I have really loved it. Most of you who know me, know that I have spent most my time in Tennessee and most of my best friends were my best friends in elementary and high school. So to leave everything I know and love was VERY VERY intimidating to me and a bit overwhelming. And not only was I leaving everyONE I know, the country changed, the language changed, and the culture changed...talk about shock! I wasn't sure how I would react to such drastic changes, so I have been very relieved so far by how much I enjoy this place. I know I just got here and Taylor hasn't started work, and we haven't moved into a house and I still have A LOT to learn and adjust to...but it's a good start!

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Taylor and I have been thoroughly impressed with our general area so far (since that's all we've seen). It seemed like everyone who learned we were moving to Italy, had traveled there at one point and they all told us how much they loved the country and how beautiful it was and how great it was going to be for us. Well, it's kind of like a movie that gets so much hype and you hear from tons of people how great and awesome it is and it gets your expectations up extremely high. Then you go see the movie practically expecting it to change your life and inevitably, you're let down. So we were kind of afraid that was going to happen when we got here...but good news, it has lived up to all expectations thus far!!!

Arrivederci!!!

Aviano, Italy Bound!!!

Alright, well the big day finally arrived! October seemed so far away for so long...and all of a sudden, whoa...IT'S HERE!! We left the day after Blake and Andrea's wedding and that was really a good thing. I had a lot going on that week and it kept me occupied and busy. I also got to see all my closest friends and say goodbye to them on Saturday night after the wedding.

On Sunday afternoon my parents took me to the airport and we said our tearful goodbyes :(. Thank goodness my friend Brianne was leaving for Canada at the same time and we planned to meet up at the airport. I passed her in the check in line on the way to security so I waited for her to keep me company while I was going through security. That was very helpful to have a distraction after having to say goodbye. So Brianne and I hung out and our friend Sarah met up with us as well (she was leaving for Michigan) before I got on the flight to Baltimore. I was so exhausted by the time I got on the plane that I fell asleep in a middle seat, sitting straight up, with my arms crossed on an hour and a half flight to Baltimore!

Taylor met me at Baggage Claim in Baltimore and we lugged our huge suitcases and overstuffed backpacks across the airport to the international terminal and recieved tickets for the military chartered rotator flight over to Europe. As Taylor said on his Facebook status, "met Katie in Baltimore and she wasn't crying...that's a good sign!" After saying goodbye, I only had a few tears on the plane with Taylor when I got out my blanket to sleep on and it smelled like home. And yes, I have my baby blanket with me. I don't sleep with it every night, but if I'm upset, it is still very comforting! My mom asked if I was taking it with me...I said..."Am I taking it with me!?!?!??!! It's going in my carry on...I'm not even taking a chance of checking it!!!"

Anyway...We waited for about an hour and a half in Baltimore before boarding our flight at midnight to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. It was a 7 hour flight to Ramstein and I slept at least 5-6 hours of the flight! They served dinner about an hour after we took off...at 2am...and then breakfast about an hour before we arrived. We had a 3 hour layover in Germany on base and then headed over to Aviano. It was less than an hour flight and we got in around 6:30pm local time. The following pictures are when we were approaching Aviano...we were about 10 minutes from landing on base...

Tired, tired Katie...showing all 18 hours of travel fatigue in that picture right there!!! Taylor was admiring the Alps we were flying over...

Here we are approaching the mountains...we believe this is Austria.

BEAUTIFUL. Click on this picture to make it bigger...it was so pretty, and this is through a plane window!!

This is now in Italy within minutes of landing. The mountains no longer have snow, they weren't nearly as tall. These are the Dolomite Mountains, a part of the Alp range.

This is about 30 seconds from landing on base. The mountains almost border base. They are very foggy right now and probably will be for quite awhile, from what I've been told.

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So that's all the pictures I have right now.

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After arriving on base we checked in the Mountain View Lodge (the Air Force Inn) on base. We have a room until the 27th, after that we'll figure something else out. We called family and got a shower and bed!!! We're still battling the jet lag and have been keeping some odd hours lately, but we're working on that!!

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On our first full day we toured around base with our sponsor, Mike. He is great and very helpful. We got cell phones set up and looked at a couple car places for Taylor to buy his car for work. We then went to dinner with the officers in his squadron and their wives. It seems like a very fun group and Taylor is really looking forward to working with everyone. He said the atmosphere in the office and among the officers is so much better than it was in Korea, which will be very nice for him, and for me, because everyone hangs out together a lot! Although from what we've heard, the job is gonna be tough!! The wives seem very nice and very helpful. Everyone is around the same age...mid-late 20's I would assume. A couple of them work at the youth center on base and told me about a possible opening coming up soon...so there is potential for a job. It would be part time, but I would be able to sub with the job as well and get acquainted with the school. It will probably be a few weeks before I start on all that, but I'll keep you updated what happens!

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We ate at a local Italian restaurant called Casabianca (or something like that). It was delicious. I had pasta carbonara...it was spaghetti noodles with cream sauce, ham, and egg yolk...it was so good! And even better was the parmesan cheese they have with the olive oil to dip your bread in before the meal! Yuuuum. One of the girls ordered us sgroppinos after dinner. It is an Italian cocktail. It was like a lemon icee with a bit of gelatto in it so it's like a smoothie with citrus vodka...it was delicious as well!! Anyway, it was a fun dinner and Taylor and I are both excited about everything coming up!

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Today we looked at some housing areas. Mike's wife, Jenny, took us around to see some of the different areas for housing. We went to their house to get an idea of what to expect. They live right at the base of the mountain and Taylor and I really liked the area a lot. The only down part is sometimes the internet isn't as great over there because it's close to the mountains...but there are other options. I just want to be able to use Skype...that's my big thing...but the area is just so gorgeous! We have an appointment tomorrow at 4pm to view a house in Cordenon, which is about 10-15 minutes from base...not far at all. The area that we are interested in is Budoia, Italy and Polcenigo, Italy...both in the mountain area. Buuut, it will all depend on what is available!! So, more on that later!

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Anyway, we are now hanging out at the hotel and we start a Right Start program tomorrow. It gets you familiar with base and gets all of your paperwork taken care of. We are going through it a bit backwards bc it's supposed to start on Monday, but we're doing the second half first...but no big deal. Tomorrow is Benvenuti Cultural Adaptation Class and Friday we go on a Benvenuti Tour and take a train and I believe we go to a vineyard and do a wine tasting!

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Anyway...I've babbled for quite some time now, so I'll let you go if you've made it this far!!! I'll update later!!

Ciao, ciao!!