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!!!