1 month anniversary in Rome: pony rides and date nights

When we first stepped off the plane I didn't think we'd last a week, let alone a month (for reference see my earlier post about the cat carrier and exploding stove). But living in Italy is like her wonderful rosso vino - it gets better with age. In one month we accomplished much - all from God's good grace. We were able to get: permanent cell phones, Internet, Italian living documentation, a motorino, a car, and our UAB (unaccompanied baggage). The car was an answer to prayer, and will be the subject of its own entry. We took day trips to Naples, Pompeii, Capri, Sorrento, and Orvieto. The month was slammed pack.

We're now starting to get comfortable (even without our real bed or couch - they are still over the Atlantic). The other day after church we walked from Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina (the piazza where are church is) all around the heart of eternal Rome. We actually knew where we were most of the time! To the north was Piazza del Popolo, to the east was the Spanish Steps, and to the south was Piazza Venezia (more commonly known to locals as the wedding cake). We walked down around the Colosseum and took a cab home. If you don't know any of the locations I just mentioned - watch "Angels and Demons" - you'll learn. The day was great not because we did any one thing amazing; it was great because we didn't. After a wonderful church service with good christian fellowship we had a leisurely stroll around the city. Nothing earth-shattering, but it proved to us we could enjoy the city without being tourists.

A concern we had coming over here is what Kate and Reid would do while I'm at work. What a wonderful blessing that we've found great parks close by. Each one has its own niche. Villa Borghese is large and half way between our house and the historic section of the city. It's got a zoo for Reid, quaint duck pond where you can rent romantic row boats, and its littered with ancient statues and fountains. Villa Adda is great for running (although I haven't had the initiative to go running yet), and has a large kid-friendly playground for Reid. There's another park on a hill that has a great view of the city, with a cafe' right next to a playground. Finally there's Villa Gloria which has the Pony Cafe'. It's called the Pony Cafe' because it's a little cafe' right next to a corral that gives pony rides. It also has a playground right next to it. A favorite Saturday morning activity has become Kate and Andy enjoying a cappuccino in the cafe' while Reid plays and goes on a pony ride. Pretty convenient...

To celebrate our official one-month, Kate and I had our first date night (thanks to a wonderful babysitter we found). Italy's a romantic city - we did it right. First we drove around the historic section of the city in our motorino. It was Kate's maiden voyage, and she held on tight. We drove through the roman walls, past the trevi fountain, and around the Colosseum. Next we zipped over the river (I can use the word 'zipped' because we were on the motorino), passed the Angel Castle (again you have to see 'Angels and Demons'), and parked in Trastevere (a young, crowed part of town with more locals than tourists). The night was fantastic and the weather was perfect. We had dinner in this open-air, back-alley restaurant that reminded us of lady and the tramp. Musicians stopped by and played for tips. We topped off the with a gellato and a daring ride back home on the motorino.

Looking back on this month, I can see how the days may be long but the years fly by. I have no doubt that I'll be writing an entry three years from now asking myself "where did the time go?" There's just so much I want to see, and so much I want to do. As my friend Ryan said - "you can eat out every night and still not go to every good restaurant" (note that they don't have kids yet, so they can afford it). But it's true, there's a lot to see, do, and eat. But there's something to say about just enjoying life and not always being on an emotional high; finding that middle ground. The challenge will be finding contentment during the middle ground. Every day can't be date night for the parents or pony rides for Reid. When the pony rides and date nights do come, however, it's best to be thankful and enjoy them.

Orvieto

So last Saturday Andy, Reid and I packed into our friends' Nissian Micra (yes the name indicates the size) and headed north to a small city called Orvieto.  As we ascended to the medieval walled city I thought  "this looks just like Italy!"  We first toured the Duomo Cathedral which has intricate carvings portraying Genesis, Jesse's Tree, Scenes from the New Testament and the Last Judgement.  As I stood there like the typical tourist staring straight up with my mouth wide open it occurred to me that this was probably the intention. (Get people to stop what they are doing and look to heaven for a minute!)  

  Next we toured St Patrick's Well.  So cool!  There are 2 spiral staircases, lit by 72 windows that ascend and desc

end without ever touching.  And the acoustics are crazy!  Andy and Ryan could be 3 spirals away (if that makes any sense) and could hear what Kate and I whispered.

 

The last and probably my favorite part was underground Orvieto.  So apparently there are over 15oo caves that run under the city and connect with the houses above.  The Etruscans (which pre-dated even the ancient Romans...) first dug caves in search of water.  Later the city was razed by the Romans.  In the middle ages its popula

tion again grew because of its easily defensible position.  The caves were again used, but this time for different purposes.  People would live above ground and work below to avoid taxes.  They also raised pigeons in these caves which was a main source of protein for the people.  That night we ate dinner in one of the caves that they converted into a restaurant. 

 

And Reid. . . an angel all day!  He toured all around with us and did not complain once.  But really how could he . . .eating gelato three times that day kept him very happy :)  

The Best Day in Rome

So today was officially one of the best days we have had in Rome so far.  Not because we got to travel to some exotic island or witness the historic artistic monuments of Rome but because we finally are making this place more like home.  A home that we can comfortably live in over the next 3 years.  This morning "Fastweb" came and on a personal note I (kate) was able to speak enough Italian to not only confirm the appointment but get the technician water, show him where the bathroom was and help him connect us to the world wide web :)  

     Later that day Reid and I went to a play group at the embassy and yes on thursday (Reid's favorite day) it is gnocchi day at the embassy cafe.  (very yummy)  

      Then we headed home (walking) and missed the thunderstorm by literally 2 raindrops and met a man who showed us the car in which we are now buying (yeah!!!!!!).  The walking has been excellent for my figure but I am willing to sacrifice a few pounds for convenience. 

In the evening we headed over to Villa Taverna (the Ambassador's residence) for dinner.  It was one of the most amazing houses I have seen.  The gardens were fabulous, candle light, wine,  American hamburgers, (a nice touch) what a good evening!

Then to top things off I drove (yes me Kate with my pink helmet) the motorino around the neighborhood for the first time by my self.  I had a some near misses with cars (ok so they were parked) but all went well.  Hmmm. . . well .. . all went well until I got the keys stuck in the trunk lock and could not get the kick stand down.  But pretty much a success... right? 

I think I finally am appreciating Rome for what it is, and not what I thought it should be.  Piano, Piano!  

My little door man!

In our apartment we have a portiere/doorman.  He is very friendly and has helped us with everything from lending us ladders and random tools to helping me park a friend's car in our very small parking space.  But I have also been blessed with a personal doorman.  He insists on holding every door for me no matter how heavy and loves to open and close doors to our elevator.  Our elevator is something from the 1920's it is charming rustic and very small.  It has three doors that must be manually opened and closed every time you get in and out of it.  And my little doorman INSISTS on doing all three every time "All by myself".  He works very hard to close them just right and his payment? . . . . "Honey Yut Cheerios." 

Random Italy

So I am at the commissary in Naples meandering down the sporting goods aisle when I look down through a glass floor and see an ancient Roman well below me. . oh and some random pottery.  Apparently the base was built on an important Roman crossroad  and this is how they decided to preserve the relics.  But this is Italy everywhere you look there is random statues, fountains (which still bring water down the same aqueduct system they have been using for centuries) and amazing pieces of history.  It is still hard for me to grasp how old this place is! . . . until I try to use the internet :) 

The fast lane.

OK, so just a little quirk of Italian highway ingenuity I have to share.  The other day Kate and I were driving on the A-1: Italy’s version of I-95.  We came upon some road construction.  It went from three lanes to two - nothing out of the ordinary.  But instead of keeping the lanes together, they closed the middle lane and split the lanes right and left.  Ok, still nothing out of the ordinary.  Kate and I merged left.  Most cars merged right...  Up ahead the fast lane of oncoming traffic was closed also, and the cars we were following were going over a make-shift ramp, over the median, and into the closest lane of oncoming traffic.  They had closed the ‘fast lane’ of oncoming traffic, and allowed cars flowing in the opposite direction to ride past the construction.  No barriers.  No cones.  Just the Anderson family traveling at 120 km/hr in one direction and other cars traveling at 120 km/hr in the other.  If we went slower that 120 the car behind us would flash its lights.  I guess they still considered it the ‘fast lane’.

Piano, Piano

Its often said that Rome’s a great place to visit, but a frustrating place to live.  I agree.  We just have to remember that we’re not in America anymore.  To people reading this, you may be saying “duh...”.  But really, it’s harder than you think.  We’re surrounded with such beauty, art, food, wine, history, that you assume everything’s perfect.  You walk around awestruck and in a daze, head in the clouds, - until a motorino almost hits your stroller as you’re walking on the sidewalk.  The nerve of you to walk on the sidewalk and enjoy the local architecture...  Don’t you realize that it’s the motorino’s lane when he wants to get around the heavy traffic in the street to save five seconds...

Italians are proud of their history and heritage.  As such, they’ve been slow to incorporate many of the standards of living us Americans take for granted.  An example is air conditioning.  Roman apartments don’t have central HVAC units.  They think air conditioning is bad for the lungs (but smoking is ok).  Luckily, the American Embassy disagrees and installed two localized units in our apartment - one in our living room and one in our bedroom.  

Also, because they are so proud of their heritage, many of them don’t speak another language.  Once you get out of the tourist part of town it’s difficult to find anyone who speaks English.  The language barrier is often the most frustrating part of living in Italy.  I don’t find this as frustrating as some of my coworkers do, because I keep in mind two things:  first: whenever I’m trying to get my point across I turn it into a game and talk like an american-italian and wave my hands all around and speak with an accent.  it’s fun.  second: i remember I’m a guest in their country, and that most americans (including myself), don’t speak a second language fluently.  I am brushing up on my ‘restaurant italian’ - just enough to order good food.

The big challenge is getting ‘set up’.  It’s been over two weeks, and we still don’t have internet at our house.  Italians are very patient people - Americans are not.  This is the culture clash.  The other day someone from the internet company called to set up an appointment.  The problem is we didn't speak enough italian, and the woman on the phone didn't speak any English.  She got frustrated and hung up on us.  So... I've heard from others in the office this happens regularly.  They say we'll eventually get someone on the phone with enough english skill to get through the conversation and set up a technician appointment.  We have friends that speak italian.  The problem is we can't call the company to set up the appointment.  The company randomly calls us at times inconvenient and when there are no italian speakers around.  If we miss their call, they may not call back for weeks.  We're not surprised by this, as it's the average level of Italian customer service.

Getting set up is an iterative up-hill process.  The italians have a phrase for this they use often: ‘piano, piano’, which loosely translated means ‘one step at a time’.

Beauty in a word: “Capri”; Adventure in a phrase: “Scenic Mountain Pass”

Our day trip to Capri made the entire hull over the atlantic worth it.  We spent the night at the Naval Lodge at the Military Support Site in Naples, then took the ferry across the bay to Capri.  

Kate, myself, and Reid spent the day amidst the breathtaking views of the blue Mediterranean, jagged cliffs of the Island, narrow streets and busy shops, and quant piazzas with overpriced cappuccinos  The streets were lined with citrus trees, and lemons hanged from the windows.  A sign of fertility, lemons have long been a staple

 of Capri.  The area is also known for its lemon-flavored alcohol: lemonchelo.  Made of grain alcohol, lemons, and sugar: it’s barreled

 for forty days (the time of lent), and is at least 35% alcohol.  Definitely just for sipping.

The highlight of day must have been lunch, when the owner of the Ristorante took Reid into the kitchen so Reid could pick out his own fresh made pasta.  While Kate and I were enjoying a

 litre de blanco vino di casa (pitcher of the white house wine) the owner and Reid ventured down the street where Reid saw lobsters, fish, and prawns at the the seafood market.  They returned five minutes later as Reid was commenting about the ‘big claws’ of the lobster.  Kate and I were concerned, as we started another glass of wine...

On the way home our GPS stopped working, so Kate and I had to navigate the busy streets of Naples to get back to the Naval Base about 20 minutes outside of town.  With narrowly-missed accidents and a marriage still in tact, we survived the stressful drive back.

The following day we went to Pompeii and Sorento with our new friends Ryan and Kate.  The sheer magnitude of the ruins was amazing.  The key to touring Pompeii, however, is making reservations which are free but are designed to control the amount of people entering the more delicate places such as some of the private houses and buildings.  Luckily Kate researches such things and plans accordingly.  The buildings requiring reservations are much better preserved - where you can actually see much of the artwork still on the walls (some of the scenes should be rated XXX - especially in the bathhouse). 

From Pompeii we drove to Sorrento, a costal town on the bay.  We strolled on the streets and ate a leisurely dinner in a quant alleyway restaurant.  Most memorable was not the town itself, but the drive home.  Only 40 miles away from Naples, the GPS said it should only take an hour to get back to the base.  But we got stuck in Italy’s version of beach traffic.   In order to circumvent the stop-and-go, we attempted the route our tour book affectionally called the ‘scenic mountain pass.’  The issue was getting up to it.  The 70% uphill grade on streets only wide enough for one car, but with two-way traffic, was a challenge.  When a car came in the other direction, both cars had to get into the opposite ditch, and slowly drive past each other.  When one car had a cliff face to it’s side, it made it even more challenging.  The steep grade made it near impossible.  What made it hilarious was that I was driving a manual transmission rental car (I hadn't driven a stick shift in years).  Starting the car in a ditch on a 70% uphill grade with a car right behind me was nerve-racking.  I stalled and rolled down hill 15 meters, forcing the car following to quickly throw it in reverse.  From then on, the driver behind me gave me plenty of breathing room...  Eventually we made it back to the costal road with the traffic.  Not sure how much time we saved (if any), but cracking up after stalling and the nighttime view from the top of the mountain overlooking the coastline made the adventure worth it.

Moving Woes: from cat carriers to exploding stoves

No one can say that taking a family on an international move isn't stressful.  

Let's start at the beginning:  the United checkin counter at Dulles airport.  Luckily Kate and I got there 3 hours early, because it took almost 2 hours to convince the lady behind the counter to take our cat.  She didn't like our paperwork so we had to call the vet.  Our cat carrier wasn't up to code, so I had to take a knife and cut air holes in the back of the carrier (United mandates that airholes on all four sides of the carrier - our's had them on just three).   It was definitely a scene with Reid running around the airport, kate holding our cat Madison, Madison screaming for her life, and myself on all fours with a box cutter borrowed from TSA cutting airholes on the back of the now empty carrier.  In the end, Madison was allowed on the plane.

And the plane took off, but only after a three hour delay AFTER we had boarded the plane.  It increased our 7.5 hour flight to 10.5 hours.  Reid was a champ through and through.

Madison made it to the other side.  I was trying to find an ATM in order to put in a Euro to get a baggage cart when I heard this meowing.  I followed the meowing until I saw this pitiful white ball of fur curled up in the corner of her carrier.  The carrier was randomly next to an incorrect baggage claim.  There was no one around.  That's not entirely true, there were random Italians stepping over the cat carrier in order to get to their bags quicker, but just not any baggage crew.  Oh well, that's Italy, I thought.

On the way from the airport to our apartment our van got a flat tire.  The driver pulled into a local mechanic shop off the highway.  He hopped off, slipped the guy some cash, and the crew got to work.  While we were still in the car the crew jacked the van up on a lift, switched out the tire, and away we were again off to Rome.  Oh well, that's Italy, I thought.

We finally got to our new home.  It was beautiful but empty.  We needed food and sleep.  Olivia from work was a life saver and showed us the local grocery store.  We learned how to buy produce and how to check-out.  That evening, kate was boiling water for pasta when the stove top blew up.  Turns out the glass top on the stove was just ornamental - no one told us...  Luckily no one was hurt, but shattered glass was throughout the entire kitchen.  That night Reid had a healthy meal of apple juice, some grapes, and a granola bar.  Our heads hit the rental bed (flat pillows, scratchy sheets, and rock hard mattress) and we slept our first night in Italy.  Living in the world's eternal city, things can only get better.