We have arrived!

A lot has happened since the last post.

My visa came in late, along with a myriad of other important details, so we didn't fly out until the 7th.  Originally, we were supposed to be in Frankfurt on the 2nd for a layover.  That was the day that two Air Force soldiers were shot and killed in the airport.  Praise God for his protection! 

Our flight over was good.  They had a lot of movies, so between those, a bit of sleep and reading, the trip went by faster than I expected.  I couldn't/didn't want to sleep because of all my excitement.  I couldn't believe we were actually on the plane, leaving American soil for 2 years.  Not just visiting another country but living there.  We flew over the Alps and they are amazing!


Quoting Annie, I think I'm gonna like it here. You know you want to start singing it right now, too.  Go ahead. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nM_-CFRBS8

We are staying at a hotel in Desenzano del Garda until we find a house.  The hotel is fine, but I am already ready to have our own place that we can start setting up.  I don't know if we will stay in this city or in one of the surrounding towns.  A lot of it will depend on availability. 

The guy that picked us up from the airport showed us around town after we arrived, partly to keep us from falling asleep too soon.  (I happen to be typing this at 4:30 in the morning due to jet lag, anyways.)  He told us that we would see lots of women going out to eat because it was Woman's Day.  It turns out that it's an international holiday, but only a few countries actually celebrate it, Italy being one of them.  Indeed, we saw pairs of elderly women dressed in very classy attire and groups of younger women and their daughters out and about everywhere.  Desenzano's carnivale had ended a day or two ago, so there was confetti all over the streets, especially in the center of town.  There were also a few kids that were dressed up in costumes. 

I loved walking around the city.  I love the old architecture, the narrow cobblestone roads, the lake, etc.    Earlier today (which is tecnically yesterday) I spent about 3 hours walking around the city by myself while Brett was at work.  Other than realizing that I need better walking shoes, it was great.  I realized that I really do want to get a bike.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to, after hearing horror stories about Italian drivers.  However, I saw several people in their 70s and 80s riding around town.  I figure if they can do it, then so can I, although I will get a helmet to start off with.  I still have this picture of a car mowing me down or my bike hitting a bump and then flying up in the air without me.  I really want it more for riding around in the rural outskirts of the city anyway. 


Desenzano has several hills in the city.  After huffing and puffing up the steepest hill I found, I turned the corner and saw an elderly woman walking up another hill beside a bicycle with groceries in the front cart between the handlebars.  Looking back, I think she may have been using it for support.  Either way, she was going steadily up that hill.  I was in awe.  I hope I can do that when I'm her age.  Yet another reason to get out just to walk around or ride a bike.

Italy has a riposo, which is their version of the "siesta".  I thought it started at noon, so I made sure to get to the nearby market at 11.  However, they were already closed.  So, I figured I would just explore a bit.  I went to the city's castle.  It seems every city or village has at least one.  They are only open on Saturdays (if I read the sign correctly).  They were also doing contruction/renovation on it.  There is a lot of construction going on around the city.  Cranes and scaffolding of some sort can be seen on nearly every block in the main part of the town.  I discovered that a lot of places that I thought were small castles are actually just people's houses.  It was strange to see midieval turrets with atennas on top of them.

While I was out, I was encouraged by the language.  I've been studying Italian ever since we received the official orders in January.  There is still A LOT that I don't know or that is not sticking yet, but I am at least able to communicate with people on a very basic level.  I was able to speak with the hotel's receptionist (who still would mostly just talk to me in English), the cashier at the cafe where I had lunch, and a lady outside of the market.  She just assumed that I could speak Italian and started talking to me.  I got that she was telling me the market was closed and then asked me where some other place was and I was able to say I don't know.  So, it's not a lot, but I am still happy with it.  I look forward to continuing to be out in the city and practicing the language daily. 

Funny story to end with:
While we were still in the States, we visited Brett's Meemaw at her retirement village.  She introduced us to her friends, which included a gentleman in his 80s.  While I was talking with the women, he motioned for Brett to come over to him.  He said that he was in Rome sometime around World War II (not sure exactly when).  He said that his buddies and he went to the Colloseum and peed on the 7th pillar to left and that Brett has to do that whenever we visit.  Brett said he almost lost it.  The ladies nearby were giving them weird looks.  Men don't change, no matter what age, and I can totally picture Brett, twenty years from now, telling the next generation to pee on ancient artifacts while traveling.