Santa?

So we waited in line for what seemed like hours to see Santa, only to have Thomas get antsy and Bret call the whole thing off. Was pointless to continue the wait as we discovered Santa's elves weren't taking the pictures! Apparently we were responsible for that, and, of course, we didn't have the camera. I swear those posters should have said "bring your own camera"! What kind of elves don't take pictures that they'd charge you $15 per 3x5 shot anyway?

So, we saw the next best thing - Santa Dog!

Trecastagni Christmas Fair

Pictures of decorations around the town piazza.

Our town has been having a Christmas Fair for several weeks and tonight was the last night! We went one last time to have waffles from one of the stands. The lady that runs the stand speaks English - bonus! Thomas loves the waffle con frutti di bosco ("fruits of the forest", which are really mixed berries - tiny blackberries, raspberries, and currents). Italians love the frutti di bosco here, and you'll see flavored waters and all sorts of things made with the mixture.

A picture of Thomas and Bret enjoying their waffle!

Going to see Santa!

Thomas is showing an interest in Christmas! He keeps picking up the presents under the tree, putting his finger to his mouth and going "hmmm". He's wishing very hard for something - Max and Ruby, I bet. Bret said he attempted to open one the other day. He's a sneaky bugger, and we really have to keep an eye on him.

We are going to take him to visit Santa tomorrow, so we'll be sure to take pictures and post them. I am wondering if he'll be interested or terrified of the hairy man in a red suit...to be continued.

Thomas helps decorate the tree

He added some ornaments that his Grandma Gardner gave him.

Busy Week

We've all had a busy week! Grammy Gray is visiting, and Thomas has been loving all the attention. On Thursday we went to an agriturismo in Gialle. Agriturismi are farms (usually organic) that offer tours, cooking classes, and meals to help educate people about specific types of farming and production methods. At this one we got to look at the crops (not very exciting, if you ask me - but that part was brief), then we made zucca giallo (Italian pumpking) lasagna. Then we were provided an entire million course lunch. The food was good - all local including the meats. We ate a Sicilian hamburger specialty - polpette. They look like small meatloaves and are grilled between two lemon leaves. I thought they were good, although too undercooked for my taste. We also had some fabulous chocolate and vanilla cannoli at the end of the meal.

The trip was quite exciting! We followed the bus, and the bus driver managed to crash it into a wall right in front of us! Luckily, it was minor, but the front door wouldn't open and some passengers jumped out the emergency exit once we reached our destination - pretty funny.

We also ran the Turkey Trot on the base and won a 12 lb turkey for our Thanksgiving meal! Pretty exciting.

Tomorrow we are going to Taormina (again - Bret's favorite place) for a visit provided the weather cooperates! The wind is horrendous. It was blowing us sideways during our run today...LOL!

Attempting to locate a picture of those Sicilian burgers. Will post when I can find one.

Ciao for now!

Lots of happenings...

It's been difficult updating the blog lately. Our internet access crapped out about a week and a half ago and was out for 10 days. The modem Telecom provided was old and we couldn't use more than one computer at a time. Telecom was going to update the modem, but in the meantime blocked our access?!?!?! Luckily, we have a very savvy bilingual tech who sorted everything out. We are online now whenever we have power.

Yes, you heard correctly. Power. It's an issue. We had heard that power surges were rampant in summer due to increased draw from a/c units, but we had no idea that using more than one appliance at a time and/or a clock radio and a hair dryer would trip our fuse box and shut down power to the ENTIRE house! It happened five times the other day!!! Thomas and I came home from the base to find that the crock pot wasn't cooking and the fridge had been off for three hours - yuck. We are supposedly on the highest plan but our house can't handle the power. We have taken to turning off all the power strips and unplugging anything we aren't using. It's very annoying. I guess Italians don't have more than one tv or something?!?!

We also had some furniture mishaps from the move and have been unsuccessful at finding a repairman/shop. Consequently, we bought new sofas for the living room only to have the furniture delivery guy look at the old sofa and say that he could fix it! So now we have five sofas! This house is big, but five sofas is insane for only three people.

Thomas is becoming such a big boy. He starts preschool in two weeks for three days per week (maybe more if I can part with him). He'll go for half days. I think he'll like it. He seems to enjoy playing with other kids.

Will update and post more pictures when time! Our roses are blooming like crazy. I have cut fresh bouquets twice already this week. Volcanic soil seems to be good for the plants and crops here.

Scrivera presto!
Ciao per ora

Teatro Greco

Thomas is very proud that he climbed to the top of this rock!
The Greek Theatre. Etna is thru this view just behind the clouds!

We visited Taormina again today and went to the Greek Theater! It was an unusually clear day, so we got some great pictures.

The House

Here are a few pictures of the house - exterior, kitchen and dining room.

Thomas in his playroom! As you can see, he likes it. We also like not having toys all over the house.

We have internet!

Holy cow that took long enough. We finally have internet at the house, which means our digital phone should be up and running soon. We do have an Italian phone number, but I wouldn't suggest calling it without a calling card or phone plan for Europe. It's apparently very expensive to call here. Going to start adding pictures and updating this blog!

Update!

Finally, we are moving to the new house on Tuesday! All of our household goods have arrived in Sicily and will be delivered then. Supposedly the van is not too far behind, although I am terrified to drive it on the narrow streets. It will certainly be more comfortable for Thomas, who has had to bear the uncomfortable Sit N' Stroll for the past month as well as a car without a DVD player...LOL - what a life!

For anyone planning to visit, we are at Via S. Agata 31b, Trecastagni, Sicily. A nice town with a decent shopping mall - yay for me!

Thomas playing at the park on base

Disgustoso!

Wish I had taken a picture but didn't have my camera. Thomas and I were in the European SuperTarget (otherwise known as Carrefour) and standing in line to check out. The line was so long that we were waiting in one of the aisles. The display at the end of the aisle caught my attention - a bunch of babyfood in packages of four in little jars. Seemed harmless until I saw the package labeled "Cavallo" or HORSE! Holy cow, Batman. Horse. Additionally, there were packages of salmon baby food, trout, grouper, etc. Totally gross! Apparently the Italians don't know about Mercury in fish?!!?!? Enough said...I am starting to lose my appetite.

Another picture of our Sicilian Home

A better shot of the house in Trecastagni. Granted, it's through the windshield of the rental, nevertheless, a better picture than the previous. Can't wait to get there!

Thomas enjoys gelato!

He's eating strawberry here, but he also loves the banana!

Our Sicilian Home

This is a terrible picture, but we found a beautiful house in the town of Trecastagni, an area of Catania that is on the way up Mt. Etna. The house has lots of windows and french doors and a beautiful view of the Mediterranean. It's overlooking a large cliff and a small beach community below (I think it's called Aci Reale?!?!). The landlord has rented to previous agents, and it perfectly suits our needs - it actually has a bathtub, which was one of my requirements, and a walk-in closet - virtually impossible to find here. It's three stories, three bedrooms, and 2 1/2 baths. Slightly larger than our home in NC with a terrace all the way around. I'll post better pictures when we move in September 8!

1st Sicilian Day Trip - Taormina

Our friend Roni navigated us up to Taormina today. Taormina is a beautiful seaside vacation town on a cliff overlooking the mediterranean. It's about an hour north east of Motta and only 30 minutes south of the ferry to the mainland in Messina. Apparently a hot spot at one time for the rich and famous! The drive up was a bit stomach wrenching, but it was well worth it. Here are only a few of the fabulous pictures we took!

Our first Geep sighting...

We had heard about these flock of geep (cross between a goat and a sheep) that just randomly cross the road. Sure enough, our second day here, a flock decided to cross in front of us!

The Magnolia Club Residence

Thomas plays in the courtyard of our temp lodging!

Buongiorno a Italia!

We have arrived in Italy! It was a long trip but no complaints. No airline delays, and despite having checked six pieces of luggage, all arrived when we did (something of an anomaly here). We were very tired - Thomas slept all of five hours the entire 24-hour trip - but are finally feeling normal again. Our sponsor and his wife took us out for pizza and gelato our first night here and then showed us around the area yesterday. Of course, we also checked out the mall (luckily, it's very close). Besides the usual clothing and shoe stores, it also had something like a Super Walmart.

The food is phenomenal, but I am embarrassed to admit that we ate at Applebee's on base yesterday for lunch during our tour. It's unlike any Applebee's in the states. It's huge! One portion is for dining, and there is an entirely separate area as a bar. Craziness. The food was so-so. Some things really aren't too different here.

The weather is nice. Yesterday was hot like NC, but today it is a pleasant 80 degrees with a nice breeze. Our hotel is apparently the happening spot since it has a large pool. All the citizens of Motta have been spending their days there. This month is vacation for the Italians, so it's pretty crowded. We expect to mostly use the pool on base since it has waterslides and a special kiddy pool for little ones.

So far, so good. We are up and running with Skype phone but no phone number just yet. Our Vonage number will be operational at some point, but we haven't figured it out just yet.

Hope everyone is doing well. Miss you and see you soon!

Too long since last post...

I had really intended to maintain this more but realized today, I am WAY behind. Thomas is 16 months old, walking, talking and generally getting into everything. He is pretty excited to move to Italy where he will attend real Montessori (hopefully) instead of the American Montessori we were going to enroll him in in NC this fall.

He is very much enjoying his friends at playgroup, which he has been attending since 8 months old! There are a few new members that he likes to initiate by hitting them. Boys will be boys!

Soon we will be starting Mommy & Me class gymnastics. That ought to be interesting! Will give us a good way to kill time prior to the move. I am also looking into a weekly Zumba class and drinks afterward with my friends. That promises to be a great time!

This week Thomas is enjoying being at the beach and swimming and playing with his cousins. It'll be back to business at our house next week with no grammy to entertain him:(