1. If you want water without bubbles you have to order “naturale”. Otherwise it comes carbonated and Cate and Lucy take sips and make noises like they are cats with hairballs.
2. Right now we have six litres of wine and four wedges of cheese in our refrigerator.
3. You can get a half portion of almost any meal here.
4.There is a wine “gas station” here. On one wall there are a bunch of types of wine on tap. On the other, there are huge containers of wine. You dispense the wine with gas pumps. The wine is amazing and unbelievably cheap. I bought four litres of wine (including the containers) for 11 euro.
5. Some of the toilets here are holes in the ground. With places to put your feet on either side of the hole. I’ll let you imagine how fun that was to figure out.
6.This past weekend we drove to Asiago. Once we got there, we had trouble finding somewhere to buy cheese. I can’t even make this stuff up.
7. The word I hear most here is “allora”. The Italians use this word for “well” “let’s see” “but” “um” “and” ….okay. It means everything and nothing at the same time. Every single conversation here is peppered with 2938402834082 alloras.
8. Italians don’t do breakfast like we do. Breakfast might be a coffee and a light pastry. No eggs or meat. I honestly miss big American breakfasts.
9. Children here stay up MUCH later. It’s not unusual to see children out to dinner at 9 or later.
10. Italians LOVE children. They are constantly stopping my girls, grabbing them, pinching their cheeks. The first time this happened to Cate it scared the BEJEEBUS out of her. Children do not get grabbed in America. HAHAHA!
11. Men here dress very differently. Many wear purses and there are a lot of colored skinny jeans. I love people watching.
12.You can find places like this everywhere here. I’m obsessed.
13. We have to protect our cars from break ins. We take our GPS and iPhone cords out and never leave gas vouchers or euro in sight.
14. I have not heard one person say “Arrivederci” here. It’s ciao for hello and goodbye.
15. The words I most love saying (I like the way they feel in my mouth) are “Grazie Mille”. Thank you very much.
16. The other day we ate at a biergarten where there is a play area with paid attendants. We got to enjoy a meal with adult conversation! GENIUS.
17. I had heard from multiple sources that the Italians do not smile at Americans here. It’s simply not true if you ask me. I think it’s because they all love children and I have plenty of those.
18. I had my first entirely-in-Italian conversation with an elderly Italian woman on the street and I was THRILLED. She asked me the ages of my girls and I told her. She then told me “Brava” and blew me a kiss. <3
19. There are gelaterias here every other storefront. It’s insane. I have tried fragola (strawberry), cioccolato (chocolate), nutella, limone (lemon), fior di latte (flower of milk), and pistacchio. All equally excellent. Not even kidding.
20. I’m loving immersing myself in the Italian language and trying to speak and learn as much as possible. The problem is…many locals try to make it easier and speak English to me!
21. I’ve had some comments asking what the hard parts of living in Italy are. And that right now it just all seems glamourous. Truth is, I will probably never be the girl that complains about living in Italy. If I read a blog like that? I’d want to punch that person in the throat!
22. Our apartment was built in 1775. Seriously? Amazing. My new home was built before America was established. Holy cow.
23. I am fortunate in that I have the best of Italy and all of my American comforts at my fingertips. We have a commissary (grocery store) and PX (basically like a walmart) on post where we can access all of our comfort foods and products. Harper and Sadie will also attend DOD (Dept of Defense) American School on post.
24. Cate and Lucy will attend an asilo (Italian preschool). My hope is that they will be fluent soon.
25. I find it insane that I now live in a country where I routinely take (iPhone!) photos that look like postcards. That’s how beautiful it is. Everywhere. Exhibit A: Bassano Del Grappa.
Love you all! xoxo
S
