Stephanie Howell

Guys- I apologize in advance. This one is L O N G. I started working on it yesterday and just finished it tonight. But I really wanted to share these stories and photos.

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On Saturday we decided that we needed to get out of the hotel room.

We didn’t plan well and ended up in the car, ready to go…at nap time. And no one had eaten. Oh…we also didn’t know where we were going. Way to go Team Howell!

I grabbed this book (that I carry with me) and decided we were going to Verona.

It’s amazing that we now live in a place that we can decide at the last moment to take a quick jaunt to a place like Verona.

Keeping it real moment: My children are having a tough time learning how to behave here. In America…I could take them ANYWHERE. And yes, there were meltdown moments, but not like we’ve had since we’ve been here.

We are still adjusting. And adjusting means not giving up. We talk to them regularly about what is appropriate. Yelling during riposo is NOT appropriate. Running around in restaurants is NOT appropriate. It never has been. Not sure why it’s happening here. We are the type of parents that leave if our children are misbehaving. We don’t think it’s cute. Or funny. And it absolutely stinks to have to leave places in Italy. Sigh.

I’m sure they can feel my stress over their behavior. Also, this is a BIG change for everyone. But we are working through it, and it’s getting better every single day. I am working on patience and just breathing. We did just move to another country, after all.

Side note over. Moving on. 

Everyone behaved and had a really good time in Verona. 🙂

This is the door of a monastery that was built in the 8th century. Yes. EIGHTH. I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around this.

To start things off in Verona we got super touristy (why the heck not?) and visited Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s house).

Y’all I’m a sucker for Romeo and Juliet. Sigh. Each time I just HOPE the ending will be different, even though I know it won’t.

And even though I know the account is fictional, I still got swept up in the romance of visiting “Juliet’s house”.

This is the street outside the casa.

And as you enter the tunnel to the courtyard, the walls are covered in scrawled love letters and grafitti.

When  you enter the courtyard you can see Juliet’s balcony to the right:

and straight ahead you can see the wall of locks and letters to Juliet.

in the garden is a statue of Juliet. Everyone rubs her right breast for good luck. It’s a totally different color from her other breast.

HA!

after getting frisky with Juliet we headed down the street for gelato. Jimmy and I shared una pallina (one scoop) of mascarpone con fragola (mascarpone with strawberries). AMAZING.

Next we wandered to Piazza delle Erbe where we walked through the market and (in a truly magical Italy moment) the girls ran into a fountain. It was pure joy, I tell you.

A “not so magical but inappropriately hilarious” moment? Sadie finding an apron in the market. It had an anatomically correct rendering of David on the front. Including larger than life um….male genitalia?

Those saucy Italians. You should have seen Harper and Sadie’s faces. And Jimmy’s face. I had to turn around because I was laughing so hard I was sobbing.

Allora.

Another thing we saw was this whale bone. Legend has it that the bone will fall if anyone who has never told a lie walks under it.

I was not concerned.

Harper was terrified.

Sadie? Was downright excited and not at all nervous.

Both girls were terrified for Cate and Lucy’s lives as they don’t really talk and therefore have not lied.

I said that I bet they’ve told some doozies in twinner talk. HA!

One thing we really enjoyed in Verona were the street performers.

This dude was dressed like a baby with a man face. I can’t really explain it but you can tell from my obnoxiously loud laughter that I thought it was hilarious.

Sidenote:Yes, I know Lucy is too old for a binkie. I’m totally defensive lady with her binkie. It drives me nuts. But I am proud to tell you that as of yesterday, it is in her bed all day and not in her mouth. BABY STEPS.

I kind of die when she says “NO YIKE IT” at the man baby at the end of the video. TEEHEE.

 

IMG 0582 from stephanie howell on Vimeo.

Y’all. I laugh so hard every time I watch that. I can’t help it.

The last thing we saw before we headed home was the Arina di Verona.

It took my breath away.

I got goosebumps as soon as we walked in. It was built in AD 30. I really can’t put into words the way my heart feels when I experience things like this.

The panoramic feature is pretty cool on my iPhone until it morphs people in the front of the photo and gets all freaky deaky.

But still…

As we drove away I snapped this photo.

Romeo and Juliet is being performed in the arena on my birthday at the end of this month.

I think a date night is in order, no?

I hope y’all are having a beautiful and blessed Monday.

Ciao Ciao (Bye Bye- the Howell girls favorite goodbye!)

S

This past weekend we packed up the car and headed out on a day trip to Sirmione. It is a little resort town on Lake Garda and it could not have possibly been more beautiful.

Here’s a map of where Sirmione is located. It was about an hour drive from where we live:

This castle protected Verona from their rivals in Milan.

You can climb a zillion tiny and steep stairs to the top of the castle. My knees were totally knocking but the view is spectacular:

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Seriously. Have you ever seen LAKE waters that look like this?

After we toured the castle we headed into town. The streets are winding and the buildings, homes, and businesses are quaint and beautiful.

As we walked down the streets, we could peek into the restaurants and hotels. Look how beautiful!

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We dipped our toes into the lake:

and then went to find lunch. The streets are narrow and cobbled and there are nuns wandering everywhere. It’s like something out of a story book.

We had lunch at a little restaurant/gelateria.


another shot of the lake:

Everything is stunningly beautiful here. Even the walls.

This was a tiny, unassuming church that we stumbled upon (that’s where the nuns had been headed).

We stepped inside and were completely blown away!

So that’s it. A little tour of Sirmione. Jimmy and I have decided to come back after tourist season is over, and without the kiddos.

This town begs for RELAXING. Coffee, wine, wandering the streets slowly and lounging by the water. We can’t wait to experience it again…just the two of us this time. 🙂

Happy Tuesday, beautiful friends.

ciao ciao!

s

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