BURN NOTICE

OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW:
We have a new addition to our family! His name is Vader! (As in Darth Vader) He's an all black Mini- Countryman, and he's perfect for these small Italian roads. (I am talking about a car here, not a small man that lives in the country)
We've also had to say goodbye to my old car. Last October, I got a text from Nick that read, "I just totaled your car." After staring at the text for about 30 seconds wondering if somehow I had read it wrong, I texted back, "....What?!"
After about 10 painstakingly-long minutes, Nick called and explained the story. When entering or exiting the town square just outside of our apartment building, there are circular blockades that pop-up to block people from driving into or exiting the square when there's a market. Due to several days of rain, the electronic blockades malfunctioned and popped up while Nick was driving over them. Nick was totally unharmed, but my car's engine was not. The body of the car still looks completely intact, but the engine is totally shot. My car's now sitting at a body shop, and we're waiting to hear back from the city of Sacile to find out our next move.
 I told Nick that if he really didn't like my car he could have just told me; He didn't have to run it into a pole! Haha! Teasing, of course! :)

LEARNING TO READ:
When you're in a new country, it's almost guaranteed that you will get lost at some point, or as Nick calls them, "adventures." Nick and I have had a few interesting "adventures," since we've moved here.
Our first adventure was coming back home on the train from Venice. We had a fabulous time visiting with some of Nick's family, and we were headed back on the last train leaving at 11pm. About 40 minutes into the trip we passed over a bridge that neither Nick or I recognized. We quickly found the conductor, and asked if the train we were on was going to Sacile. He said, "No." He instructed us to get off the train and find a hotel until the morning because all of the other trains had stopped for the night. By 1am we walked into a hotel and told the concierge that we only needed a room until 5am. We tried to explain the story, but he didn't speak much English and he was very skeptical of a couple walking in at 1am and only needing a room for a few hours. Haha! How do you say, "No, I'm not a prostitute." in Italian?
Our second adventure was on our way to London, when we took the train to Marco Polo airport from Sacile. We had an effortless trip! When we got to the airport, we realized we were at the wrong airport. Our only option at that point was to get a taxi to the right airport, which ended up costing us 100 Euro. Chalked that one up to experience! Needless to say, we are now very careful about reading our iteneraries and train schedules!

THE GLASS IS HALF FULL:
When moving to Italy, many American's expect the comfort of American things. For instance, we assume when staying at a hotel that you will have your own bathroom and at least a queen size bed. That is certainly not the case here! Many times you will share a bathroom with the guests staying on the same floor as you, and you will likely have 2 single beds in your room. I think it's okay to notice the differences in our countries, but to not be disappointed by the differences. If we were all the same it would be pretty boring! I like to look at things with the glass half full.
A few differences that I've noticed are that things here are very old, and as a result the streets are narrower, ceilings are typically much lower, and there are stairs everywhere... So now, we will get to know people better because we're closer, we'll be in better shape because there are so many stairs, we will be more aware of where we're walking because ceilings are lower. (Hopefully! Haha!)

FOOD:
There are a few foods that I just can't get enough of:
1. Pizza (any and all of it)
2. Pumpkin Gnocchi
3. Pear Pasta
4. Gelato (yum!)
5. Coffee

And since our trip to France, I definitely miss French food...but, my body doesn't. :) And the only thing I've missed from the states is spicy food, but I've found ways around that. :)

BURN:
Nick finally received his official call sign! He's name has been changed from his temporary name, 2 cats, to BURN! I'd love to give you more info, but he'll have to tell you in person. Some people still insist on calling him "2 cats."
Nick's been having fun with his new call sign. When he's sent out emails he concludes with BURN NOTICE. :)