On We Go....: Moving In!

WE HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE!!!!!

By far the most exciting news from the past 2 weeks is that we have found a place to live and officially move in today! Unfortunately our household goods still do not arrive for another week and a half, so we’ll be living pretty minimally with some things the army will provide, but we’re excited to be out of the hotel nonetheless! Our new place is a row house located Northeast of Vicenza in Quinto Vicentino. Last weekend we rode bikes out to our new home and explored the town a little, discovering an excellent local gelato shop and several good pizzerias and a small Saturday market. Nate is excited about the “Drunken Duck,” a local pub that receives rave reviews from patrons and boasts a broad beer selection. We are both anxious to move in and start setting up house and are in love with our three terraces and small backyard, perfect for a garden and barbequing. Pictures of the new place are below showing off the open kitchen-living room area (notice the Barbie size stove and short fridge…its like the mini version of a kitchen), the backyard and the upstairs terrace.

In other news, we have both passed our Italian driving license tests and are now legal to drive around the country. It was a great feeling of freedom to receive the small card and realize we could now easily travel on a whim beyond the confines of post. Consequently, and by the kindness of Nate’s boss who loaned us his car for the weekend, we hit the road without destination and although lost, ended up in Padova (Padua) on Saturday. More than anything we just enjoyed seeing another area, although Padova boasts a huge Saturday market and a nice pedestrian only town center, not to mention the closest IKEA store very popular by American’s just arriving and in need of additional household supplies. We will be returning to finish furnishing our houseJ

Also on Saturday, we were treated to a delicious four-course meal at a friend’s house. His good friend visiting from Turkey and once a chef in Italy, made us an amazing spread of several appetizers followed by white asparagus risotto with lamb shank, sausage and cheese pie, and finished off with tirimisu. It was a wonderful meal accompanied by excellent wine from a local vineyard and a fun way to celebrate the holiday weekend.

We are looking forward to the coming weeks of settling into our house and finally the arrival of our car and other things. Italy is definitely starting to feel more and more like home as we gain familiarity with the area and get more comfortable with the customs and language. Even the local “wine man” recognizes us when we visit. More to come as we get settled and have access to internet service….. takes awhile to get setup we hear. Hope everyone had a Happy Easter! Arrivederci!