I was driving into our town the other day and had to take a picture. It is the cutest little town and I love the view and the downtown area. I don't like actually driving through it because the road isn't very big and our car is. The other day I was driving into downtown and a SEMI TRUCK was coming up the hill. I didn't' know what to do and kind of freaked out. I started to back up the hill but then another car started coming and I didn't know what to do. So I tried to pull into this little driveway and couldn't fit so I backed up into the street. Again, SEMI TRUCK still coming at me. I backed up a little more and he was able to squeeze by. He drove by and held up his hand in like a "stop!" motion. Probably like "stupid American, please stop driving and let me pass you!" It was a little stressful.
I love the feeling of Christmas and how the room feels so cozy with the Christmas tree lit.
Quinn was wanting pictures the other night so we took several.
This little nugget is always eating and she is getting the belly to show for it.
The other night we went to a Home Depot kind of store to get a dehumidifier to help keep the mold from growing in our dining room, bedroom, bathroom closet, basement, terraces..... it is a full time to move the dehumidifiers around and dumping them when they are full. The mold situation here is super annoying. Anyway, the girls had the best time riding in the car together.
A few Sundays ago we decided to take the train to Venice since we had not been yet and it is only about 45 minutes away. The kids were so excited to ride the train but I am not a fan of public transportation and it really gives me anxiety!
Leo and Finley were fighting over food like always. I love Dave telling him to "shush".
Both of them have yogurt covered raisins and are happy for a few minutes.
When we got there we took the vaporetto (a water taxi) to St. Mark's Square. We thought we were taking the one that goes right down the Grand Canal but ended up getting on the one that goes around the outside of the city so we missed riding down the Grand Canal. The boat ride was still fun and it was neat to see the city, it is very beautiful! We got off at St. Mark's Square and just really walked through it and straight for the Hard Rock Cafe because everybody was hungry and we really wanted a hamburger!!
We ate lunch at Hard Rock and it was amazing. Free cups of ice water and hamburgers!! Leo and Finley both took naps on the bench and we enjoyed the American food. After lunch we just strolled through the streets on Venice and made our way back to the train station. Venice was amazing and didn't seem real. It was so fun to see the gondolas riding down the canals. Quinn had to keep going to the bathroom while we were in Venice and after adding it up I think we spent about 6 Euro on bathroom breaks during our short day in Venice.
Snowflake our reindeer from Elf-Wheat had to come along for the day. I don't know how many times we put that thing in and out of the backpack!
Even in the freezing cold our kids had to have gelato! Leo was in the carrier until right before we got ice cream and then we put his coat on right after so he wasn't cold for very long! The views in Venice are the best, I loved it!
St. Mark's Square, it seemed not that great to me with all the pigeons and people trying to sell things but I was hungry and cold so maybe when we go back and it is warmer I will appreciate it a little more!
Eating at the Hard Rock Cafe.
We had a great day in Venice and I can't believe we have not been before. I think we will be heading back to Venice many more times and next time maybe we will check out some sights! We ended up missing the train by about 3 minutes so we just paid a couple more Euro to use the bathroom, bought a few drinks and some candy and then caught the next train back.
This may not seem like a big deal to some but the garbage situation in Italy is pretty bad. We have to separate our garbage into 5 different containers (3 at our house and 2 we have to walk down the street into community bins). Well the yellow bin is our "waste not recyclable". We had a really tiny can and with the number of diapers we have in our house it was full in no time. Then if you have more than what goes in the can they won't take it! It was super stressful because what are we supposed to do with our garbage?! So we talked to our landlord and he came back to the house with this beauty!! Dave and I were both so giddy with excitement because this thing is HUGE!! It was a great day.
Along with the garbage and mold situation, the heating situation is also pretty stressful. We have radiators that don't really heat up the house very well and then they use a lot of gas which is super expensive so the house is pretty much always cold. We have started using these portable heaters to help heat up the rooms we are in and just realized the other day that our A/C units actually do heat as well so that is helping! Well, Sammy is pretty high maintenance so he likes to hang out in front of them all the time.
We had a family move night and watched the Polar Express, there were a few moments that were a little too intense for Leo. We had a fun time watching the movie and getting into the Christmas spirit.
Venice is good, life is good!
