Month: February 2014

In February I decided to go have the top half of my hair dyed blonde and chop it all off. This was my first time venturing out to an Italian hair dresser (I had used an Italian on base once and it was not a good experience. I used another American spouse once and it was the best haircut I ever had). It was a very nice brother and sister who have a hair shop here in Creazzo and came highly recommended. I have never had my hair professionally colored so I did not really know what to expect but I did think she would show me color samples to choose, especially with the language barrier. She did not however. She chose the color for me and it is very…orangey. He cut it and pretty much refused to put layers in it. I went back the next day and asked for more layers and he made a few tiny snips. Sooo…not my favorite hair ever. But I paid money for it so I’m gonna wear it for awhile and see if it grows on me.

We love going for bike rides. Typically this is how I bring Jonah to school. Sometimes he bikes, but it has been a little cold so they like to snuggle in. We get a lot of stares. Italians don’t use these things and they love to stop and ask me about where I got it.

Nick being silly at work with his bike leggings and  his suit. That’s just how they roll over at AFN.

While I was gone on my girls trip to France, Declan became obsessed with the oven mitt. And took it everywhere with him. This is the little park outside our building. The kids love playing there.

This is the trail that pretty much goes from our house to Jonah’s school. With a view of the Romeo and Juliet castle the whole way. Just lovely.

We went to the little arcade in the mall and they had a mini bowling alley.

Nick and I celebrated our anniversary at a local restaurant we’d been wanting to try.

This is my favorite vegetable ever. It is gorgeous and delicious. It’s called broccoli romano. But it’s more like a cauliflower.

Jonah dressed up as a ghost for Carnevale. He also dressed up on Halloween but upon arriving at school and seeing no one dressed up he took off his costume. So he was excited that there was a holiday that the other kids would dress up at school for.

The parents and teachers at Jonah’s school put on a really funny snow white play for the kids. It was pretty entertaining.

I had the awesome opportunity of taking a GIRLS TRIP! We went to Nice, France where we ran the 10 miles du Carneval, Rock n Roll run Nice. (Note, this is the furthest I have ever run and I have been training for it for several months!)

From left to right in our finish line photo: Beth, Vanessa, Me, German girl that I ran with for the last few miles and then she hung out with me while I waited for my friends to finish, Shuntelle. And Renee is taking the photo. Beth lives in Creazzo with me and has been my running buddy for several months now. She introduced me to these lovely ladies and invited me to come run this race with them.

We came across a lovely food market upon arrival. All the food at these markets is so perfect it looks fake.

 

These strawberries were adorned by adorable tiny snails.

Marscapone treats in all shapes and colors. Not my favorite taste but the look lovely.

Because we were there during carneval we got to enjoy the festivities including an AMAZING parade with the most incredible floats I have ever seen. We watched it in the morning and then again at night. We caught different floats both times and the floats were even cooler lit up at night.

I love this little dragon made of greenery! He jumped and frolicked so cutely.

There were some crazies in the crowd that kept us entertained.

This guy was shooting silly string all over everyone with a leaf blower. So much fun! There was confetti everywhere. Everyone was throwing confetti. Seriously, this was the best parade EVER.

We think this was the “american” float. Sadly. A lot of the floats were political or satire.

There’s Renee! Front and center. She keeps things lively. Beth and Vanessa and I flew here while Renee and Shuntelle drove. It’s about a 4 hour drive.

After our run we decided to try a local specialty, la socca. It is a savory pancake like thing.

The view from the hill looking over the bay that we ran around. We also had to run up the hill at the end of the race. Which I was unaware of before hand. I was quite angry when I saw where the route was going especially because it was towards the end of the run, but I survived.

Before leaving we took the bus over to Monte Carlo. They were having a little Chinese market where this adorable little woman was cutting these incredible designs using these tiny scissors. She cut so fast. She used a template but I am still amazed she stayed on the lines with how fast she was cutting. She even let us try doing one…it was hard!

We popped our head into the casino. It’s pretty fancy! Someday when we all make it big we will come back and just hang out in there, haha.

These girls were so much fun to spend the weekend with! I need more girls weekends! Thanks ladies! And thank you Beth for inspiring me to run.

We had some fun drama trying to fly out. Beth and I had bought some WWII shells that were made into vases and we only had carry ons. They said we couldn’t bring them in a carry on. But not for the reason you would think (that they were shells and might have gun powder or something in there still) they said we couldn’t have them because we could hit someone with them. Which I thought was ridiculous and I told them so…you could hit someone with your purse for heavens sake. But Beth and Vanessa herded me over to the counter so that we could check a bag to put our vases in. They did not like me arguing about a bomb shell in an airport. Too funny.

I’ve been wanting to do this bike ride for awhile, it’s a more local way to see parts of Venice. SO because we are almost out of time we have been trying do some of local things we have not done yet. We drove to Chioggia where we took a ferry to the island of Pellestrina, rode our bikes along it and then took a ferry to the island of Lido and rode our bikes along it as well. It was actually much easier than I thought it would be, I was wishing we had done it sooner. It was an all day excursion so we were exhausted by the end of the day, but it was a good day.

 

 

 

We made it to the beach on Lido island and hung out for a little bit. It was a cold day, so no swimming. But still a nice day on the beach.

The route of where to go was not always completely clear, but the island only take about 10 seconds to get across so you can’t go too wrong. They are LONG and skinny.

 

 

 

 

Declan managed to get a nap in, even in his bike seat. It’s amazing the positions these kids can sleep in!

 

 

 

On our way back we ended up smack dab in the middle of this tiny village’s carnevale parade. It was adorable. I think the whole (tiny) town was out for it. All the kids were in the parade. It was a really local event that we were lucky enough to stumble on.

I loved the small town feel of these islands. Nothing like Venice, and yet they are just across the lagoon.

 

 

 

 

See all the old men out for a stroll together? I love that they do that!

All day excursions are always tough with little ones that need good naps. By the end of the day they become a but grumpy. Thankfully Italians are super nice about this, they love kids.

 

 

When we got back to chioggia there were carnevale celebrations going on. See all the confetti everywhere? It’s like a carnival with the rides and everything but everyone dresses up and throws confetti at each other. SO much fun! Sadly we were too exhausted to join the festivities. We actually ran into Jonah’s teacher, Maestra Lisa at the carnival. It is a weird feeling to bump into a local friend in another country.

There is something about sunset and evening in Italy that is simply stunning. Love.