Benvenuto a Italia!

We made it! It was a long trip but we made it. All in all, the trip was very smooth. We made all connections, all our luggage made it, and the kids did not have any major breakdowns. Isabel almost lost it when the flight attendant came to take away trash in preparation for landing and she had not yet finished her Sprite. That was on the first flight which was very short. It was just a little express plane from Baltimore to Newark, NJ. It was a small plane where you walk out onto the tarmac and they take your carry-on bags from you since there is not much overhead room inside the plane. From inside the plane we could see them loading those carry-ons and Isabel was quick to announce in a proud voice which seemed too loud on a plane full of quiet weary travelers, "Josh, my bag was put on before your bag." Ah, the sibling thing.

 

This was Josh and Isabel's first plane ride and it was fun watching them enjoy this short little flight. I told Isabel to watch the wheel out in front of her that extended from the wing because once we get up in the air it will fold up. Well, she was fixated on that. When we started to look at something else she would say, "mommy, I have to watch the wheel!" She enjoyed seeing the little houses and commented they looked like toys. We saw a pretty sunset and she liked the pretty lights as we approached Newark. The middle of the short flight was consumed by having to explain every square inch of the folded pamphlet in the seat-back pocket. You know the one with all the emergency procedures? She was very interested in what every picture meant. I had to, of course, describe these things very carefully. There was no use of the word crash-landing, for example.

Newark was a quick lay-over and I was lucky to be able to make a quick trip outside security with the kids to bid farewell to Gretchen, Heidi, Annie, Jack, and Christine. It was fun to see them there and a sad good-bye. We exchanged a few words and hugs and then it was back on line to get through security as that took about 45 minutes and we were close to boarding time for the next flight.

The flight to Germany was a comfortable plane with individual touch-screen monitors in front of each seat. This was good for keeping the kids occupied. Once we got settled they each chose a movie, Spy Kids for Isabel and Cars for Josh. Isabel was cute laughing at her movie with her headphones on and Josh would make little comments about Lightning McQueen. Josh didn't last long, though, and fell asleep about an hour into the trip. Isabel lasted at least another hour or so, but also finally fell asleep. Chris and I did not sleep much.

It was raining and cold in Germany but we didn't leave the airport so it didn't matter. Our next flight was a quick one to Venice. I couldn't keep my eyes open at that point and I slept with Isabel and Josh sleeping on each of my sides. Chris woke me at one point so I could gaze out at the amazing snow-covered alps. It was an impressive site. The next time I looked out it was a maze of canals and we were landing at Marco Polo airport. The hardest part of the trip was the two and a half hour wait at the airport for our shuttle bus to the post.

Finally, we were cruising down the Autostrada on our way to Vicenza. Now, we are here at our hotel. It's good for the interim. We have enough space and a small kitchen. The best part is internet right in the room. Also, everything from the commissary to the px to the post office are close walking distances away. We are going from office to office gathering information and filling out forms. Yesterday was nice and sunny and the kids explored a couple playgrounds near the hotel.

Last night, we finally ventured out into the actual Italy. While on post, it's more like living in the States. Once you get off, you are in the real Italy. We took a walk to a local trattoria recommended by Chris' new supervisor. It was a great recommendation. We had fantastic pizza, the kids got a kick out of watching the pizza maker, and we met a nice local family. Their son, Leonardo, was showing us his karate moves since he just came from karate class and he practiced his English by asking Josh what his name is. Chris pulled out some decent Italian and conversed with the parents a bit. All in all, a fantastic little cozy pizzeria as you might picture with wood fire thin crust pizza, wine by the caraffe, friendly people, and our camarerie topped it off with a small taste of meloncello....delizioso!

Today, I need to do some shopping. I have laundry to do and it would be nice to get at least some juice and a few snacks for the hotel room. I'm not sure yet how I'm going to carry everything back to the room but I'll figure it out. At least the jet lag seems to be fading. Yesterday morning was tough. The kids and I slept until 9:30! We missed the hotel breakfast. Chris had to meet his supervisor early for a coffee and then in-process. I don't know how he did it. I would have been asleep.

Until tomorrow......I'm sure there are more stories to come.