A Venetian Carnival

On Saturday, February 18, Scott and I decided to visit the quiet, romantic streets of Venice. As our train arrived to pick us up from downtown Vicenza, we peered into the windows only to see faces, shoulders, and butts pressed firmly against every corner of the train car. Hoping that everyone on the train wanted to see Vicenza today, we waited for them to come spewing out, though only a few trickled out as they squeezed past bodies and backpacks. Scott and I gave each other that, "do we really want to get on this train...what are we getting ourselves into" kind-of-look. Of course, Scott was more than willing to turn around and head back to the house because he is the smart one. I, on the other hand, grabbed him by the arm, affirming him that this is totally going to be worth it...though I knew it would take a lot more than a forced smile to convince him that these crowds are worth it. 

We were the first ones to attempt to enter our train car with three others behind us. The passengers already on the train subtly expressed their thoughts on their pleading faces that I could only interpret as, "Oh, please. For the love of Pete, please do not get on this car!" The seat section was completely full with people crushed against each other in the isles. The small entrance was stuffed, but we squeeze in somehow. Scott called this, "standing 'nut to butt,'" which was, unfortunately, extremely accurate. The other unfortunate aspect was that not everyone had the best hygiene, and I really wished I had my Purell with me to pass around to everyone coughing and sneezing into their hands then touching the same walls and bars that I had to use to balance myself on every wind in the track. I burrow my mouth and nose into my scarf in attempts to not catch every bug or virus that was flying around, though, wishing more-so that I could stick my head out of a window. Even though the train was not heated, it was so hot, and I was thankful to at least have the bit of wind coming in from the cracks in the doors to alleviate some of the body heat. After three more stops with only a few people worming their way out and several more people piling in, I realize that everyone is going to Venice. 

This is what we saw as soon as we stepped off the train and that's when I knew for sure that this was Carnival! This is why they were selling masks at the Post Exchange! This is a major festival held every year 40 days before Easter and then ending on Martedi Grasso meaning Fat Tuesday, (or as better known in the States, Mardi Gras).

There were several booths set up painting faces or masks. 

We got there pretty early so the crowds were not terrible just yet, but we jumpped right in and started following the flow of the crowds. We were not exactly sure where we were going; we just knew that where ever it may be, EVERYONE was going there. We stopped by the first cafe we saw to try out a pastry (I got tiramisu, go figure. And Scott got the "hot chocolate," which is more like hot pudding or a melted chocolate bar in a cup!) 

The lady behind the bar wore a festive blue wig with horns!

We marched on, continuing to follow the crowds, taking pictures of all the interesting costumes. Some people just wore masks with their regular clothing. Most likely bought at a street vendor like this one.

Others wore full beautiful costumes with intricate details. Apparently there is a contest for the best mask (one of the most important events held on the last week of Carnival), called La Maschera piu bella. Here are some of the more interesting costumes, though there were hundreds and hundreds of good ones. Some of the best, I did not capture since people crowded around to take pictures, and I was just not that patient, I guess. Then there were those who did not dress up at all (such as ourselves), but enjoyed the atmosphere nonetheless.

"Double, double toil and trouble..."
I thought this was so funny, three witches gathered around. 

 

The puppy people (or sheep), I'm not sure, but they were cute old people in cute old costumes!

I ran ahead to get a picture of Scott walking with this band of masked ladies (he's trying to blend in and act natural!) When the ladies saw my camera pointed in their direction, they, all at once, stopped to pose for me.

Wizard/Elvan family

Remember, remember the fifth of November!

Along with the many mask/hat/scarves/food vendors that lined the roads, there was plenty of entertainment.  We came across men making beautiful music with wine glasses filled with water and surprisingly, a mariachi band. (I took video, but I still can't seem to figure out how to post them. I will add them later if I ever figure it out.)

We continued to walk with the crowds for hours, though we did stop for some pizza and gelato. When we reached our final destination, we were in a beautiful plaza stuffed with tourists, and masked men and women. St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco) is the Bourbon Street of Venice. It is where historic masked figures, dating back to the renaissance, gather to reunite and dance. 

There were stages set up for concerts (we came in with YMCA playing). The plaza is where the cream of the crop costumes were sitting/standing about, getting their picture taken by the hundreds of tourists. 

It was such a great day getting to experience part of a true Venetian Carnival! Although we both knew the real parties wouldn't start until later in the evening, both of us were ready to head back home. Walking with crowds can be a little more exhausting than you would think. But, walking with crowds, we soon discovered, was nothing compared to walking against them. 

The crowds grew thicker as the day grew older, most people came here to party hardy. Finding wide open streets like this one was a pleasure compared to the tiny narrow roads where I wouldn't dare reach for my camera in fear of dropping it in the rushing and pushing flow of people only to never see it again. 

Once we made it back to the train station, we snapped a few more last-minute shots of our day in Venice. Getting back through the crowds was stressful and tiring, but seeing the calm streets with boats floating by, made for a nicer ending to our trip. 

Moving In

February 10th, the day I have been waiting for since January 5th. I have keys to my new house, and I can begin to implement all those wonderful ideas that I have been gathering from my new (year old) addiction, Pinterest. I have so many plans on going thrifting and repurposing and cooking and sewing and decorating that it is fortuitous that it takes 30 days for the Italian government to conjure up a stamp and slap it on a piece of paper. I say this because they must do so to my Italian lease before I can apply for my Sojourno Visa. This visa says that I can stay in Italy while my husband is here. If I don't have it within 90 days of arriving here, I will be deported. (Mom, this does not mean start praying that my landlord trips and falls on his way to get it stamped only to have dropped the lease in a muddy hole 10 feet deep. I kinda like it here). This visa also allows me to apply for jobs here, there in which is why it is fortuitous that the Italian government is so laid back in making things happen. I want to get a job here, but this is a great opportunity to keep me from job searching and allow me to focus on getting our house ready.

While on the subject of jobs, let me quickly discuss that situation briefly. I was under the impression that when I arrived here that I was going to apply to every Italian school as an English teacher and put my ESL certification to work. It did not take long before I was informed otherwise. I am on a "Mission Visa," meaning I get to live in Italy with a vow not to take a job in the economy (by vow I mean if I make money off of something that an Italian can do then I could be on "Locked-Up Abroad"). In return the Italians promise not to tax me [65 percent]. So, my job options are limited to working on post. I could bag groceries at the Commissary (benefits: I get Mondays off). I could work at Child Development Care (benefits: I would be convinced that having kids is NOT worth it). I could be a substitute teacher (benefits: I would thank myself for not spending another year of my life getting a teaching degree at Austin Peay). So, those are my competitive options. Actually, there is a lifeguard position open...I could be 18 again and do that. Well, I'm sure all of these job options are not as bad as I may see them now, but I would like a job, and I am bummed that I cannot work among the Italians, out of "mini-america." So, maybe I can look into some volunteerships.

Anyway, back to our house. Here is a picture of us with our keys. Yaay. We are so excited. You can see the shutters in the background. When the sun is not shining or when someone is not home, houses look as if they have been boarded up and abandoned, but that's just another deterrent for the gypsies and the one economical feature about Italian houses, better insulation than glass. I say the 'one' because the houses are made of tile floors and cement walls and heated by radiators in each room. There is little to no circulation in the house, so to keep from getting black mold, we have to open all the windows and doors to air out the house at least 15 minutes a day.

Roman LOVES having a yard (and I do too!) It is wonderful to open the door and let him go outside and run free. We got a little snow here (you can see it on the street better), and it was Roman's first snow to play in. I thought he would do something cute like bite at it or try to chase it, but he just shakes it off in annoyance (which is cute I guess). 

Here is a picture of us tromping in the snow. We still did not have a car at this point and had to walk to the bus stop or (if the buses weren't running, as on this day), walk to where we needed to go. 

We live in a really nice neighborhood (with lots of German Shepherd that are soooo cute...we may just come home with two dogs...or three). I can run or bike here without much worry about cars going too fast and being run over, and we are literally meters away from the nearest bike trail. Scott rides his bike into work every day. He leaves around 0530 and it takes him about 15 min to bike in, and he rarely sees a car. 

I know I didn't add any pictures of the inside of the house. It's mostly just white walls. I will have a blog post of progress pictures for each of the rooms so you can see how we slowly went from bare rooms, to semi-furnished, to furnished and decorated. I also have been thrifting (at some awesome thrift stores very close by), and I will post about each project. 

I'm Back

You never realize how much you depend on something until you are deprived of it. In my case, we did not get internet set up in our house until day 10 of living here--which is my excuse for not posting anything on here recently. Just because we did not have internet, and probably thanks to the fact that we were, Scott and I did get out and experience more of Italy. I will go in chronological order in an attempt to keep up with all that is going on, (so check back frequently since I will -hopefully- be blogging frequently to catch up.)

Food Mistake

This past week has been mostly uneventful, just going about our slow days waiting anxiously to move into our house (four more days!!). But to break up the mundanity of the days in wait, we decided to check out a new restaurant. Our hotel has a list of off-post restaurants from which we decided to choose  by closing our eyes and letting our finger fall. The restaurant for the night is called Ristorante Antica Locanda and luckily for us it was just a short bus ride away. Upon walking in the front door we see the display case with a HUGE fish head staring at us. By the look of the case of freshly picked fish, we knew we stumbled upon something fancy!! I make eye contact with the hostess, "Due per favore," I say with my best Italian accent, maybe I can fool them for the first few minutes that I might be italian. We sit at our candle lit table and are handed the leather bound menu. Each page representing a course of food from which you choose one per page...well, supposed to anyway. 

Here is what I learned from my culture lesson and what I have noted since arriving here. Italians do not eat dinner until around nine o'clock pm (restaurants don't even open until earliest 7:30). For formal dinners  there are roughly six courses (depending on the formality). Aperitivo: mostly a wine menu with some small morsels to chomp on such as olives, nuts, cheese and crackers, Antipasta (before pasta): this is usually a cold appetizer such as a salad, or cold cut meats, Primo: is usually a pasta and the like such as gnocci, polenta, or risotto. Secondo: is usually a meat, the main heavy plate, Dolce: in my opinion the best course, dessert, then of course the last course is Caffe. 

Out of these choices, we chose from the primi, secondo, and dolce. Scott ordered a duck fettucini, filet minon, and a chocolate cake with English cream.  Sorry, I didn't take pictures of Scott's dishes, he was giving me enough grief as it was taking pictures in the first place (looking like a tourist), but I was able to get a snapshot of him at least!

This is a sample of what an aperitivo would be which came out as a complementary dish. It is a slice of raw salmon (yumm sushi) on a dollop of a whipped zucchini sauce. Also, I must apologize for the poor picture quality. Our lighting was a small candle, and my camera is a small ipod. 

We had kept up our appearances as maybe not Italian but at least people who knew the language...until we opened our mouths to order. The entire menu was in Italian and the items we chose were not the easiest to say for someone who has only been exposed to the language for less than a month. Even though we lost our cover, we continued to speak in Italian the entire time to the best of our ability so I say we did pretty darn good seeing as the waitress clearly did not know English and we got all of our food to order!

 I ordered a gnocci with carrots and zucchini for my primi. The gnocci was perfectly cooked and reminded me of home since it's my favorite comfort food (mashed potatoes) but in a ball form. 

For me secondo, I wanted something small since I knew I would be full after eating the pasta dish and since small things are usually the least expensive, I scan the prices and find a dish for 5.50 euro. From my years of Spanish, I could comprehend that it was some sort of seafood with shrimp, but for the price, I thought it would be some sort of shrimp cake or a few on a skewer? Well....

Clearly, it was not as I expected. If you cannot tell from the poor quality of the picture, I had ordered an entire lobster tail, 3 crawfish, and 6 huge shrimps with beautiful carrot and cabbage garnish. Umm, maybe I looked at the price wrong. I eat a shrimp and prod at a few other pieces for a bit of meat, but I honestly don't know how to eat this stuff correctly, so Scott swaps me plates. He shines off the crustacean shells like nobody's business and I eat a few bites of his meat (I honestly don't get how Italians eat this many courses) which Scott gladly takes back to finish off. 

Even though I am nearly stuffed (note I said nearly), there is always room for dessert. I scan the menu for something light and gelato is an Italian word that I am very familiar with! I order a tiramisu flavor and it is the most wonderfully smooth and creamy gelato that I have ever tasted. I ate it slowly and deliberately trying to make it last as long as I could. But alas, all that is cold cannot stay. So we asked for the check. 

As we wait for the check, Scott and I mess with our candle (that has begun to drip all over the table now. It has been nearly two hours now since we got here, not due to slow service but to Italian culture of a slow and leisurely meal). As we watch the wax build up we discuss how nice it has been to get out of the hotel and that we deserve to go out to a fancy smanshy restaurant like this since we have been eating glorified ramen for the past eight days. We keep this reasoning even after the check comes out and we see that we have paid 33 euro for my single plate of seafood. It apparently was 5 euro a gram (or some kind of weight measurement). Which makes the total a bit steeper than we had originally estimated. After a bit of cringing and "OmygoshIcan'tbelieveIspentfiftybuckonasingleplate"ing, we reasoned again, that we deserve it. We are in Italy. We have been eating 30 cent cans of Campbell's soup and 17 cent packets of ramen for enough days to compensate for a 33 euro mistake. 

We enjoyed our night out together. The food was good and the experience was great. Though, we will try to use a bit more caution when we are ordering a plate of seafood anything (as the main course) that costs less than 10 euro. (Seriously, what was I thinking?)

Video Ineptitude

   So I wrote this nice post about how much Roman and I missed Scott while he was in the field last week. I kept myself busy by going to PWOC (Presbyterian Women of the Church) and joining a good bible study there. I went shopping with some friends and bought Roman some new toys and treats. They have a pretty big pet store here and it's so close to where we will be living! The biggest part of my week was signing the lease to our new house, but even that was difficult with Scott not there to help me process all of the new information about moving and living in Italy (It's actually quite complicated with a ton of paperwork attached to every thing). We are due to move in on February 10, and we are super excited!
   So on this nice post that I had recently published then deleted, I had tried to upload videos of Roman's reaction to Scott coming home which was so sweet. Roman was running around Scott's feet and jumping up to give him lots of kisses. I also tried to post video of how well Roman is doing with his training. He heels, stays, fetches, and drops on command. It's quite impressive for my little puppy and all thanks to my husband's hard work and dedication to his pup's obedience. With all that being said, I obviously was not successful in getting those videos to load properly. I tried shrinking the file and  uploading them through iMovie but with no successes. I will continue to work on this because these videos are truly sweet but for now you can view some of them on facebook (I think Scott uploaded a training video and I will upload Scott's coming home video to mine soon).

Here are some pictures of Scott and Roman on the nice astroturf soccer field behind the Hotel. Dogs are supposedly not allowed on the field but we clean up after Roman better than the humans clean up after themselves. There was silly string litter (cans and tops included) all over the field. I had to pick them up since Roman thought he was on an easter egg hunt (or shiny plastic top hunt rather).

"Heel" -- Come sit on my left side.

"Look" -- Look up at me. 

"Muss" -- Walk with me, not leaving my side. 

Downtown Vicenza

Scott and I arrived in Italy on the fifth of January. We did not immediately get into the hotel on post so we stayed at the Hotel Mary for the first week or so. This was actually helpful in integrating us into the Italian culture; since it was off of post we ate at authentic Italian restaurants and learned our first few Italian words from the receptionists. We were determined to defeat jet-lag by keeping ourselves busy (i.e. not taking five hour naps) during the day, so we took the ten minute bus trip to down town Vicenza with our friends Jesse and Naomi.

Scott and me in front of the small piazza (town square). 

I would love to live here, right on the river. It's so serene. 

Beautiful statue garden in the middle of the citta' del Palladio.

Click here to watch a video about why Vicenza is called the City of Palladio. 

Posing with my friend Naomi. 

Ciao Italia

I have decided...to start a blog, with the intent of keeping it up-to-date and loaded with new photos. That being said, this is my first time having a blog, and we will see where my priorities are within the next few months. This blog is mostly for family and friends back home, to keep them posted on my new life in Italy, but if anyone else finds the blog interesting enough to follow then I have outdone myself and am happy to have new followers! I am still learning the logistics of blogging but will post again soon with my move over here with some [beautiful] pictures of downtown Vicenza. Keep posted!