Como stai?

This past weekend we boarded the train and headed north to Lake Como, near the Italian/Swiss border. Sure it sounds romantic, but 6 hours with a kid whose curiosity is quickly becoming insatiable, makes for a long trip. We decided to splurge and stay at a nice hotel. Now 180 Euros a night doesn’t sound like that much, but when you see on your credit card statement that it cost $540 for 2 nights, you start to think differently. We spent Saturday on the boat traveling up the lake to a town called Bellagio – the place after which the casino in Las Vegas is named. After purchasing my beloved amber earrings, it didn’t take long to realize we were in the wrong tax bracket to spend too much more time there. And I still couldn’t find the casino.

So, we headed south to Como were the paupers live and spent the late afternoon window shopping. Claire was great this weekend and we think this was her first time on a boat. The weekend ended all too soon as another 6 hour train ride took us back to our 10 week reality called Montepulciano. Here are some photos of the weekend. On Friday, we head south to the Amlfi coast (Naples, Pompeii, Capri) where I intend to spend a glorious afternoon on the isle of Capri soaking up the sun and suds and teaching Claire how to play quarters. Until then…

When in Rome...

We spent the last weekend in Rome, where the students managed to stay out of trouble for the most part. We did the usual stops (Vatican, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s, Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Coliseum. Forum, etc.). She was not her usual cheery self this weekend, maybe because she had to share a room with us, and when she went to bed, one of us had to go to bed as well. We did spend time at Borghese Park, strolling the grounds and letting Claire burn off energy.

Today was another week of daycare. The ladies at daycare say she is adjusting to it and actually enjoys playing, though she cries pretty good when I drop her off and pick her up. Actually, all the kids there do the same thing.

One of joys of living in a small dense city is your neighbors are only feet away. Our neighbor is getting a new roof and the construction workers couldn’t possible make more noise if they tried. This precludes Claire from her afternoon naps. I am not impressed. Claire is an absolute bear when she doesn’t get her afternoon nap.

I also miss having a clothes dryer. We have 2 clothes lines, which we use to dry our laundry. It’s not that bad, but it is 2 stories up. So far we have not dropped anything. I also miss dryer sheets. And a larger washer, as our washer here is tiny. But at least we have a washer, as some students do not. The local Laundromat will wash and dry clothes for 1 Euro per kilogram (2.2 lbs). sounds like a great deal, but then it doesn’t take many clothes to make up 1 kilogram. But they use fabric softener. I also miss good towels. There is nothing quite like using a towel that feels like 40 grit sandpaper. Ok, enough complaining. We are in Italy for heaven sake!

Lynn is doing well. She goes for an ultra sound tomorrow. She is starting to show a little belly – but then I’ve been showing one for years. I posted some pictures from our Rome trip here.

Next weekend we are off to Northern Italy to Lake Como – just the three of us, so it should be a relaxing weekend. Photos to follow!

Daycare and Tomatoes

Well, our time in Italy is 10% over. We have started to get into somewhat of a routine. Claire started daycare on Wednesday. They require a parent to stay for 2 hours a day for the first week, so that the child can get accustomed to the new environment. On day one, Claire hid behind Lynn and cried for 2 hours. On the second day, I took Claire and she fared a little better, venturing away from me and playing with some toys. The daycare then has the parent leave for 30 minutes and return, so the child learns the parent will come back. When I left Claire, she was at the far side of the room, helping one of the teachers rock another kid to sleep (there are 7 kids in daycare, all around Claire’s age). The teacher told me to say “Ciao, Claire” and then leave. Claire heard me talk and started to run over to the door. As I left, she started crying and then all the kids cried. When I returned 30 minutes later, Claire was in the arms of one of the teachers, still sobbing. Monday will be day three of daycare.

Today we went to Florence to visit a museum, the Uffizzi, and Michangelo’s statue, David. At the museum, Claire spent her time running around the corridors, not caring much for the paintings and sculptures - takes after her old man. After lunch we went to see David, an amazing sculpture. She is too young to remember any of this, so I hope one day she can return and see everything again.

Finally, I have a hot stock tip for you. Invest in companies that make tomato sauce. Claire has been eating so many tomatoes, she will single handedly consume all the tomatoes in Tuscany. Prices will rise on tomato products and you will get rich, while her complexion turns red. We are heading to Rome next weekend, but for now, here are some pictures from Florence.

New diggs

We made back to Italy. Claire was a champ as usual. She got her own seat on the flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

As you can see, she slept for part of the flight (4.5 hours out of 9). And Lynn said she slept the whole way on the flight to Rome (we were about 10 rows apart on that flight). After deplaning in Rome, Claire’s stroller was missing, despite handing it to the flight attendant on board the plane to gate check. He told me check the baggage carousel. After waiting about an hour and a half, our luggage finally started to come out, minus the stroller. Another hour in line at the missing baggage counter, we were on our way through customs, sans stroller. I felt bad that we held up the entire group, but we give out the grades at the end of the trip, and no one complained.

A three hour bus ride and we arrived in Montepulciano. Alberto and Heike (our hosts and owners of the school where we are teaching) made sure the three of us were whisked away to our apartment before anyone else. I feared the worst in terms of European apartments, but was pleasantly surprised. Out apartment is absolutely palatial by European terms. A parlor, living room, 2 bedrooms, one bathroom, big kitchen, and most importantly a washing machine (and clothesline outside our second story window). As you know dear reader, from earlier posts, Montepulciano is a very hilly town. Our apartment is near the highest point of the town, which means we walk home uphill. Hopefully I can lose a few pounds in our 10 weeks here. Heike also arranged for a crib for Claire, so we didn’t have to take the pack and play with us. We put Claire down at 6pm and she slept until noon the following day. She was a tired.

Yesterday I went on a tour of the city with the students and ended up at the cell phone store. I got a sim card for Lynn, so you can call her at: Remember we are 6 hours ahead of east coast time. I also went grocery shopping, which was an adventure. Did you know the SKU for bananas (4011) is the same here as it is back home? Anyway I went with a male student and I spent 48 euros on food for the 3 of us. He spent 28 euros on beer, tonic water, Tylenol and toilet paper. Those were the days! Last night we went to dinner with the group at Alberto’s restaurant and Claire gave Alberto a bottle of scotch she picked up at the duty free in Frankfurt. He was very appreciative. And Claire’s stroller was at the restaurant when we arrived for dinner. Things are falling into place.

This weekend is the town’s annual festival of barrel racing, in which each neighborhood pits its team of barrel rollers against the others. I can hear the drums and the church bells right now, summoning people to the piazza grande (main square). The festivities start at noon. I hope Claire is up by then, so she can see this event that she will not remember when she is older.

Lynn is feeling ok, but is tired – she claims my snoring keeps her up, but I know I don’t snore. School starts tomorrow. Italian 1001 at 8:30am every morning! Lynn is teaching Monday afternoons and I teach Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Claire will start daycare next week.

Some photos are here

On the road again...

Well, tomorrow is the big day. We are moving to Italy for 10 weeks! We have been packed for a couple of days now, which is amazing for us. Claire doesn't suspect anything, but the animals know something is up.

Similarly, and despite our repeated telling her, Claire doesn't suspect she is going to be a big sister come next March. Yes, Lynn is almost 13 weeks pregnant. At the ultrasound today we saw the baby wave at us and then stick its finger in its mouth. We will find out the sex of the baby, when it is born. The due date is March 5, the day before Claire's birthday. To the right is a picture of Claire's sibling at 12 weeks, 5 days. Everything looks great.

This afternoon we were at the pharmacy and Claire started to have a little meltdown. Lynn gave her to me and I walked around with her for a while. I spotted the blood pressure machine and sat down to check my BP. Well, Claire hits her head on the machine and starts to cry and walk away. Meanwhile, my arm is stuck in the machine as I am frantically trying to get to Claire. I am still not sure if I was more afraid of Claire hurting herself or Lynn yelling at me. In the end Claire was fine and Lynn was laughing at me. 123 over 80 by the way.

I hope to keep posting on the blog and uploading photos over the next ten weeks.

Ciao!

Colombia Cutie

Last week we packed up and headed for South America. Bogota, Colombia to be exact. We were headed there to do some work for our foundation. Lynn and Claire were fortunate to have Nancy seated across the aisle from them, as I was preoccupado in first class. While Lynn, Nancy and Betsy were busy working, I was looking after Claire. I am guessing it is unusual for a man to push around a stroller in Colombia, as we got several stares. Either that, or people could not believe how beautiful Claire is.

For the weekend we (the four of us and our friends Rudolf, Rose and their child Sergio) drove to a finca (a hotel in the countryside). I should mention that getting to the finca involved driving up the Andes mountains and then down the mountains (about 7 hours) and then another 3-4 hours. Yes, we drove almost 11 hours (one way) to get to the freaking finca.

But the finca was beautiful, complete with a swimming pool. We spent our one full day visiting an amusement park and then drinking beer at the pool in the evening. Claire couldn't go on the rides, but we did take her on a train ride, which featured a band on one of the cars. You can see Claire dancing in the video.

After a long drive back to Bogota and a short sleep (5 hours) we were off to the airport to return home. We got in line to check-in and before they issued boarding passes (but after they took our lugguage), we had to get in-line to have our passports stamped with the tax-exemption stamp. Next it was another line to pay the tax we were just exempted from. Back to the ticket counter to get our boarding passes... next to the immigration line, which was about 45 minutes long, but we used the baby card and walked to the front of the line with Claire. After immigration we got in line for security (X-ray machine), then into another line to have our carry-on inspected. After duty-free it was another line to have our carry-on inspected again, followed by another line to get into the gate area, followed by another line to have our carry-on inspected for a third time. Lastly, we got in line to board the plane. This time Lynn, Nancy, Claire and I all sat in first class. Betsy was in the back of the plane.

We got home in time for me to go play hockey at 10pm. It was the championship game, which we won 6-2. An incredibly long day, with a great finish. Now we have to get ready for going to Italy next week. Away, enjoy the video and some photos posted here.

Futbol

Here she is kicking the soccer ball around in Syracuse. Not bad for a 17 month old, but not as good as her old man. More photos posted here too.

Next week we are off to Bogota, Colombia for work involving our non-profit foundation, the Mango Tree Foundation. Check it out if you have a chance.