Stephanie Howell

Last week we finally broke loose and headed off post for dinner at Aeolia in Longare.

Our friends came to get us and as we were driving through the hills, this was our view:

I started clapping I was so darn excited. GORGEOUS.

This was the outside of the restaurant. Harper said “Now THIS looks like I thought Italy would look like” and I had to agree.

We settled in for our first Italian dinner. Meaning it was long and late. First seatings for dinner in Italy aren’t until 7:30 at many places. And you can expect to have many courses and a lot of wine.

I tried several things but my favorite was the fagottini. It was delicate pasta pouches filled with smoked ham and pear. Y’ALL. 

I can not even begin to describe how delicious it was.

There was also caprese. And limoncello. And gelato that they make on site. HEAVEN.

And…um…no big deal but Galileo’s bedroom was in the back of the restaurant. I’m serious.

It was the perfect first “real” meal for us. I will be back often, I can tell you that.

I have one more bit of news to share…we found an apartment!

I did NOT expect to find somewhere the first time I went out with a realtor. But we did. We found the perfect place.

It’s in the heart of downtown Vicenza:

It is a three story apartment (takes up the 2nd through 4th floors)

BUILT IN 1775!!!!

With the most gorgeous high ceilings and moldings and shutters:

and a little courtyard of our own:

It has five bedrooms, two full bathrooms, two half baths, a nice big kitchen, a dining room, living room, and extra room.

Best of all? Floor to ceiling built ins in almost every room. This is invaluable in Italy. The kitchen has floor to cieling food storage. YES please.

Our family will be so very happy here. It’s different, very different, than what we are used to. But it will be a beautiful experience right in the heart of the city center.

Gelato, bakeries, cafes, all within spitting distance.

So that’s where we are.

Dreaming, scheming, exploring, getting used to the tiny and strong coffees, and learning Italian bit by bit.

My new and most used word?

gemelli=twins

I hear and use that one a LOT.

The only thing I’m having a hard time with is the time difference with me and my US friends and family. I am six hours ahead of EST, Nine hours of PST.

I feel a bit isolated and cut off from my online friends. So say hi, if you have a chance. I miss all of you.

oxoxox

S

So let’s get the obvious out of the way first.

I love it here.

I have eaten some of the best food and tasted some of the best wine that I’ve ever had. And I haven’t even tried the really good places yet.

The wine…the wine is amazing. And so much better than my favorite wines at home. I knew it would be, but still. It surprises me every time.

Now on to the stuff we can file under “keeping it real”.

Getting here with four kids seven and under was not the most fun part of the adventure. But it was so much better than I thought it would be.

As soon as the doors shut (not exaggerating here) on our first flight of two…Cate barfed all over J. Yep. We knew it was pretty much destined to happen, she’s barfy by nature. When she coughs, takes medicine, swallows water in the pool…she’s our delicate child. But we did not expect for it to happen so soon!

Luckily we were prepared with changes of clothes. And many barf bags.

And luckily that was it on the hurling front.

Honestly? The girls were troopers. They slept on almost the entire flight from Philadelphia to Venice.

They each had their own backpack full of entertainment. Everything from books to colors to stickers to an entire box of bandaids to stick on themselves. Yep, I did this. And yep this worked.

The flight from Philly to Venice? Was missing more than 100 people. Total answered prayer. Each girl got their own row to sleep. It couldn’t have worked out better.

I didn’t sleep a wink. Between Lucy rolling off of her seat (twice!) and the Italian man in front of me yelling all night long…I just gave up and watched movies.

We had a lot of baggage. But we have four kids. And we will be spending at least a month or two in this inn on post. And luckily J’s orders allowed us a lot of free bags.

This poor guy did not know what he was getting into when he offered to help.

shirts from here

Me not sleeping that first night has made the last couple of days a little rough. Not gonna lie. There’s some major jet lag going on over here.

And that translates to LOTS of whining and crying from the girls. Which I’m not so great at dealing with when I’m exhausted.

But I’m reminding myself to breathe. And be patient. And I am reminding myself that I’M TIRED IN ITALY!!!! Are you kidding me?

These first few days (weeks??) will be a bit odd. We are staying in the inn on post. Which looks like any other Army post anywhere I’ve ever been. And we won’t have a car until our van gets here from America.

Hence the lack of “Italian” photos. We have walked off post every night for dinner but have yet to make it downtown. I am hoping we will be able to take a taxi tonight.

It’s killing me to not be able to really immerse myself in Italy just yet.

Every night when we walk out of the gates I get unnaturally excited. The gelato is delicious. The Italian is spoken at lightning speed all around me like beautiful, animated poetry pouring over me… and I love just listening to it. The pasta is unlike pasta I’ve ever tasted. I already mentioned the wine…

Everything is older. And more colorful. And new to me.

And I am in love. Even though I’ve just met this country, I’m in love.

More soon, hopefully…

xo

S