When randomly searching Facebook for groups to join and having to remind my brain this is Italy, not Florida...
Almost 3 weeks in Italy, 153+ to go! It doesn't feel like we have accomplished a lot because we lack on-demand transportation, but we really have. We have settled into a temporary routine; work for Shane, school for kids, house hunting for Sara and sprinkle in some car shopping for good measure.
The last time we checked in was the week before Easter. The kids were on spring break, so it was a great opportunity for everyone to rest up and get acclimated to the new time. I have no idea how someone flies to Europe, spends 7 days seeing sites and flies home. It took a full week to feel normal again, much less be a tourist. Pretty sure there is a lot of running on adrenaline and caffeine (not that we haven't done plenty of that as well)!
Side note: Being the nature-loving nerds that we are, we have already geeked out over some of the (probably totally common-place) critters that we've encountered. For your viewing pleasure, I present the ginormous garden snails and Italian wall lizard/ruin lizard. |
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We had area orientation at the end of week #2 to get all the important info, housing applications, Sojourner's permit (necessary to live here for the next few years) and Italian drivers licenses. It culminated in a day visiting downtown Naples! Abbiamo passeggiato, abbiamo mangiato, abbiamo visto e abbiamo mangiato un po' di piu (We walked around, we ate, we saw, and we ate some more!)
We spent the day before Easter Sunday (Pasqua) enjoying egg (candy) hunting in Carney Park, which is (no big deal) inside an extinct volcanic crater! It is a 96-acre recreation area run by the US Military. It has a golf course, swimming pool, softball/baseball fields, football/soccer field, tennis courts, batting cages, basketball & volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, and picnic and camping areas. It's close to the area we are primarily looking in for a home, so I'm sure we will be spending a lot time there!
The kids started school on April 1st and are settling in great! No surprise there, these kids love school and get along with just about everyone. Not to mention most of their classmates are used to moving around, which makes for a very welcoming, understanding environment.
Also, no big deal, Audrey has a field trip to Mt. Vesuvius on May 8th... 😱😱 Is this real life???
Second side note: The history here is amazing, but just part of everyday life. Stores have random viewing panels in the floors so you can observe the ancient ruins that run underneath. They explained in orientation that installing things that need to be anchored more deeply in the ground (something as random as pole lights) take A LOT of time and permitting because everything deeper than about 6 feet is deemed archeologically important and has to be carefully worked around. We are looking forward to the quick weekend trips to Rome, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Amalfi Coast!!
Lastly, house hunting is EXHAUSTING. I mean, when isn't it? But being in an entirely different country with different standards and expectations along with zero concept of the area makes it even more so. We have seen a couple of houses that we LOVE, but are waiting to see a few more and decide on neighborhoods. Which, by the way, are not like the neighborhoods you're picturing or used to. Houses are mostly surrounded by walls and gates, even within a gated neighborhood, or parco. There are no sidewalks and everything is paved outside the gates. So making sure we find a property with a good yard for the doggos is important as well! On the upside, there are citrus trees EVERYWHERE. Nearly all of the properties we have viewed have lemon and/or orange trees that smell divine! Did I mention the views...
Until next time...
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