Well, we are finally here! After 4 months in Columbia, SC and a month in the dreadful Columbus, GA, we are finally here in our permanent home for three years of Vicenza, Italy!!!
Dallin graduated from airborne school on December 10 and we left Fort Benning on December 12.
Dal got his wings!
We gave back our precious vehicle, Mammie, to her rightful owner and then made our way to the Atlanta airport. We were singing and squealing with joy while exiting the gates of Fort Benning for the last time. We were so excited to leave that place, that we were a whole six hours early for our flight!
Trying to eat a decent dinner out of our microwave in our horrible motel at Fort Benning.
After one connection at JFK and a couple of delays, we found ourselves waking up the next morning on December 13 (Dallin’s 25th Birthday! All he wanted for his birthday was to be in Italy) flying over the beautiful snowy alps and then landing in Venice. From the airport, we took the free shuttle to the U.S. Army post, Caserma Ederle. We checked into our hotel and we were relieved to find out that it looked like the Ritz Carlton compared to our last dump in Fort Benning. That day we did some in-processing stuff and explored the post a bit. Caserma Ederle is tiny compared to the previous posts I have lived at. It takes no more than 15 minutes to walk from one side of the post to the other. But regardless, it has everything we need. It’s like its own little town, with a movie theater, grocery store (commissary), walmart-type store (PX), bowling alley, gym, thrift store, outdoor store, library, U.S. post office, and of course all of the buildings where people work.
That night around 5 o’clock we went off of the post to try to find a yummy Italian restaurant to eat at. We were starving, because we had hardly eaten anything all day because we were so busy with in-processing stuff. We started walking around the town surrounding the post, looking for a restaurant. But nothing was open! It was 5 pm and absolutely no one was serving dinner. We learned that night, that the Italians eat late. Most of the restaurants don’t even open until 7 o’clock! So, because we were starving and could not possibly wait another two hours, we of course, had our first meal in Italy at the PX. Anthony’s Pizza. Probably not the best pizza in Italy, but oh well.
The next day (December 14) we got some in-processing stuff done, and then we decided to go into the city that evening and explore a bit. We got on the bus and rode down town. We weren’t really sure where to get off though, so we rode a little far, walked around, and then got back on the bus and rode a bit, the other way to try to get to the walking district. It was so fun walking around. There were Christmas lights up everywhere, an old man was playing the accordion in the corner and the shops were lovely. This town is exactly what I was expecting Italy to be!
Me in the beautiful Vicenza.
We stopped in a panetteria and bought a small loaf of bread for a snack and continued to mosey down the corsos. We stopped by a Christmas market and tried to buy some hot chocolate. We said, “due cioccolata brule”. Which we thought meant, “two hot chocolates”. I don’t know if our pronounciation or perhaps our translation was off, or maybe the vender just didn’t hear us right, but what he gave us was definitely not hot chocolate. I took one sip and felt a little bit of a burn, and I knew that this was not a drink for the Mormon people. We threw those little cups into a trash right away. After further investigation, we are pretty sure we ordered ourselves some hot mulled wine. Oops!
We continued to look around the shops a bit and then headed straight to a restaurant at 7 o’clock, because, of course, we were starving. I don’t know how the Italians do it! They must eat a big lunch or something. We went to a ristorante, which is a type of restaurant that tends to be a bit nicer and elegant, and you typically order several courses of food. We asked if we could order just spaghetti, because the food was pretty expensive. They probably thought we were the weirdest people. We only ordered two plates of spaghetti, refused their wine, and were in and out of the restaurant within 45 minutes. Wine is cheaper than water here and the Italians tend to take a long time to eat, sometimes up to three hours. They linger after each course and relax and talk. And you have to ask your waiter for the check, because the waiter does not want to interrupt or rush you.
We also learned that night that hardly anyone here speaks English! I was not expecting that. I thought that most Europeans were learning English in school now, but very very few people in Vicenza speak any English. Apparently in the more touristy areas, like Venice, more people speak English, but it is different here. We ordered our food at the restaurant using the little Italian we knew, and the little English our waiter knew, and some form of sign language as well.
Anyways, our dinner was fabulous. It was a bit small, Dallin probably should have ordered another course for himself because he was not quite filled up, but it was delicious. Probably the best spaghetti I have ever had. The meaty sauce was fresh and tomatoey, and the pasta was thick, definitely homemade, and utterly carb-olicious. YUM!
Pretty buildings in Vicenza.
The next couple of days were just a whirlwind of filling out paper work and jumping through bureaucratic hoops. We went to the housing office to try to figure out how to find a house and then we began looking at a website with a bunch of house rentals in search for our perfect home.
We took our Italian driving class and studied for our test together. The driving rules in Italy are basically the same with just a few differences. There are a lot of different signs that we had to memorize though. The next day we took our license tests and we both passed!!! However, I cannot forget to include that I did score higher than Dallin. I got a hundred percent, in fact. We made an agreement before we took the test that whoever scored higher would get to be the decision maker for the whole weekend. So I was boss.
After we took our test we began the nightmarish process of trying to get and register our car. It took us all day and we had to go between post and a nearby town several times, without a car. It was ridiculous. Luckily a few people took pity on us, and gave us some rides between post and the other town; otherwise the whole process would have taken more than a day because you normally have to wait for a bus a pick you up at each location.
We finally finished our vehicle registration, and it began to snow quite badly. I had to make some appointments at the housing office, so Dallin went to go get the car from the dealership by himself. Apparently it was quite the drama. He rode to the dealership with the car salesman in BMW X5 with all-wheel drive and they nearly crashed into a garbage truck because the snow was so bad. Dallin was pretty shaken up after that and was so freaked out when he finally got his own car, a sedan with rear-wheel drive. Also it was his first time ever driving in Italy, where the Italians drive quite crazily and fast. He was convinced he was going to wreck. I was so worried about him and praying the whole time! I got a call from him about an hour and a half later and he said that he was following the car salesman home, when he lost him, because he was going too fast. Dallin was completely lost, somewhere in the Italian countryside. Luckily, that morning, we had decided to download the European maps to our GPS, and he had that with him. I gave him an address to put in, and he eventually got home. I threw my arms around him when he got back because I was so worried about him!
On the bright side, the car is absolutely beautiful. We can’t believe that we own such a nice car. We definitely don’t deserve it. At least, I don’t. But I think Dallin is secretly thankful for everyday he spent at Westpoint just to have Vince help pay for that car. After cruising in Mammie, the beemer is a dream. I am getting a little jealous, because Dallin loves it so much, and always says how beautiful she is. Haha.
The next day was Saturday, and we decided to do something fun, so we went back to the downtown area to go to a Christmas market. It was lots of fun, but it was very cold so we didn’t stay out too long.
Dallin at the Christmas market.
We got some “fritelles” which were delicious. They are like a piece of fried dough dipped in sugar with nutella spread on it.
We also got some lunch at a pizzeria, which was an awesome deal. We got two medium pizzas for about nine euros, and it was really good. That pizza lasted us for about three meals!
On Sunday, we went to church. Our branch is quite small! We meet in an apartment building that has been converted to a church building and there were only ten ladies in Relief Society! But everyone seems really nice, and because it is so small, I am sure we will get to know everyone pretty well.
On Monday we looked at houses. That was an interesting experience, because we chose not to make an appointment with a translator, because we wanted to find a house right away. At the first house we went to we weren’t exactly sure, which apartment was the correct one, so we just stood outside of the building. Then a man came out of the building and just stood near us. We weren’t sure if he was the landlord or not and we no idea of how to ask him! So we just stood there awkwardly. He finally tried speaking with us. I had no idea what he was saying, or if he was even the landlord. But Dallin, kept saying, “Si. Si. Si.” I thought that Dallin suddenly had the gift of tongues and could understand him! I thought this because Dallin does know some Portuguese and there are similarities between Italian and Portuguese. Haha. And apparently the man thought Dallin understood him too, because he kept talking and talking. Then the man took us inside. We were still unsure if he was the right guy or not. Then I recognized the apartment from the pictures online, so I knew we were in the right place. The apartment was very small, and furnished with great grandmother-type furniture. Plus it did not have hookups for a washer, dryer, or dishwasher. So that was a definite no.
The second house we went to was in a smaller town outside of Vicenza. It was brand new, with a good-sized garage, but the location wasn’t ideal on a very busy street, and it was very small as well. And again, the landlady spoke no English!
The third house we looked at was just right. The location is perfect. It’s in the historic district and just about a five-minute walk from the center of the city. It’s not huge, but not too small for us. It has three bedrooms, one and half baths, a garage, and it is newly renovated. It was just what we wanted. Also, the landlord speaks English! We were amazed at how lucky we were to find this house. The next day we went straight to the housing office with our decision and began the prenegotiation for our rental contract. We move in this week! We are so excited to have a home after living in motels and out of a suitcase for over five weeks!
The rest of last week we spent looking at furniture for our new house. It looks like we will be buying most of our stuff from Ikea. Thank goodness we have that Ikea or we would be even more limited in our choices for furniture.
Our first Christmas together was interesting. It was difficult because we were in a hotel and we have been so focused on getting a house and getting settled, that we didn’t really have time to buy gifts or anything. I am counting my new furniture as Christmas gifts. We also just pick some stuff out on Amazon.com that we wanted. We went to some people in the ward’s house for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner. It was kind of weird spending the holidays with strangers and I definitely missed the Neals and the Rosdahls when we were at their houses.
But so far, life in Italy is awesome! I love the city of Vicenza already and I am excited to explore more of Europe with Dallin. There are some inconveniences about living here, versus America, but there are also so many positive things about this place as well. I hope to take full advantage of the positives and make the most of these three years in Italy.
