Verona, Italy

We just returned from our first USO adventure to Verona, Italy.  We weren't sure how we would do on a group trip, because you go by their schedule...and little R likes to go by HIS schedule!  We left at 12:30 a.m. on a big 'ol bus, and drove all night.  We arrived in Verona around 9:00 a.m.  Little R was a champ and slept until the sun came up!!  We had a group tour of the city (which little R wasn't too impressed with), and then the rest of the day was free time to explore on our own.  We left Verona at 6:30 on the big 'ol bus, and drove late into the night...arriving back home around 2:00 a.m.  Again, little R slept from his normal bedtime (around 8:00) until we got home.  Then we transferred him to his bed, and he slept the rest of the night!  This boy does NOT mess around when it is time to sleep!!

The trip was definitely an adventure!!  There were some scary moments going through the Alps in Austria...hairpin curves and a big 'ol bus are a scary combination!!  And I don't know if I have mentioned the way Germans drive...but it is CRAZY!!  Very aggressive, very fast...and of course, our bus driver was GERMAN! : )

But Verona was absolutely beautiful!!!  Beautiful landscape, beautiful buildings, beautiful weather, and a very interesting history.  Everything I imagined Italy to be!  And the language...so much prettier than the German language!!  We had real Italian food...spaghetti and pizza and lasagna...and it was yummy.  We did some window shopping, some souvenir shopping, and saw Juliet's house and balcony, and Romeo's house.  We walked the streets, just admiring the architecture...it was amazing...not a modern built home in sight!!  We bought some local wine...not sure when we will ever drink it, but at least we have it! : )  And a stop for ice cream rounded out the day!! 

We learned a lot about the story of Romeo & Juliet.  I have never been a Shakespeare fan simply because I get caught up in the language and can't follow the story!  But there's a neat history of the stories written about the lovers, and then Shakespeare taking those stories and creating what we know to be Romeo & Juliet!!  Very neat!

We also learned that in Italy, they eat horse meat!  T was horrified when the tour guide mentioned this, and pointed out the restaurants where it was served, in case we wanted to try it!  We also got to see a protest on the main square later.  And what were they protesting???  The inhumane treatment/slaughter of animals!  Right up T's alley!! : )  They had some pretty descriptive signs, and they were playing a stereo with sounds of lambs and horses being slaughtered.  They were demonstrating right in front of a row of restaurants...where people were eating outside!!  It was interesting, to say the least! : )

And now I will leave you with some pictures...and I will apologize in advance for the number of pictures posted...there were just so many neat things...I couldn't narrow it down!!

View of Verona from the church tower.

Inside the Roman arena...now they have operas here!

R likes the bus!!

The city wall and one of the city gates

Pretty!

City gates

Waiting for the tour to continue...

T & A enjoyed the day!

The Roman arena

R & the Gladiators

T & A and the Gladiators

There were so many pretty pedestrian streets...but all were full of people!

Juliet's house and balcony in the background

Window shopping ONLY! : )

More window shopping...I LOVED the dress in the middle, it was so elegant, all lace...trying to convince one of the girls they need to be married in this dress!! : ) 

Part of the Roman arena

More window shopping...

Frescos...pretty...hard to believe these are hundreds of years old!

Dante

Finally a street not filled with people!!

Waiting for the tour to continue...

Postcard perfect!

R and I actually in front of the camera!!  Ugh...why did I choose horizontal stripes??

Stairway in the tower of the cathedral.  Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the top...got shaky and pale...had to retreat!  Luckily T is not afraid of heights and went to the VERY top!  R and little R made it almost all the way.  A retreated with me to make sure I was okay! : )

More window shopping!

LOTS of people everywhere!  Before the day was up, R was over his limit of crowd tolerance.  But he persevered, and we made it through the day with no outbursts! : )

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day...pictures of our GREEN kitchen!! : )

By German standards, this is quite a large kitchen!!

The very best part of this kitchen?  We can fit our full size fridge IN the kitchen.  So, we have our small German fridge (to the right of the stove in the tall cabinet) AND our full size fridge IN THE KITCHEN!!  At the last house, the extra fridge had to go in the basement...and because it had to fit down the stairs..it was a very small extra fridge.  So this setup is SO MUCH BETTER!!

This amount of cabinet space is almost unheard of here...and the tall cabinet is the fridge and freezer...also pretty large by German standards.

And even more cabinet space...and COUNTER space!! 

Now, I know what you are all thinking....It's Avocado Green!!  I know, I know...it is the original tile from when the house was built in 1979...but it is in great shape...and for the space this kitchen provides, and the ability to have the fridge IN the kitchen...I can definitely handle the green!!

Another room...the girls' bathroom!

I have taken a break from posting pics of the house...life has gotten in the way, and I haven't made much progress!  Hoping to get my room done tomorrow, and T's room should be clean enough by then...so we will try to post more pics then.

But here are just a couple of pics of the girls' bathroom.  It is a small bathroom, so pictures are difficult...

SMALL bathroom!!  This is the bathroom upstairs with A's room.  We are hoping to add a bathroom in the basement for T...there is a room that used to be a bathroom, but they removed the fixtures to install a sauna...now there is no sauna, and no bathroom! : (

I found this cute owl valance that went with the 70's color scheme of the bathroom.  The girls are going to paint some canvases to match the valance, so we can decorate the walls a bit.

Our sunshine is back!!

After a very long, dreary winter with almost NO sun, we are finally seeing a change!  The sun has been shining much more frequently these days, and we've even had a day or two that we didn't need our big winter coats!!  The lack of sunshine was VERY hard on me...I never realized how much I NEED sunshine, because I've always had it.  But, I don't think I am the only one who has missed the sun this winter....

The back of our house stays drenched in sunlight all morning and into the afternoon on sunny days.  Anji has been soaking up as much as she can!!

My favorite room so far!

This is probably my favorite room in the entire house!  I love a fireplace...a real fireplace, with a real fire!  The only time we have had a real fireplace in our home was in Texas...and we never used it...because it was Texas! : )

We have built two fires so far in this fireplace, and they were both wonderful!  A and I would sit in our dining room chairs all evening, enjoying the fire.  Now we have picked up some comfy chairs...but it has been a bit warm for a fire.  We are also holding off for A's asthma issues to clear up...she's had some issues the last 2 weeks, and while I don't think the fireplace bothers her asthma...definitely don't want to take that chance when she is already having issues!

I still love this room!  During the months that we can't have a fire, it will be my reading room.  Which means I won't get to spend nearly as much time cuddled up in those chairs as I would like...but I am going to enjoy every minute I can!! 

This room also includes our dining area.  Where we sit together at least 4 nights a week and have dinner and talk about our day.  In my mind...this is important.  I work hard to plan a menu and cook meals so that we have this time together as a family.  In my family's mind it's a time to fuss about the food on their plates, or fuss about who is going to carry the plates to the table, or negotiate exactly how many nibbles of food have to be eaten to count as trying something.  And one member (who will go unnamed) joins us for about 5 minutes...that is just about as long as he can possibly find a plate of food interesting!  But I hope that someday my kids look back at family dinner time as a good thing.  And that they will realize the work and effort I put into it because I felt it was important.  And I hope someday when they have their own kids, they continue the tradition because it is what they grew up with.  And I hope someday that their kids come up to them and say "Thanks for dinner Mom, it was great!"

Our fireplace definitely has some 70's charm...but that doesn't even bother me!

One of the first things the girls ask when we choose a house is "Where is the cross wall going to be?"  This time it's the dining area.

The comfy furniture...can't wait to spend more time in it!

It's never "home" until the mantle is hung!  My dad made this for our fireplace in Texas.  It has travelled with us since.  A lot of times it has hung over our bed in our room because we had no fireplace!  But this time it is at least hanging NEAR the fireplace.  I can't wait to hang stockings on it at Christmas time!!

Suggestions??

Okay, another room completed!  A's room is pretty cool, if you ask me.  Her area is the mother-in-law apartment of this house...the entire upstairs!  The room she is using as her bedroom is supposed to be the living/dining area of the MIL suite.  There is a former kitchen up there (now just storage), a bedroom, and a bathroom.

A's lounging area...

A's desk/keyboard/tumbling area...

These are the doors to the balcony...

A's sleeping area...

A's dressing area...

I tried to get a view of the entire room...

I think she likes it!!! : )

This is our extra room.  The first time in our almost 15 years of marriage and even more homes that we have a room that we just don't know what to do with!!!  My first inclination is to fill it with more kids!!  But not sure hubby or rest of the family would agree with that idea! : )  Any suggestions???

More work...DONE!

Working my hubby to death, but slowly getting ALL the rooms done! 

Our bathroom...the one room in the house that has been remodeled!!

Toilets here are a bit different than in the States...

Shower that R barely fits in...

Towel bar is HEATED...greatest.invention.EVER!!  I absolutely LOVE it!!

Living Room is finished...

Back area of the living room...AKA my office space and little R's play area...

Still have some empty white wall space...but we will handle that eventually!  We left a lot of our wall decor in storage in the States.