La Casa {First Floor}

So here is the first floor, I'll get around to the other floors just as soon as I have some time to clean them! :) I'm not trying to be creapy on the video by not talking, Emily was asleep, plus it's pretty self-explanitory: entry, kitchen, living room, etc. And sorry for the blurry pictures, our home really only has windows on one side so we have very little natural light and I was in a hurry, but you get the idea. We love this house, it's so charming inside!

 Toilet and his friend, Mr. Bidet! We have one in every bathroom!

La Casa {Outside}

Lots of friends and family have been asking to see our house and it really is quite the charming Italian home, so.........here is a short video of the outside. Sorry for it being so dark. I just got lucky it wasn't raining, it's not often that it is sunny and nice out at a time when I can film the home. And some pictures below of the fall colors. It was beautiful here with lots of yellows and oranges in October and the start of November. Up next: the first floor of the house.

Halloween-ish

Halloween here in Italy is not really the Halloween we Americans know it to be. First of all, they don't really trick-or-treat. Our Italian babysitter said they do but I didn't see a soul out that night. But that might be because it was pouring rain. Or because I had the shutters closed up tight and the house dark. Or because we're known as the crazy American's whose children run naked through the house when the pizza delivery guy is counting out your change. But that's neither here nor there.

 

The base held a little fall festival thingy for the kids but of course it was pouring rain so we opted out. And Brian's school on base doesn't allow the wearing of the costumes for some reason that was left unexplained (Although, I can think of a few that have to do with maintaining good relations with the local community and also chaffing). So after a week of no Halloween festivities, the first weekend of November rolled around and we had the chance to team up with some other Americans to trick-or-treat at Americans' houses. We went. It poured rain. The kids had fun. Checked that box.

 

I'm really not a big fan of Halloween. I can't really say why. It's not the whole "evil" bad rap it gets. It's just not my thing. But Steve and I managed to dress up for an adult party. He's a crazy person and I'm his nurse, although NOT the naughty kind, the retro, WWII-era kind! And we carved some pumpkins, and by "we," I mean me, damnit, while everyone else sat in the other room watching the Lion King and yelling their descriptions of how they wanted their pumpkins to look! Never again. And Brian's school held a transportation parade on Halloween day to make up for the no-costume policy. He wanted to be a fireman so we made him up a nice box firetruck and by "we," I mean me, while everyone else sat in the next room watching......oh nevermind. 

More Family Pictures

A few days after we took the pictures with the jet, I dressed everyone back up on a sunny day and we went outside in our yard for some non-jet family pictures. I was hoping for one good family shot, and the kids were being great, so I just kept snapping away while they played and I got some good ones of the kids. I may have heavily bribed with candy. I'm surprised there are no candy wrappers in any of the shots!!

Annual Jet Pictures

It's become an annual tradition that we take pictures with the jet in the fall to use for Christmas cards. We've only missed a few years and although I don't always use the pictures for our Christmas cards, I love that one day when our Air Force life is over, we'll have a wall full of jet pictures to look back on. These were taken by one of the other pilots in the squadron who offered to take pictures for everyone. Check out his website here: Lucas G Photography, he's amazing!

Okay so obviously Emily didn't like being inside the intake (below left) but it's an F16 Pilot offspring's right of passage. And we took her right out. But only because she was going to jump out if we didn't :) I just had to include that picture though because look at those curls!!! I mean, seriously, who has curls like that?!



Castagne Roasting on an Open Fire

October in this part of Italy is (unoffically) the month of the Chestnut. They are falling out of the trees like rain then and since Italy is the best in the world (possibly tied with the Germans) for festivals celebrating food, it would follow that a tiny village called Mezzomonte (translation: "halfway up the mountain") would host the Castagna (Chestnut) Festival. Luckily for us, Mezzomonte is just a 20-minute drive down the mountain highway and another 20-minute drive up the side of the mountain. It was a beautiful afternoon but by the time we made it up to the festival, the cold mist had started coming down the mountain. But the roasted Chestnuts and their products: Chestnut coffee, Chestnut beer, and various Chestnut baked goods, warmed us. Alas, after all this, we discovered a general feeling of dislike for La Castagna (except for Steve who likes everything, so his vote is not counted, since he is an outlier in all food surveys). But it was a lovely afternoon in a beautiful old town halfway up the mountain!

Hilltop Hike Above Grizzo

 These were taken in mid-October on top of a small hill above our town one afternoon on a hike. All pictures were taken with our iPhones, not bad for a cell phone camera! But these pictures still don't do justice to the beauty here. Every morning at 7am when Brian and I are waiting at the bus stop, I'm looking at the sun's first rays hitting the mountains thinking nothing could be prettier!

 Bottom left is Grizzo, our house is in there somewhere.

 Malnisio, the town behind the hill

Lake Como

In October we decided a few days before the holiday weekend to take advantage of Brian's 3 days off school and Steve's 3 days off work. I was able to find a great little apartment for rent in Bellagio on Lake Como, so we loaded up the van (mistake #1) and went. The drive was great until we actually got to the lake and the two-way road narrowed to an incredibly windy road that would fit our Honda Odyssey and maybe a really skinny person on a bike. It was sporty there for a while. But it actually got much worse when we finally pulled into Bellagio and were unable to find parking so we listened to our GPS (mistake #2) and she led us into the restricted/residents only zone, which was also the main shopping drag and was only wide enough for our van and maybe two skinny pedestrians. I think there might still be fingernail marks in the leather of the passenger seat. I might have been freaking out a little bit. Steve did really good though and luckily we were able to unload our suitcases right at the hotel and then he spent the better part of an hour looking for parking. We've learned our lesson and retired the van as the trip taking vehicle! Once we got all settled in though, Lake Como was beautiful and we had a great time. There wasn't much to do but wander around and eat. We all enjoyed taking the ferries around and hiking through the charming villages. 

 See the picture above of Steve with the jogging stroller, that is the street he had to drive the van down! And it doesn't get any wider than that!