Venice

We decided to venture into Venice today. It's only an hour by train, so it's a super easy day trip. We didn't have an itinerary...just jumped on the train and went. Which, by the way, probably wasn't the smartest idea on our part. We had no idea where we were going or what to do. I definitely want to do a little research and find some of the more "touristy" attractions for next time. The architecture of the buildings and bridges were pretty much what I was expecting, but I didn't expect all the privately owned shops and street vendors. There were rows and rows of nothing but shops...you know, the kind where the price starts at 100 euro and suddenly drops to 20 as you're walking out the door? Anyway, it was fun to walk the streets, and I know we only saw a fraction of the city. Here are a few pics from the day.

Train ride on the way there...

First thing you see as you exit the train station...

Random pics...

Ok, there were A LOT of handbag stores...T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!!

Rome and David...he just arrived from Hurlburt Field, Florida. We were stationed with him there from 1997-2000.

We stopped for lunch, and I got my usual Diavola (dee-ah-vo-lah) pizza. It's like an American pepperoni pizza, and I always feel pretty safe with that choice. The Italians like some funky stuff on and in their food...you'll see what I mean when you see David's pizza. Yuck!
Also, it's not family style like in the states. In Italy, each person gets their own individual pizza.

David's pizza was some sort of seafood medley...he said it was actually pretty good. I dare you to ask for this at Pizza Hut!

Other random pics...

This is actually the front door to some sort of apartment complex...isn't it amazing? So beautiful! There were 6 doorbells right behind me...it took everything I had not to ring one of them!

Ok, I know that was a lot of pics...I got a little carried away! Have a great weekend...ciao. :)

Merry Christmas
"Buon Natale"
(bwone nah-tah-lay)

Ramiro and I wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas. The holidays are a difficult time to be so far away, but we know that our assignment here will fly by...it already is! Please remember that we have a private guest sweet upstairs that's just waiting to accommodate YOU!

Our plan was to stay up last night and call as many people as we could. Needless to say, I couldn't make it past midnight, which would have been somewhere between 4pm-6pm for most of you. The time change is a bit of a challenge, but I'm going to try to continue my calls throughout the weekend...hopefully I'll catch you at home. :)

The coolest thing about our Christmas yesterday was the snow. The mountains are typically snow-capped this time of year, but Aviano and the surrounding towns rarely see snowfall. Well, last night about 8pm the white stuff started falling...soooo beautiful. There's nothing like snow on Christmas...makes you feel like a kid inside! Here's a few pics I took this morning.

Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

My parents sent us some presents for Christmas, so these pics are for them.

We love, love, love the comfies....thank you so much! And Mom, don't cry....I'll be seeing you before you know it. :) Merry Christmas....we love you guys. XOXOXOXO

Christmas Party

Ok, so we had Ramiro's squadron Christmas party last night. We always look forward to getting out and celebrating with friends during the holidays. The location was fine, the food and spirits were acceptable, but the entertainment was beyond "gag me with a spoon". A perfectly good DJ was hired and waiting in the wings....all of us "oldies" were waiting for the music and dancing to start. (oldies = 30+ yrs) The party planners, however, had a grand idea to entertain the "youngins" with a battle of Rock Band. (youngins = 18-29 yrs) Now, I'm the first to line up for a good battle of Rock Band or Guitar Hero....LOVE the game! (And I'm quite good if I do say so myself!) But it's not something I care to observe during an annual Christmas party. So, what was intended to be a short tournament turned into an entire night of horrible music and screaming Airmen....oh, the horror. We would have left earlier in the evening, but of course they waited until the very end to give away the big prizes. (Yes, we suffered in hopes of a 47 inch flat screen TV) So Rock Band finally wrapped up around 11:00, they drew the final prizes, and the DJ was rockin' the house as we walked out the door. What a disappointment! Oh, by the way, my name was drawn to pick a prize envelope off the Christmas tree....$10 bill baby....that should buy me about a gallon of gas! I guess the night wasn't an entire bust after all. :)

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

So today I turned 36...it looks much older when I actually type the number. To say I'm 36 doesn't seem like anything at all. Yes, there are things that I had hoped to have done by this time, but the age itself is just a number to me. I think I get that from my Dad. He has always said that age is just a number, and he absolutely lives by that motto. He's technically retired, but still works a part-time job (just to keep busy), mows his own lawn, helps coach my nephew's baseball team, and literally goes non-stop. The man is bionic! So ya, he's living proof that age is just a number. :)

To celebrate, we went to my favorite pizzeria with our good friends Chris, Connie, and their boys. They make the best "Normale" pizza....spicy pepperoni, cheese, garlic chunks, and onion....yum! I opted for gelato instead of cake and ice-cream for dessert....double yum!

Dardago's Pizzeria is like a little mom and pop's type place. We like to sit outside on the porch when the weather permits. As you can see, dining has moved indoors for the winter. Italians eat late, so we usually beat the rush. They're typically coming in about the time we're leaving...funny.

..Aunt Gin....check out the earrings....love them!

.Another year, another birthday....wish all of you were here to celebrate with me!

Hi There...

I apologize for not blogging more frequently. Thanksgiving is this week, and I honestly don't know where November has gone! Really nothing new our way. We're hosting Thanksgiving dinner at the casa, so we've been planning for that. And I think we're going to Germany for Christmas, so we've been looking in to that as well. We did have time to check out one of our local castles this weekend, so I've attached some pics. I've also included some unrelated photos that I hope you'll enjoy and find interesting.

We're quickly approaching the holiday season, and we miss our family and friends more than ever! Know that you're always in our thoughts and prayers, and we hope to see and/or hear from you soon!!

Several towns will have their own castle...this is the one in Caneva where we live.
"Castello di Caneva"
The castle sits at the top of a mountain. The drive up is very steep and narrow....scary!!


Entrance into the church at the castle. You can find a church around every corner in Italy. Apparently, even at a castle!



Beautiful view of Caneva from the edge of the castle.
We took pictures on the way back down the mountain as well. This is some sort of a fruit tree that we see everywhere. The fruit looks like an orange, but it's more firm like an apple. I don't know if you can eat them, or if it's even a fruit! But I think the tree itself looks super cool. Especially now that it's fall and the leaves are falling off.


Just to prove that there is no wasted space in Italy, check out how they've leveled the hillside to make it functional for a vineyard. VERY cool!!


I took this pic on the way home from church today. There are several routes to get to our house, but this is one of my favorites. I think the view at this turn epitomizes Italy with its multi-colored row houses and church bell. I love it!


This picture was taken from base...just wanted to show you how it's starting to snow in the mountains. I can't wait to try snowboarding!


Last, but not least, here's a recent pic of the babies...just in case you've forgotten what they look like. :) Ciao for now!