Christmas in Italy

One of my most memorable grade school assignments was a holiday project that required us to write about Christmas in another country.  I chose Holland and did a stellar report on the traditions and customs of the Dutch.  Ironically, my partner for this project was none other than the person who taught me all I knew about Italian Christmases- Seven fishes dinner on Christmas Eve, Panettone- all that good stuff.  I didn't think this information would come in handy because I never really thought I would be away from my beloved Q on Dec. 25th.  We made a smart decision to stay put this year given the mess that was European airports this past week.  Here are a few things I learned about Christmas in Italy...

Merry Christmas from (just outside) Venice.

1. Christmas is a very religious holiday.  Seems like this should be a given, but compared to the good old USA, Christmas here in the church had a more religious feel to it.  Sure, I bet they had their CAPE Catholics (those who only set foot in a church on Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Easter) in attendance, but the whole week before took on a very Easter-like atmosphere.  Eucharistic adoration took place all week and on Christmas Eve, the church had all day confession.  In Italy, Catholics are not suppose to receive communion unless they have been to confession.  Not sure how they "check" this, but it works out great for me since I can't go to communion and have lots of company in the pews.  (It also makes me look like a big sinner...)  We attended Mass on Christmas Eve at 11pm at the nearby Italian church.  We stood out like sore thumbs for a number of reasons, chief among them being that we were not wearing any fur.  There was so much fur at Mass....boots with the fur, coats with the fur, children with the fur, men in fur....fur everywhere.  Although we had no idea what was going on most of the time, the choir sang some lovely versions of "The First Noel" and "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" (thank goodness I learned that in Latin).  The homily was something about Pakistan and Iraq...those were the only words we recognized.

One of the many manger scenes in our town.

Are the wise men Italian now?  Who is this?

Another interesting thing about Italians at Mass is that we have noticed they don't particularly dress for it.  Sure, some folks were in nice outfits, but many were in jeans.  We've also noticed this is very common at funerals. (Living next to a church, these are the things you notice). If an Italian can explain this to me, I'd love to learn about it...

2. Light displays are smaller.  This makes sense since everything in Europe is smaller.  Italians seem to limit their outside lights to one tree, one balcony or one door.  Nothing is too ostentatious.  The town we live in decorated the light poles with some cute lights and I would have a picture if it were not pouring rain every night this week.  The shooting star is very popular here and many churches and businesses display a star with a tail. One light display, however, looked like it was designed by Clark Griswold.  Downtown Vicenza was a light explosion as you can see here.



This isn't tacky or anything...



Piazza Signori, Downtown Vicenza

3. Still not sure if Christmas Trees are only an American thing.  They sell trees here (fake and real), but I'm not sure if Italians put them in their homes and children expect gifts under them.  I've heard Jan. 6 is the gift day and that there is a witch (La Befana) who delivers the gifts.  My German co-worker did confirm that stockings are a very American tradition.  I actually tried to find a real Christmas tree and had all intentions of getting one.  I went to a store that advertised them and had high hopes that it would be set up in our living room that night.  Unfortunately, the store I went to didn't resemble the one-stop Christmas tree shop that is the parking lot on the Southern Artery.  I found the trees here...but that's just what they were.  The tree literally looked like it had just been pulled out of the ground, roots and all.  Apparently, you buy a bucket and have to almost plant the tree in your house.  I panicked and realized that I wouldn't know what to do with this tree. It likely would not have fit in my car, it would have been a mess and what would I do with it after Christmas?  I really didn't want to get kicked out of Italy for failing to dispose of a Christmas tree properly.  Instead, we took the easy route and got a (gasp) fake tree.  I know...I know...

"We're kicking off our fun old fashion family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols..."-Clark W. Griswold

4. Buon Natale is not used as frequently as Merry Christmas is at home.  Merry Christmas translates to Buon Natale in Italian, but it doesn't seem to appear on greeting cards, in light displays or on any holiday signage.  I think it's used more in the religious scene because it translates to Happy Birth of Christ.  More commonly are the phrases Buone Feste and Auguri (wishes).

The Christmas Market in town...notice the little bit of snow we got!!!

5.  American Christmas culture is alive and well here.  Unfortunately, Italians seem to adopt some of our most unsightly and harmful inventions...Crocs, McDonalds, and even inflatable holiday lawn decorations.  Although they were few and far between, they are sadly here.  On the plus side, I did hear some Mariah Carey on the Italian radio and was grateful that Italians can experience the greatest Christmas song ever.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like a gramatically incorrect Winnie the Pooh ornament.

6.  Panettone is everywhere.  It's the Italian version of fruit cake at the holidays and it is everywhere.  Stores sell it in countless varieties and pasticcerias make their own.   I only know what this crazy bread/cake is because of my aforementioned Italian friend.  Her family would give us one every year and my poor American mother would struggle to make sense of what exactly it was.  She'd pop it in the toaster and melt butter on it and even tried to make french toast with it one year.  I received one as a gift this year and although I can't enjoy it, it still looked pretty.

Our Christmas

Christmas here at Hotel Hart was relaxing and enjoyable.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and as it has done for the past month and a half, it rained...poured rain to the point that there were concerns that the rivers were going to overflow and the city would flood again.  Luckily, it did not, but that just gives you an idea of how much rain we have been getting here.  After a delish breakfast, we enjoyed the comforts of our living room and a nice Christmas movie marathon and indulged in several games of my new favorite card game Monopoly Deal (seriously, go buy this...now!).  The day took a turn for the interesting when our American neighbors invited us to their place for dinner.  This was very nice of them, especially since we have really only exchanged pleasantries.  To prepare for spending Christmas with total strangers, I made a lasagna...which is funny because I couldn't eat it and I can't really cook.  Our neighbors (from the San Diego area) were very hospitable and it was so kind of them to invite us to their home.  Our only flop of the evening was the fact that we brought a bottle of wine, only to find out that they don't drink...and that our hostess was pregnant.  Oops. 

The moral of this story is that there's nothing like a Quincy Christmas.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

If you've been following the news across the pond lately, then you know that a good portion of Europe has been receiving snow for the past week.  While that has caused travel nightmares for many trying to get home for the holidays, it has also brought an early Christmas present for the skiers here!  Euro Shawn made the wise decision to stick around Italy for a few days after school ended for him in Milan and we had quite the weekend ski adventure.

Sorry your flight is delayed- the snow here is great!

The real adventure started Friday night here in the Vicenza area when the steady snow that had been falling throughout the afternoon began to accumulate.  The roads were a bit slick since the Italians out here in the countryside use tractors to plow and being that this is Italy...they got around to plowing when they felt like it.  We got a few inches of snow, which I find confusing.  They say that snow is not that common here, but this is the second time since Thanksgiving that we've had measurable snowfall.  No complaints here, I love the snow and it looked festive on the Christmas lights...and palm trees.


Our ski plan involved chasing the snow.  Whichever mountain had the most snow and open trails was where we were headed on Saturday.  We booked a hotel in the middle of the mountains so that we'd have easy access to any mountain in the Dolomites.  We rose early Saturday and piled into our trusty rear-wheel drive BMW 316i (Remember this...it will be important later).  The beemer was the only car choice we had since the backseat of H1 folds down in one piece and we needed three sets of skis and three people to fit in the car.  We reasoned that once we figured out how to cram  all of Shawn's luggage and toiletries in the car, we'd be all set.

To get to views like this...we had to scale the mountain in our car

Saturday at Alta Badia
We hit the road anticipating about a three hour drive to a Northern ski town.  The first few hours flew by as we cruised along the autostrada.  If you're familiar with the Dolomite mountain range, you know that there is no easy way to get there.  Unlike us good Americans, the Europeans typically don't blow up a mountain and build a highway through it.  Here, you must drive up and over the mountain.  At about hour three on our adventure, we found ourselves on uphill roads covered in snow with frequent signs reminding drivers to have snow chains.  (You'll be happy to know that we bought ourselves snow chains for Christmas today.)  And while I don't speak much Italian, I realized that our quest to go to Alta Badia probably meant we were headed up higher and higher into the mountains.


As we climbed, we noticed very few cars on the road.  What did all these people know that we didn't?  We quickly figured it out as that trusty, rear-wheel BMW 316i fishtailed all over the road on each turn up the hill at the blazing speed of 10 kph.  The car did its best Little Engine That Could impression as it sputtered, spun and slid up the mountain.  On the plus side, I didn't get car sick this week ...but I think that's because I was too busy fearing for my life.

We finally made it to Alta Badia and hit the slopes later than we would have liked, but got plenty of skiing in.  The place was massive and we did not wait in a lift line all day.  To be honest, I don't even think we took the same lift twice all day!  With the Dolomite Super Ski lift ticket (a bargain at 34 Euro/day), you can ski at any of the 12 associated mountains, many of which are interconnected.  Take that silly seven peaks of Sunday River (kidding...I <3 SR).

After a day of skiing, we headed back to that trusty real-wheel drive BMW 316i  for the trek to the hotel.  Since we were so high up in the mountains, the temperature dropped considerably after the sun went down.  Our skilled driver failed to mention that the heat in the car only works when you are at high speeds...which as you know, we were not as we descended the mountain like an out of control bobsled.  For almost an hour, Euro Shawn shivered in the backseat, still dressed in all his ski gear (well, almost all of it...ask him about this if you see him).  My internal body temperature must have dropped a few degrees and even the Eskimo driver needed gloves.  I would recommend the lovely hotel we stayed in and the delightful pizzeria we ate dinner at, but I can't even think of a reason you'd be anywhere near where we were....ever.  If you want to get off the beaten path in Italy, let me know.


Sunday at Cortina
We woke on Sunday to a balmy -27 degrees Celsius.  That post I had last week about it not being that cold skiing in Italy?  Definitely a lie.  Since Shawn "Bode Miller" Kelly was not challenged enough by Alta Badia's trails, he insisted we head to the posh town of Cortina to ski there.  It was only an hour away, so it seemed like a logical choice.  As mentioned, that trusty rear-wheel drive BMW 316i lacks heat unless she is at high speeds, so not only was it -27 outside, it was the same for about an hour in the car.  Awesome.

The drive to Cortina looked easy on the map and the roads had cleared a bit from the day before.  Unfortunately, our GPS decided that the most direct route from the middle of nowhere Italy to Cortina was over a mountain.  This time, we found ourselves on a mountain pass that is probably only suppose to be used in the summer.  There were no cars on the road and we found ourselves staring at feet of pristine,untouched snow looking at  mountain tops that seemed fake.  Shawn compared it to the epic old school computer game Ski Free where you try to out-ski the abominable snow monster that eventually eats you.

Something tells me we weren't suppose to be on this road...

The town of Cortina was easy to find (once we survived the mountain pass), but the skiing was not.  This sounds really stupid, but we made it to the most famous ski town in Italy and literally could not find the skiing. Thanks to a total lack of signs in the town, we drove in circles for a good half hour. Although we were all frozen, tempers started to heat up in the car....one person wanted to stop at the tourist information point, another wanted to search the GPS for an address and one threatened to drive home out of frustration.  Once we figured it all out, we got out a bit later than we would have liked, but enjoyed the amazing snow at Cortina.  After a good, but cold, day on the slopes, we finally had clear roads on the way home and were able to get enough speed in the car to generate heat.  Next time, we're taking the Honda.

Some of the Best Things About Skiing in Italy

No rules- while at Cortina, we came across the sign for a closed trail.  We actually really needed to go down the trail to get to where we wanted to be.  While we stood around and contemplated risking our temporary ability to live in Italy, a group of Italian skiers came upon the same trail.  In true Italian fashion, they saw the sign, looked at each other and headed down the slopes.  When in Cortina...

Lots of snow- Both days featured trails covered in snow...more snow than I've ever seen at home skiing.  The top of Tofana (a part of Cortina) is a big snow bowl where it's so white, you can't even tell where you are going.  Awesome conditions for mid-December.

Huttes and ski races- Unlike home, there are no "ski lodges" here.  Instead, there are several huttes, chalets, rifugios, snack bars, etc.  Most look like log cabins and serve a variety of food (very expensive food in some instances).  At Alta Badia, we ate at a very cute hutte that was packed with skiers watching a World Cup ski race...the irony!  Turns out Alta Badia hosted the Men's World Cup ski race this weekend, where an American won!  How we did not even realize this race was going on just shows how massive the mountain was.

Olympic History- Cortina hosted the 1958 Winter Olympics.  If you didn't know, I'm obsessed with the Olympics, a hobby I picked up as a kid when my sister and I would pretend to be athletes from the "Unified Team" (truly a sign of growing up in the early 1990s).  At Cortina, we actually skied the 1956 Olympic run!  Epic!  Unfortunately, I only took home the silver.  We also parked for free in the Olympic Stadium parking lot.  No big deal.

Gondolas- European skiers love gondolas!  They also seem to like lifts in general. Alta Badia and Cortina each probably had five different gondolas going to different parts of the mountain...followed by chair lifts bringing you further up the mountain. I never really ride gondolas at home...Loon's is too crowded, Cannon's might bring you to the top of a mountain without any snow and the Chondola at Sunday River turned my favorite part of the mountain into a traffic nightmare.

Crazy Trails- It was always an adventure on the slopes both days.  Trails seemed to go on forever in any direction.  One trail at Alta Badia featured two-way skiing...up and down hill!   At Cortina, we took one trail that required us to cross at least 5 streets and a small bridge over a river.  Yes, we crossed streets on skis...

 That's it from the slopes.  Until next time (which should be very soon!)...

It's Ski Time!

As promised, this post will be about skiing in Italy.  Fortunately, I was able to ski for the second consecutive weekend...unfortunately, I forgot my camera for the second consecutive weekend.  Luckily, a ski buddy brought hers and I snagged some pictures she posted. 

Last weekend, I skied with "work", which basically meant I made sure no kids got seriously injured or lost going down the slopes.  We spent the day in Arabba, a ski resort overlooking the small town.  It's the highest point in the Dolomites and is adjacent to the glacier Marmolada.  Being that the town is so high up, they had plenty of snow for the first week and December and conditions were great.  Conditions on the bus ride up were not so great.  Since childhood, car rides have given me serious carsickness. Imagine my horror as I sat on a bus slowly making its way up switchbacks on the face of a mountain.  Luckily, my mother taught me to always travel with a plastic bag handy.  Once on the mountain, I fared much better and enjoyed myself and the views.  Unlike skiing at home, there was no wind, so the temperature felt very comfortable.  I vow to return with a camera as the scene of freshly fallen snow on a small Italian town in the mountains was breathtaking.

This weekend, we decided to stay local and hit up the closest ski resort to us.  Only an hour and a half away, Folgaria provided plenty of slopes and lifts for an early season day.  The mountain was not as quaint or beautiful as last weekend, but it had decent trails and a variety of terrain. (Unfortunately, it was also up some switchbacks and I had my plastic bag ready on my lap.)  Saturday was the best day weather wise we have had in more than a month.  No joke, the sun hasn't been out since October, but as you can see, it was a bluebird day.

The first thing you notice in this picture is not the handsome man on the left, but the tube that seems oddly out of place.  The Italians seemed to have mastered the lift system.  This tunnel is actually an enclosed magic carpet at the top of a lift.  Instead of trekking uphill to another section of the mountain, this magic carpet will take you there! 

Speaking of lifts, the lift lines here would put Cindy, LoriAnn and Norman out of jobs if installed in Bethel, Maine.  Your lift ticket is actually a card that goes in your left jacket pocket.  To get into the lift line area, you stand next to an scanner and it reads your card and lets you through a turnstile. I'm still not sure if I like this system because it's difficult and awkward to get through a turnstile on skis, but it seems efficient.  You then enter no man's land and use the Italian line system to get on the lift.  As I've mentioned before, Italians are allergic to line formation, so this also creates chaos.  Since it's been early in the season, we've lucked out and haven't waited in many lines or assaulted any Italians with our poles...yet.

The scanner system used to check lift tickets.  Picture stolen from Caitlin Robbie.

Not to knock my winter home of Sunday River, Maine, but skiing in Italy has been very enjoyable the past two weekends.  The weather is perfect and the snow and conditions pretty good for early December.  Last weekend, I ate lunch outside and this weekend, we stopped for a drink with friends (because there are bars on the side of the trails here!) and sat at picnic tables.  Most times at home, we are scurrying into the North Peak Lodge to get hot chocolate because we can't feel our toes, hands, faces and noses.  As mom would say, "it's (always) a double hand-warmer day."

Lately, I've been having several "I wish I spoke Italian" moments....like when I went shopping at the mall last week and had to ask for something behind a glass case....or when I picked up pizza at our local shop and the cook decided to have a conversation with me...or when our GPS gave us the wrong directions when leaving the mountain and we encountered a closed road (and lots of signage) and chose to drive up it as it was covered in snow...only to have to turn around when the road became impassable.  We can laugh about it now. (Language side note- the word for ski in Italian is sci (pronounced she) and the verb "to ski" is sciare (pronounced she-ah-ray).  It's become my least favorite Italian word because it just sounds so wrong.)

There will be more about ski adventures next week.  This weekend, we have Euro Shawn coming by for a last visit before he heads home.  We will be headed to some of the Dolomites finest slopes.  It'll be an early day on Saturday, but I'm planning to wake-up to the sounds of Jon Secada. (Oh, Brookside humor!)  Until then, I'll be doing my snow dance.

Our ski group for the day striking a pose.

Castle + Costumes + Good Food & Drinks= Pirate Party!

December is here and that can mean only one thing...SKI SEASON! (You thought I was going to say Christmas...) On Saturday, I had to work, but by work I mean chaperoning middle and high school kids on a ski trip!  Unfortunately, I did not have my camera to show the beautiful scenes from the Dolomites, but fear not, I am probably skiing this coming weekend too.  More on skiing in the next post.

So one of the first things we learned about when we got to Italy was the infamous Pirate Party.  Our friends Frank and Silvia told us great tales of this epic party where you dress like pirates, do ropes courses and sleep in a castle.  How could we not get excited?!  Since I was on the slopes all day, I got a late start on the party and costume making, but made it nonetheless.  As you can see, my costume kinda sucked...it was a combination of a ninja outfit I wore for Halloween (had to dress up for work) and some sweet pink Under Armour from my day on the slopes.  Since the party was in an unheated castle, the long johns came in handy.  Brenden spent his Saturday preparing his awesome costume, complete with a foam fun sword that he used way more often than he should have all night.

I was an Asian inspired pirate.  Nobody seemed to mind.

 The Castello di Galeazza dates from the 13th century.  The tower was the original part and other rooms were added in the 16th and 17th centuries.  Some parts of it have been updated, but it still has a very old feel to it...and no heat in most rooms.  As a result, we had electric blankets on our beds that proved to be very effective.  The last time I saw an electric blanket was at Woodcliff Road when my parents likely used one to keep the oil bill down.  The temperatures have been dropping in Italy and I was a bit skeptical about the blanket's ability to keep me warm all night.  To my surprise, I slept very comfortably, although I did have three shirts and two pairs of pants on.

The Castle is currently run by an American named Clark.  He rents most of the place and maintains the rooms and the grounds (which include a little farm with goats and chickens).  To raise money for upkeep, Clark and his staff host events throughout the year.  They run parties in the winter...Halloween, Pirates, New Year's, Mexican Fiesta, and St. Patty's Day and host reading retreats during the spring and summer.  The castle functions like a bed and breakfast.  With our night stay came dinner (potatoes and sausage), dessert (muffins and candy) and breakfast (bacon and eggs), as well as copious amounts of wine and rum.  Ironically, one of the girls who was working the event was from Acton, MA and was taking a "gap year" (someone please explain the point of this!) in Europe before attending Fordham next year.  The castle is located somewhere between Ferrara and Bologna in a very rural part of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.  Not really sure who this castle was built to protect because it's in the middle of nowhere and nearly impossible to find without GPS.

The castle was all decorated for the Pirate Party.  This sign lead the way to the beginning of the ropes course.  The staff flooded the barn area and actually had a pretty legit ropes course over water and fire!  There was also a working cannon that was set off every so often and lots of firecrackers!

 The party was pretty much like a costumed barbecue.  It was very informal and casual and people helped themselves to food and drinks all night.  The American contingent consisted of a small group of folks that we know from the clinic and all 9 of us spent the night at the castle.  We also had the pleasure of meeting some Italians from the area, as well as a few Dutch folks.  We enjoyed ourselves by completing the ropes course several times (some of us more than others!) and chatting with friends around the fire pits.  Pirate Hart was an expert on the ropes, as you can see.

 He had so much fun that we found him fully in costume (eye patch included) asleep in his warm, electric blanketed bed.  Pretty impressive.  Great success.

We are now members of the castle club and can go back to attend any of their events or parties.  When else are we going to be able to sleep in a castle?

Bonjour from Paris!

Thanksgiving is likely my favorite American holiday.  It's basically the same as Christmas with better food, no presents and football...so it's really a no-brainer. Unfortunately, it didn't make sense to journey back to the land where Thanksgiving was invented, so we compromised and had the Kelly clan meet us (somewhat) half way in Paris. 

I wasn't sure what to expect in Paris.  I figured it might fall somewhere between the other two major European cities- London (which I love) and Rome (which I hate).  Surprisingly, Paris was much closer to London for me than Rome, even though it felt nothing like Thanksgiving and was a bit on the chilly side (and even snowed).  Sadly, there was no turkey trot in the morning, none of Nana Kelly's biscuits in the oven and no Quincy Christmas Day Parade, but we managed to enjoy our holiday in France...and here's how we did it:

Turkey and the Patriots make Lisa one happy American.

Good Company- If you were in Quincy this weekend and it felt empty...it's because TK and MK were not there!  Shocking, really, but they actually left their beloved homeland for a few days to see the Parisian sites.  The traveling Poles clan and Euro-Shawn joined us and, although it felt a lot like National Lampoon's Vacation, we all enjoyed ourselves.  Sure, TK almost got us tossed from our Thanksgiving Dinner for demanding more sound and the Patriots game on more of their TVs, MK still hasn't learned that in France, Germany and Italy they don't speak Spanish and the Poles' make you want to smash all of their cameras, but overall it was a unique Thanksgiving.  We managed to meet some memorable folks along the way, such as Jack and Pauline from Melrose, MA and our waitress from the Yukon Territory (people actually live there?!). 

You can take the Kellys out of Quincy, but not the Quincy out of the Kellys!

Delish Food- If you're able to eat normal food unlike me, you'll probably love Paris.  Crepes, croissants, bread and waffles were easy to find on every corner.  I had to settle for french fries, which, for some reason are a million times better than in the States.  We took a Rick Steves suggestion and found a place that served french fries on top of salad (I was in my glory!).  And when in Paris, you must have creme brule, even if you have no idea what it is and think that it looks like pizza.

French Fries...in France!

Museum Pass- If you plan to see anything in Paris, you'd be silly not to get the Museum Pass, which covers almost all major attractions (except for the Eiffel Tower).  We were able to see so much in two full days, including:
Notre Dame- Gargoyles at the top were amazing/strange/neat.
The Louvre- Museum is seriously too big.  Mona Lisa is less disappointing than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but she's in a really bright room on a stupid wall in the middle.  I expected her to have a better home.
Arc de Triomphe- My fav. arc in all of Europe with great views of the ET.
Versailles- A true palace...more ornate than Buckingham, Kensington or Neuschwanstein.
Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb- We ran out of time here, but the museum had a great display on WWI and WWII and we wished we had more time.

Eiffel Tower- Sure, I've seen it in pictures, but nothing prepared me for the great site of Paris.  I literally took a picture every time I could see it, which was very often.  Unlike Big Ben or the Coliseum, you can see the ET from everywhere in Paris.  It teases you into taking pictures in the day, at night and when it shimmers.  (Did you know it shimmers for 5 minutes at night every hour on the hour?!) 

Location, Location, Location- Since we had a large group in the city, we rented an apartment instead of staying at a hotel.  This was probably the best travel decision we've ever made.  Although it was small and we ran out of hot water after the 4th shower one morning, it had so much character and was located on a busy market street in the Latin Quarter.  We were able to enjoy some of the wine, cheese and desserts sold right outside our door in our Parisian flat.  The metro and some major sites were only a short walk away and the best part was that is was only slightly more expensive than a hostel would have been! Best. Deal. Ever.

Speak No French- So I thought I was bad at Italian.  Turns out, I'm actually so much worse at French.  I couldn't even pronounce menu items correctly.  I literally know "Thank You" and that's about it.  For a major tourist city of the world, I was surprised at how many things were only in French (like signs in the Louvre?!).  I was also spoken to by people several times in French and couldn't for the life of me even say that I had no idea/didn't speak any French. My French was so bad that when I ordered french fries at one place, I ended up with three packages.

Laugh at Each Other- Perhaps the most memorable part of our weekend trip was how ridiculous it seemed that the Kelly Family was in Paris on a major American holiday.  It was hard not to poke fun at each other...and laugh often.  Like when MK tried to pour a glass of water at dinner and spilled it all over the table to the horror of our French waiter...or how the only French phrase book we had was full of dirty phrases....or how TK tried to call his hotel for an extra bed and was told "it is not possible" because the room was only big enough for just one bed and no more...or when Kate almost got hit by a car in the middle of an intersection because she needed the perfect picture (ok, maybe that's not really funny)....or how we were all suppose to go to dinner and met up way later than we planned and left Shawn outside waiting...or how we all managed to smile for the thousandth time when Joe took out one of his ten tripods for pictures that I'm sure came out tres bien.

Live, laugh and love...Happy Thanksgiving from the Quincy Kelly's in Paris.

Forza Harts!

We've run races in a variety of states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Illinois, Virginia, etc...) and our first international race this fall in Germany.  Sunday was our first Italian race...and there are few things that encapsulate all that I like/dislike about Italian living better than a road race.

The half marathon started in Riva Del Garda, a beautiful mountain/lake town about and hour and thirty minutes north of us.  We have been here before to hike in the summer and it's a very picturesque and enjoyable town, although normally packed with European tourists.  Its location close to the Austrian border gives it a German influence (the town was part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and only became Italian in 1918) which means signs are in both Italian and German and there are some epic German restaurants.

 On a sunny day, the view is quite impressive.  Unfortunately, we haven't seen the sunshine since October, so we were stuck with lots of foggy views of the lake and mountains. 

The town of Riva in the summer

Our view for most of the day

Lots of fog over the lake

 Whenever I'm in charge of travel logistics, we end up being hours early.  Needless to say...we were exceptionally early for this race, but it gave us a chance to enjoy some of the great things Italian races have to offer.  As previously mentioned, we did not train for this race (took too much time off after Berlin), so it was not a great run, but we finished, got our medals and enjoyed German food with our American friends, Frank and Silvia.  It was perhaps the strangest race course we've ever run, twisting and turning through small towns, vineyards, parking lots, trails, and a playground.  I blame my slow time on the fact that I spent too much time making the following observations about Italian running and culture.


 Reasons You Should Run and Italian Road Race:

The Course- as mentioned, the course was strange, but also scenic.  We ran along the lake pictured below for the last mile or so and it would have been even more beautiful on a clear day.  We ran through the cobblestone streets of Arco and San Giorgio and along the Fiume Sarca.  Italians cheered us on from their windows because we ran right underneath them.  One group stood on the steps of their church as we ran by just as mass was ending.  Several brass bands played music along the way, dressed in traditional costumes (not sure exactly what you call them...).

The Outfits- I was so distracted by what people were wearing that the first six miles flew by.  I felt like I was lost in a crowd at an 80s costume party.  Italian runners love spandex, head bandannas and neon colors.  Men wore spandex capri bike shorts and several had long, dreamy hair.  Women skip the ponytail and run with their big hair bouncing everywhere.  Team running is also very popular and many groups wore matching shirts.  I ran with Stafano and Anna from Team BiPedi for a while.  And since Italians don't like to be cold, several wore gloves, hats, jackets and pants....I was overheating in long sleeves and shorts.

Bathrooms- Porta-potties are a staple at any American race.  There are usually hundreds at the start line and several along the course.  Although the Italians chose to skimp on the bathrooms, the ones they had were AMAZING.  The porta-potties were flushable toilets with plenty of toilet paper and a sink!  This was also the ONLY race I've ever run where there was no line for the woman's room and a line for the men.  (Again, women don't work out much...)  The only down side of the bathroom situation was the lack of toilets on the course.  While not a problem for me, several runners ran off into the vineyards to do their business.  Might want to check where your Italian wine is from next time!

Free Stuff- This was one of the most inexpensive races we've run...yet we got so much stuff!  Before the race, volunteers were giving out croissants and tea.  After the race, there was a pasta party and lots of other free food.  The goodie bag was FULL...technical shirt, snacks, drawstring backpack and the best item...

No Italian gift bag is complete without pasta!

Reasons You Might Want to Skip an Italian Road Race:

Lawlessness- In some past marathons, we have noticed pushy runners.  Pushy as in coming from behind and literally hitting you as they pass without a word.  In one American race, a man was forcing himself forward by moving others out of the way with his elbows.  When runners yelled at him, he kept going without a thought.  Now I know why- he was likely European.  Pushing forward, hitting other runners, running right through a pair of runners...these are all standard European road-race maneuvers.  There is no regard for personal space and no looking out for others in your path.
Speaking of lawlessness, Italians don't do lines.  This becomes problematic at any place you need to create a line and wait patiently for help.  Boarding an plane is like the running of the bulls.  Communion time at mass is like being at a concert where fans rush the stage.  There are no common courtesies and pleasant-ness as there is in America. (Pretty sure many of these people would get beat up if they pulled these stunts back home.)  I recently outran an old lady getting on a plane...because she was trying to cheat the system and sneak ahead. I would never, ever do this in the US! If you're not aggressive, you will not get what you want...ever. 

If you want to experience full-contact running, come to Italy.  This is a picture of Riva from the mountains taken on a summer hiking trip.

Water- During American races, I usually pass an obnoxious amount of water stops.  I find myself skipping many of them and never feeling overly in need of water.  Apparently Italians are camels.  There were very few water stations along the course and since it was deceptively warm, I was parched for most of the race.  Oddly enough, they had cookies and sugar cubes at the stations...more than they did water!

Other Runners- As I was running through the scenic vineyards and Italian towns, I caught a glimpse of a putrid yellow color t-shirt that I'd recognize anywhere.  That's right...it was a BC Superfan.  Those folks from the wrong end of Comm Ave managed to sneak up on me half way across the world!  Grrrrrr....
(I actually talked to this couple for a few minutes and found out they were students studying abroad who wanted to stay in shape.  Shawn- where were you?!  Someone else managed to taunt them by yelling "Eagles Suck...Go Huskies."  Not going to name names....  See you all in the BU Invitational....err, I mean, Beanpot!)

Not our best race, but we're all smiles with our medals.  On to the next run...

Yes, I am in a neon Christmas-like spandex outfit...but this was mild comparatively!

Veterans and Running

When several people asked me to start a blog, I wondered what I write about.  They told me I had a lot of subject matter.  Who me?!  The Army wife with Celiac Disease who runs marathons, lives in Italy and has an expensive and unused journalism degree from BU?  Truth be told...I don't actually like dwelling on many of these topics.  I'm not a good GF eater and it makes be bitter, frustrated and socially awkward. (Except that now with my slow cooker, I've made some pretty awesome dinners!) . I'm a terrible runner, writing about traveling is tedious for me and I never really intended to use that BS from BU (sorry- expensive mistake Mom and Dad!).  But...today I will actually talk about a few of these topics!

It's Veteran's Day and even though we are in Italy, we follow an American schedule.  Unfortunately, my Veteran is actually working today and I have the day off.  Very unfair...but I'm making a delicious dinner (in the slow cooker!).  Dinner doesn't exactly seem like a fair exchange for military service, but I'll try to throw in some additional perks like letting him win in a game of Monopoly Deal tonight.  (Seriously, if you've never played this game, go get it now.  It's amazing and probably deserves its own post.)
In other Veteran's Day news...it's been a busy time around here.  We've had many soldiers returning from a year-long deployment this month and it's hard not to get excited for their families and to feel very proud of their service.   

Now onto topic #2- Running.  This morning, I went for a long run in the Italian countryside.  Team Hart is running a half-marathon this weekend that we kinda forgot to train for...oops.  We were a little too content in the post-marathon hangover stage that we let this race sneak up on us while nursing some of our injuries after Berlin.   After months of getting up before the sun, we enjoyed our weekends sans (or senza in Italian) long run.  Needless to say, there will likely not be any PRs this weekend.  We can't take too much time off though because we just registered for the Stockholm Marathon!  That's right...we're celebrating our anniversary in May by running 26.2 miles in Sweden...how romantic!

My run this morning was certainly entertaining.  It was VERY foggy (apparently, November is foggy season in Italy) and I had a hard time seeing too far in front of me.  This proved to be a problem when some people were out hunting...and all I could hear were gunshots.  I was also asked for directions.  I don't even know why I pretend to try and help, but I responded with one sentence asking if she was looking for the center of town...to which she said (in Italian), "You're not Italian, right?" Um...yea.  So much for trying.  I think I almost got hit by a truck too.

The scenery on my country runs. Not too exciting...

I don't love running in Italy.  And I hated running in North Carolina.  I'm a city runner.  When sidewalks end, so does my run.  I hate fighting for road space with cyclists, tractors, animals and anything else. Earlier this summer, I came across a couple walking their bikes down the road I was running.  Attached to their bikes were several freshly killed chickens. (I'm used to seeing rickshaws/bikes stacked high with cans, so the chickens caught me off guard.) I hate looking at corn fields that seem to make the miles drrrrrag by.  I miss my runs on Wollaston Beach, down Hancock Street, even crossing over the Neponset Bridge. I miss my random runs after work along the Charles and trying to figure out if we were dodging Berklee students or homeless people on Mass Ave.  When we need to log over 8 miles here, we usually have to drive into the city so that we don't run out of roads. Unfortunately today, I ran more than this here in the countryside and ended up on a super busy major road...missstake.  To make matters worse, we are currently without our GPS watch, which sadly succumbed to the LG Intellowasher 7KG. (No longer a "neat" thing in the house.)

A typical two-way street around here.  You compete for this space with cars, trucks, tractors, bikes and animals. 

I'm also not sure what running protocol is here.  I've only seen one other woman out running and she was in a full sweatsuit (remember, Italians do NOT like to be cold).  Italian woman are just naturally slender and in-shape looking.  When I'm out in shorts, I think it may seem inappropriate to some, especially since I'm a bit bulkier (as Uncle Ricky would say) than my Italian counterparts. I've been beeped at, yelled at and have had what I'm sure were curse words thrown my way.   I've seen this one man a few times around town and when I ran by him once, he flashed his hand in a way that meant either run faster...or take off your shirt.  Glad I haven't seen him much since.

There will be much more on running in Italy after our race this weekend...until then, we will be busy cramming in some miles!

Blind corners add a bit of excitement to every run.

Hotel Hart

Life is getting back to normal after the flooding.  As a result of the weather, I spent a lot of time indoors this week...which got me thinking about our Italian Villa.  I get a lot of questions about where we live and what it's like.  I admit, I had a hard time envisioning what my home away from home would look like.  I was thinking old and small...with perhaps a grape vine in the backyard.  Quite the contrary!  As my family members will tell you, Hotel Hart is relatively modern, spacious and comfortable. We don't get many visitors...so if you're looking for a Northern Italian get-away, Hotel Hart may be for you!

Instead of showing you the rooms or giving you a virtual tour, I've decided to just showcase some of the neat things that we have here at HH.  (I'm also not showing rooms because I'm a terrible decorator and you'd be completely unimpressed!)


Neat Thing #1: The Door

We live in a fortress.  As you can see, there are three different places the deadbolt locks into the door.  I think there is also a vertical rod that locks when turning the key.  Our door not only prevents trespassers, but also locks out our guests when they attempt to return in the middle of the night and can't figure out how to unlock the door and call my cell phone at three in the morning from outside the door when I'm sound asleep....

Neat Thing #2: Fancy Artwork

I know I said I'm a bad decorator, but look at the fancy Italian art we have!  Actually, this is a small piece of art above our stove.  It was given to us by our nice uber-Catholic friend we've met here.  For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the woman, which makes me a bad Catholic and an even worse friend!  I think it's Our Lady of the Stove and she's suppose to watch over your kitchen and prevent any unnecessary fires.  If you know how I cook, you know this is a good thing.
P.S.- If you know who this is, let me know!

Neat Thing #3: The Magnets

 No home is complete without one of these.  Luckily, we have 2!  Every time I open the fridge, I'm reminded of my home...until I realize that at my fridge at home, there was a lot more food!  Currently, these magnets are holding up our "Wish List" travel spreadsheet...a nice chart I made one day of the places we want to visit this upcoming year and when we plan to go.  I don't know what's worse...the fact that I have such a spreadsheet or that it's held up by two Quincy magnets...


Neat Thing #4: The Windows

 All the windows in our house are floor to ceiling and double as doors.  What's even better is that they have these protective shutter things on the outside that block out noise and sunlight.  We sleep in a cave.  If you pull them completely shut, it's pitch black in the middle of the day. I've grown to appreciate this, which is a big deal for me (who grew up in a house where there were practically no shades or shutters and you woke up in bright sunlight every day). I'm also pretty proud of these curtains- the only decorations I've put up.  It only took a few trips to IKEA to decide on them and they're still a work in progress.  You aren't getting a vertical shot because you would then see that they are too long and need to be hemmed.  Nana Kelly needs to come ASAP.

Neat Thing #5: The Bidet

 Here's our bidet.  It's in bathroom #2 and is getting rather dusty since it's not used very much.  I think I've rinsed some sneakers in it...and that's about it.  It makes the bathroom look all majestic and European, which I like.

Neat Thing #6: The Toilet Flusher

 Our bathrooms are just full of cool things!  This is how we flush the toilet...with a push button!  The big button the the left is for heavier loads and the smaller one on the right is a quick rinse.  This is mounted on the wall above the toilet and the first time I went the bathroom here, I couldn't find it.  I actually like the push-button idea, which is quite common around Europe.  I bet my friends at Economy Plumbing Supply back home could hook one of these up in your bathroom.


Neat Thing #7: The Washer

 This is a thing of beauty.  It's the LG Intellowasher 7kg!  No home should be without it.  Look at all those settings!  I think it even has a child lock function!  Hands down the most amazing washing machine I've ever had.  It makes all these cool sounds and lights up like an airplane cockpit when you turn it on.  The only down side: a regular cycle takes close to 2 hours...and the rapid setting is a brief hour and twenty minutes!  When I asked a European about this, her response was that she didn't feel like clothes were adequately washed after the standard US-cycle time of 30-ish minutes.  Point taken.


Neat Thing #8: The Dryer

 Not really a HUGE fan of the dryer (because it kinda sucks at actually drying clothes), but nonetheless, it is neat.  First of all, it's pretty remarkable that we even have a dryer in Italy.  Most laundry is hung out to dry, even in the cities.  The neat thing about this LG dryer is that it has no vent!  Most US dryers have a vent to outside the house (which makes our deck at home smell like a mountain rain or a spring mist and causes lint to accumulate on some potted plants).  This dryer sucks the water out of clothes and stores it in the reservoir you see pictured above.  Every time you dry clothes, you have to empty this thing because it's full of water. Neat that it stores water...not so neat that clothes don't fully dry. 

Neat Thing #9: The Dishwasher

 Since I took this picture, the dishwasher has fallen out of favor here in Hotel Hart.  It has a weird odor coming from inside and I hate opening it.  I guess it's neat that we have a dishwasher...even apartments in Boston lack them.  The neat/weird thing is that we have to put "special salt" inside a tube in the dishwasher every so often to prevent build-up.  This is a picture of the sticker on our dishwasher to remind us.  It's pretty hard to forget though because the water here is so hard.  That's probably not-so-neat thing #1- the nasty water.  It dries out your skin, leaves water stains on everything and requires you to buy this special salt to put in the dishwasher.  My latest hobby is cleaning toilet bowls because the water calcifies and forms a nasty residue on the inside that's nearly impossible to remove.  Last weekend, we had to soak our shower head in bleach because it clogged from the hard water.  On the plus side- our bathrooms are really clean.

Now that you know how cool Hotel Hart is, you must come visit!  Book your trips today before we fill up!