Friday, August 12, 2011

Country music and soccer :)












On a Friday,cant remember the date, we went to a live Italian country western music concert. It was a band of 4 and they sang American songs. It was set out in the country on a beautiful piece of land. The grounds were landscaped and lush. Tables were set up on a big patio adjacent to the owners home. It looked like what I envisioned an Italian villa to be.Our cost included dinner, real bbq, the music and the wonderful atmosphere. The event was kept to around 40 people and no more. They easily could have set out more tables and made more money, but we watched as they turned people away. It was planned to be small/intimate and it stayed that way. It was a great time for all and one that we all agreed will be one of our highlights. And according to the girls it didn't hurt that the main singer/cowboy was good looking :) Nothing like hearing your favorite songs sung with an Italian accent. The next day,we were invited to Daniel's coworker Mike's house for swimming and BBQ. Keep in mind that bbq'ing is a treat, especially on a real propane bbq. This is the same Mike that lives out in the boonies that Daniel and the kids didn't find his house the first time and came home. But this time we were prepared, we had our GPS, put in longitude and latitude and off we went.We only got a little lost, but someone drove out and lead us to his house. We NEVER would have found it if they hadn't come and got us. We had a great time, the kids went swimming, very good food and great company. His house is in the Trulli style so it was really neat to climb up on the roof and take pictures. We also got to meet the Gionet family who actually have more kids than us, they have 5. With that many kids between us it was only natural that a soccer game would be scheduled for the next day :)  We met at their hotel  that had 2 large soccer fields. We showed up looking pretty good, all of us having authentic German jerseys. That's about all we had going for us lol. Joshua and Samuel were good, Johanna did more screaming and laughing than anything, and Sarah was our goalie without any defenders :( Daniel and I were pretty slow moving and tired easy. I do have to say that Daniel redeemed himself after I told him he was getting old, he made a goal. They did have two extra good players on their team, but the family themself was in good shape and very athletic. I think the final score was like 10 to 3, I stopped counting. After the kids and some of the adults took a dip in the hotel's pool, it was time to go out to eat in Messagne. It was a short trip to a great sidewalk restaurant . We were surprised at how easy it was to get great parking in the middle of the city. After dinner, we were walking back to our car and wondering why everyone was staring at us. Could it be our German soccer jerseys in Italy, our large families, all the children,us speaking English??? Or could it be they wanted to see our expression when we saw the parking ticket on our windshields hahaha lol :)  Lesson learned, look far up and down the street for parking signs especially when no one else is parked in the area.
Now just to answer some of you who wanted the good and bad so far;
What I like:
*Gelato, any time, any where, any flavor
*walking down a different road in town and finding a new store
*cheap,cheap,flavorful fruits and vegetables
*shopping at the mall during siesta time :) its deserted so we get great service and were less intimidated to speak
*Husbands and wives going shopping together. Rarely do you see a woman without her husband,especially grocery shopping!!!! Its a family affair
What I don't like:
*dog poop everywhere,no picking up after your dog here :(
*Never knowing if a shop in town is going to be open or not,no set schedule
*lack of friendliness, the men are friendlier than the women. At least in California you can squeeze a smile out of people,not so here.
*sidewalks built for one. You should see the Tulcan family walking single file, we form a pretty good line.
*trash day everyday!!! three separate trashes in the house, one for food scraps, one for paper wrapping of all sorts that came in contact with food, and finally one for "uncontaminated"paper and plastic. Each one is picked up separately on a different day.



Your #1 question "Beside all the fun, how are you really doing on a daily basis?" Answer " We are all adjusting. We are learning what it means to "live" in a foreign country where you don't speak the language as compared to being a tourist.  We have great days but every once in a while one of us will get homesick. Then we stop and realize again what an adventure we're on and all the great places were going to see. For some of the kids, they realize it is only a short period of time in their lives and things will go back to "normal" soon enough. So thanks for asking :)  

3 comments:

  1. Wow I've figured out how to post!!! You all look like you are having an incredible time. Enjoy the family time together that will never come again like it is now. We miss you and enjoy the updates.

    Love,
    The other Tulcans

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  2. What fun I had reading about your adventures! I'm yearning to travel!! Tell the kids 'Hi'! I LOVE Johana's haircut. She looks adorable. Tori got her haircut really short. It's just a little bit longer than Johana's.

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  3. Re: What I don't like... Don't forget that many shops close for lunch!

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