Getting Settled

Weeee're heeeere!

Brian drove us to the beautiful Newark airport: we arrived 2 1/2 hours before our flight, as planned and after we checked our baggage, went thorough security and found our gate, we had 2 1/4 hours to wait. Ugh. But, the boys were great and I chatted with a very nice retired couple while we waited.

The flight was smooth. Our plane was very nice and modern. Each (coach) seat had individual touch screens in front of it with tons of movies and games. We all loved that! The boys had been prepared that we needed to sleep as much as possible on the flight (and our doctor had given me the green light to give them melatonin) so after our "dinner" they went off to sleep like champs.

We arrived at the Fiumicino airport in Rome and while I had previous plans of getting Euros in cash and buying a SIM card for my mobile wifi, everyone was a little on edge after we waited through the interminable passport screening line that once we got our luggage, we jumped into a taxi for our apartment. In spite of our being an hour early, the woman who showed us in was very gracious and we were in by 9:30 a.m.

We unpacked, explored and Sam tried EACH. AND. EVERY. key, swich, lever, button, knob and pulley he found at the apartment. Especially those which looked or worked differently than he was used to. Basically, this means everything. The light swiches, the window blinds, the door keys, the BIDET! That boy definitely appreciates a good mechanical device!

We went out a bit on the tram line by us: #8 "l'otto" and found a bit of lunch, a bit of food to bring home and ice cream bars. We came back for bathroom breaks and to drop off our food. At this point, maybe 1:00, I was not sure how I was going to stay awake until nighttime.

In the late afternoon, after a good bit of rest and playing, I showered, which gave me newfound energy (don't know why I didn't think of that earlier...)  Ale showered, too and we headed off for the center of Rome. "L'otto" goes all the way into the center of Rome and so we did. How beautiful it is! Brian and I have been there before and I DO remember it being beautiful, but (I think) because our apartment is outside the center, there isn't as much pure architectural beauty out here. We walked around, found our first "real" gelato, walked some more and the boys had pizza while Ale and I had prosciutto and melon, salads and "vino bianco". Sam fell asleep at the table so we trammed back to the apartment.

Today, I hoofed it off to my Italian class, which was really great! The mix of students is very diverse and the instructors seem very good. I will write more about the process of learning and the content of the classes, but I want to try to write those posts in Italian, so it will be separate. I will say, though, that everywhere I went today by myself (wireless store, 2 "tabacchi" shops looking for tram passes, asking for directions twice, and a restaurant, I spoke only Italian. It was difficult and fun.

The boys and Ale went into the center, found a playground and played with a Roman boy named Romeo (no joke!), ate gelato, played with legos and were cheerful and happy to see me return. This evening, Donia arrived from Germany! The boys remember her and love her so much! In fact, she is already off reading them stories for bedtime! The rest of this week with her should be great, exploring and sharing time together! Tomorrow, we need to buy some more groceries and full-size bottles of shampoo!

If you want to see more photos, please visit our Picasa album: 8weeksinitaly album