Vicenza and The Ugly Americans

Tonight, we spent the evening walking around downtown Vicenza. Vicenza was founded in the 2nd century B.C. and prospered under Venetian rule from the early 15th to the end of the 18th century. The famous architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) designed many urban and government buildings as well as villas, which are scattered throughout the Veneto region. Palladio's work inspired a distinct architectural style that spread to England, throughout Europe and to North America - called the Palladian style.

I love to stroll around cities and take photos, but I don't love to write down what I'm taking photos OF... so forgive me, but I'm missing lots of photo credits. :)

The beautiful Chiericati Palace:

                 
                                                 

My favorite thing about European cities is when you look down little side streets and find something unexpected. As we walked, I found a nondescript little opening and much to my surprise... it opens into a beautiful courtyard with a sculpture.

                                                   

I love the colors in Italy...it's exactly as you see in pictures and postcards, but being here is entirely different somehow.  The buildings are antique cream, pale yellow, warm gold, fiery red and burning orange. It should all clash terribly, but instead, it's the most beautiful color combination you can imagine.

I love big, old, unique doors of every kind, shape and size. Whenever I'm in Europe, I find that doors are among my favorite things to photograph.  These beautiful doors lead to an apartment building in the interior courtyard.  Just imagine coming home to that door everyday.  Swoon!

My parents in front of another gorgeous door!

                                                                        Street signs...

I think Vicenza is a perfect Italian city.  With plenty of restaurants, museums, cultural opportunities and amazing architecture, it's a city not to be missed.  

We have dinner at the Ristorante Paradiso. The food, service and wine were excellent. Unfortunately, I won't remember the restaurant for it's delicious food.  I'll remember it for the neighboring table full of "ugly" Americans, and older woman, younger couple and their 3 year old daughter. The parents let the 3 year old run around the restaurant without regard for her safety (or the safety of the wait staff!). The restaurant is at the top of a large marble staircase and the little girl was running around near the staircase without so much as a glance from her parents. The parents didn't bat an eyelash when their child began wandering up to tables of people and touching things on the table or touching people.  A few times, they quietly and ineffectively said her name "Claire,"but it comes out like a question and the little girl ignores it completely.  I think that people like this give Americans a bad name when they travel.

When my steak with porcini mushrooms arrives, the child appears at my side and starts generously salting the food on my plate before I can react. The parents aren't paying attention and say nothing.  I am shocked and cry out "what are you doing?" while gently pushing the child away from my plate and table. The ugly Americans don't utter an apology, instead they console the (now crying) child, who has apparently never been told "no" before.

The parents are loudly consoling her saying "...it's okay...you were just trying to be nice!" and "don't worry... you didn't do anything wrong..." as if trying to teach ME a lesson in manners.  To make it up to her, the parents then encourage her to empty an entire bowl of grated parmesan cheese (one spoonful at a time) onto one of their plates, wasting it.  As the child does this, the lid to the bowl smashes loudly down each time.

Perhaps it was the stark comparison to the beautiful Italian day, the gorgeous city or the grace of the Italian people. But as I sit eating my overly salted steak and hear the Americans continue to soothe their "poor child",  I don't miss home one bit.

First week in Italy...

My first week in Italy was a bit lazy but it was also perfect!

I've explored my new neighborhood in Vicenza, learned the bus routes, the process for buying train tickets and have a favorite local pizzeria.

Each day our beautiful apartment feels more like home. We spent the first week in our apartment doing standard stuff, like waiting for the Wi-Fi installer and buying housewares.  My Mom bought a beautiful rug and a cute Corning wear baking dish from the thrift store on the Army base.  I love that she spent just 6€, but the rug really made the apartment feel more like a home to all of us. And now we can cook meals at home!

We were all thrilled to finally have Wi-Fi in the apartment, thanks to the installer who came on Wednesday. He had a loud, booming voice and sang opera in Italian as he worked. Even the servicemen in Italy are charming.

This week gave me time to recover from jet lag and get settled in Italy. But now, it's time to get traveling! I'll spend this weekend with my parents before I head off on my travels on Monday...!

Mariangela

My Italian landlord is a terrific character.  Mariangela (Angie) has an easy going demeanor and is friendly, helpful and very talkative. If you ask her a question, her meandering Italian answer becomes a 10 minute conversation.

I like her immediately.

Her name, Mariangela, is the combination of her grandfathers name on her mothers side (Mario) and the grandfathers name on her fathers side (Angelo). They combined the names and feminized them into one beautiful name...Mariangela, though most people call her Angie.

Angie runs the Hotel Mary in Vicenza, Italy so some people call her Mary as well.  The hotel is a block from a U.S. military base, Caserma Ederle  and Angie has been taking care of people passing through Vicenza for 32 years. American soldiers and contractors might stay at the Hotel Mary for weeks or months at a time while finding permanent housing.  Angie also owns a 9-unit apartment building a block away, where my parents and I have rented a 2 bedroom apartment.

She is a force of nature. She's always in the middle of 3 or 4 tasks, but somehow never seems harried or stressed.  In fact, in spite of how busy she is, she always stops and talks to people and does so without any hint of impatience.  Each guest has her full and undivided attention.  It's Italian time... they'll get to it all eventually...no stress.

When I arrived in Vicenza late Monday night, I was completely exhausted, starving and desperate to lay down. Angie helped us load all of our bags onto carts and (Frogger-style) sprint across the main street dodging speeding Italian cars. Down a dark road, through a locked gate, another locked door, up stairs, and presto, we are in our very own Italian apartment. That night, desperate for a bed, Angie seemed like an angel to me.

The next day, I walked over to the hotel to thank her.  We chatted and I started asking questions and before long, 30 minutes had passed.  She offers to teach me a new Italian word each day. We make a deal - I'll stop by the hotel each day (or email her) and she'll give me a word.  In exchange, I agree to teach her some more obscure English words, phrases and American slang, as her English is already excellent.

The first word she teaches me is persiane (wooden window shutters that block out the light).  I pronounce it slowly.
"No, no," she says. "Not per-see-ah-NAH...that's a Persian person. Nay!  Per-see-ah-NAY."

She asks me to recite the words I know in Italian so far and I slowly and painstakingly pronounce the words Rosetta Stone has taught me - numbers, colors, family members and a few other miscellaneous words. She listens patiently, corrects me a few times and when I finish, she says she's impressed. I don't have any trace of an American accent, she says, which is rare. Lots of Americans have accents, she says.  Someone calls to her and she says "si" and is off to handle something requiring her attention.

"Persiane," she calls over her shoulder, emphasizing the "NAY" sound at the end. "And you come tomorrow for a new word."

Please, pass the tissues.

If you're not familiar with my adventures in restoration, read the post HERE before you continue. 
See the finished product...my fully renovated house HERE.

One week from today, I'll sit at a closing table and sign my dream home over to complete strangers.

On the horizon is adventure beyond my wildest dreams.  For the next 3 months, I'll be living in Italy, traveling through Europe and finishing with 2 weeks in France. I am over-the-moon excited for this trip. When I return, I'm moving back to my home state of Michigan! After 14 years away, it'll be amazing to live near my family and friends again. Lunch with my sister! Antiquing with my mom! Activities with my nieces and nephews! I cannot wait.

I am very excited for the next chapter of my life to begin.
And I am also so sad, I can barely breathe.
                               
The sadness crept in this week as I started packing up my house. This is the end of a really big chapter in my life. I left Michigan at the age of 21, spent 3 years in Los Angeles and the last 11 years here in Atlanta. This will be my 3rd cross-country move and let me tell you...it's always hard.

In a lot of ways, I grew up in Atlanta. It's the place I've spent the majority of my adult life, where my friendships have developed, where my career has grown and where I've had 1,000 amazing experiences.

It's where I learned improv and did my first Zip!Zap!Zop!  It's where I first sang on stage, performed spoken word poetry, ran my first mile and completed my first triathlon.  It's where I have tried new things, failed, succeeded, grown and learned. It's also where I purchased, renovated and sold my first two homes, which has turned into a passion for me.  I love my life in Atlanta. This house, this neighborhood, this city feels more like home to me than any place on Earth.

I've told a few friends how I feel and the replies have been "But Michigan will be so great!" or "Just think about your trip to Italy! It's a grand adventure."  It's almost as if the wonderful events on the horizon mean I can't also be sad that this chapter of my life is coming to a close.

I'm sad. And that doesn't mean I'm making the wrong choice. It just means I'm sad. Change is hard. Leaving people you love is difficult. Moving cross country is stressful.  Selling the home you imagined spending your life in...is heartbreaking.

The last few days have consisted of mostly packing and crying. Last night, I found myself on my kitchen floor sobbing amidst boxes and bubble wrap.  Thank God for my best friend, Erin, or I might still be there on the floor.

So, for now, please don't tell me how great Michigan is (it is!). Please don't remind me that Italy will be amazing (it will!) or that I should be excited for the adventures that lay ahead of me (I am!).

Just hold my hand and try to understand.
This was an exceptional chapter in my life.
And please, pass me the tissues.

An American in Venice!

I LOVE to travel. I think many of us do. Travel offers the chance to see visit new places, experience new cultures and learn about the history of the world.

In the last year, two of my friends and their spouses have gone on Around-The-World trips. You can read about the adventures of Margaret and Ryan here and Melissa and Roger here. I've long wanted to do the same thing, but it's difficult to find the money and time to treat myself to an ATW trip.

Imagine my surprise when my mom accepted a 3 month assignment in Italy and invited ME to come along!  I'm in the middle of a relocation from Atlanta to Detroit, so I've recently quit my job and am in process of selling my house. For the first time in my adult life, I find myself completely flexible. My mom barely finished asking the question before I shouted YES!

We're talking Italy, you guys!  The land of mozzarella!  I dream of the vineyards of Tuscany, the Amalfi coast, Florence, Venice and Rome, sweet Rome!  Italy...home of countless museums, sculptures, art and ancient ruins.  The Sistene Chapel! The Vatican! The David!

I'm so excited I can hardly think of anything else.

Once my feet hit the ground again, I realized this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I'm going to make excellent use of my time abroad. I plan to use my home base of Italy to explore Europe. My ambitious plan is to travel Italy, plus take trips to France, Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia. If I can manage to see all 10 countries in 3 months, I'll be thrilled!


I'll be living in a town called Vicenza, about 35 miles west of Venice.  I found a beautiful 2 story apartment with a great kitchen and private outdoor garden.

kitchen

You don't see green kitchen cabinets everyday in the U.S.!

kitchen

 our private patio

Our view 

 Pretty sweet digs, huh?

So, dear readers, for the new few months, this blog will turn into a travel blog.  I cant think of a better topic to write about than life in Italy and my adventures in Europe.

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Until next time....caio!