Merry Christmas!!!

Kona is growing. He'll be one in January.

He is still such a kitten.

We put new toys under the Christmas tree. 

I guess they played a little while we were sleeping.

Java was crashed this morning.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Buon Natale!

We must learn Italian...at least a little bit.

After a long day driving to and from Lake Como, we all decided to stop at a nearby restaurant (walking distance to our villa) for a beer and a burger.

We we were all tired and hungry. 

The four adults ordered a bear and burger.

The waiter, in his broken English, asked if we wanted a small, medium or large beer.

We, of course, each ordered a large beer. 

Needless to say the large beer is a liter. 

We really must learn a little Italian - or at least enough to order beer. 

We laughed out loud when 4 of these glasses of beer arrived at the table.

I later googled it and it is a little less than 3 - 12 ounce beers. 

Road Trip to Lake Como and Bellagio

November 12, 2016 Road Trip

Our neighbors, and my work colleague, invited us to go with them to Lake Como. It was a fabulous day filled with sun, 80's music (thanks to the talents of their daughter during our car ride), a ferry ride to Bellagio, and much fun spent with great new friends.

An easy hour drive North of Milan is Lake Como. A beautiful lake surrounded by small villages. Upon our arrival we purchase bread, focaccia, cheese, salami and pastries in a piazza directly across from the ferry terminal.

The line to buy ferry tickets was long but we entertained ourselves as we waited. 

Tickets purchased for a ride across the lake to Bellagio.

The view from the ferry was beautiful. Mountains (part of the Alps) in the distance. 

The villages reminded us of the hills in Santa Barbara. 

Homes pattern the hillside with beautiful colors.

We arrived in Bellagio, had a drink and then began the climb. 

Stairs and paths to an upper village with stores and restaurants. 

The streets are so narrow. A few allowed cars.

Michael took some great photos of the narrow streets.

 

     

                             

   

                               

Michael grabbed a sandwich from this cute little food truck while we waited for the ferry.

Below, our neighbors enjoyed the sunset while we waited for the ferry back to Como. 

Overall, a great day! 

Grocery Shopping in Italy....Damn I Wish I Read & Spoke More Italian!

The first night that we arrived our awesome neighbors, originally from the UK by way of Beligium, Amsterdam and the US, took us shopping (groceries and to Ikea for bedding and dishes, etc). Did I say they are awesome? They are awesome!!!

Since then, many trips to different stores for needed furniture and groceries. We quickly learned to drive ourselves using the maps and Siri on our phones. Who knows if we are following all the rules properly and I except to see a speeding ticket because it is too much fun driving with all these round abouts and few stop lights. But that's a future post. 

Back to shopping in Italy, figuring out new brands, how to read the product labels and determine what it is that you are buying - - still, not so easy.

Milk and eggs are sold not in the refrigerated section of the market.

Instead you will find a display like this or eggs in cartons on regular shelves.

There is plenty of cheese to choose from...I am in heaven!

The selection of salami and ham is to die for... and no, we did not buy that huge salami. :)

Pasta, pasta, pasta. Bless the people who make this each day. Fresh pasta is delicious.

All of this being said, it once took me 45 minutes to find salt and sugar in my grocery store. I found 4 aisles of vino, 3 aisles filled with different kinds of cookies, and 4 or 5 aisles of pasta but salt and sugar - seriously were hiding.

By the way, a girl can live on a combination of wine pasta and cookies. 

Who needs salt (sale) or sugar (zucchero)?

Our Italian adventure continues. We spent a day at Lake Como and visited the small village of Bellagio while there. Photos from that trip to be posted in a few days. 

Today we are off on a 2 day trip to Florence and Pisa. 

Follow me in Instagram @lorimoonstudio to see a few images an then check back next week for a blog post with pictures from our adventure.

We have a couch !!!!!

On November 5th our couch and chair arrived...

Yippee, serious happy dance going on over here.

Yes, this is what a couch and chair look like when delivered by Ikea.

This never would have fit in our car. :)

A couple hours later our living room looks like this.

Instantly Java made herself at home.

A couple week later we've completed the room with a a new rug, pillows and a cabinet behind the couch to store shoes, scarves, gloves, keys, my purse, etc.

It is so nice to lounge on a sofa!

Now to figure out the picture frame stuff so I can hang a few of my photos.

Visiting Pavia during an Italian Holiday

We arrived in Italy on 10/20, the cats on 10/21 and shortly after I took a 4 day weekend to finish shopping and setting up our apartment. An extra bonus is that I only had to to take one day off of work since November 1st is a holiday in Italy. Yippee !!!

We spent most of the weekend making multiple trips to Ikea (you can only fit so much in a VW Golf at one time). Putting things together and attempting to watch Netflix using our hotspot.

On Tuesday, November 1st, we chose to explore and drive 25 minutes to Pavia to visit the town and have an adventure that did not involve Ikea or shopping. We broke this rule, no Ikea but we did stop to shop on our way home - buying a tv and a few other small appliances - love sales!

Following the GPS on our phone (which usually you lags two to the poor cell reception - compared to the US) we made it to Pavia. Mind you, we drove around the center of the city - illegally on some streets, making wrong turns, and being the "dumb Americans" for about 15 minutes. 

Happily, no tickets, that I know of, and we chose to reroute and drive on the road close to the river to get out of the inner maze of narrow streets.

Pavia - view from the Ponte Coperto.

The Pavia Cathedral is the tallest building -

at least that we could see from the bridge - Ponte Coperto.

The interior of the Cathedral was beautiful. The white marble stunning.

We were only allowed in for a few minutes and I was quick to take the photo below before we were asked to leave (of course in Italian with many hand gestures pointing to the door.

Pavia Cathedral - Inside

Below, Michael looks so small from this angle as he sits on the top step outside the Pavia Cathedral.

Look at the size of that door!

Michael on the steps at Pavia Cathedral

As we walked the streets, many things were closed because it was All Saints Day in Italy. Happily down a small, narrow street I noticed this blue neon sign "Pizzeria" down a small. Expecting it to be tiny inside were were pleasantly surprised at the maze of small rooms and the many locals having lunch.  We chose to relax and enjoy ourselves. The pizza was delicious!

Pizzeria - Pavia

After lunch we strolled back to where we parked the car and decided to walk halfway across the covered bridge - Ponte Coperto. It  is a replica of the original built in the 14th century. Bombing during World War II destroyed most of it and it was rebuilt.

Ponte Coperto - Pavia

In the center of the bridge there is a small chapel seen in the photo above as the white part of the bridge. If you look close there is a cross at the top of the building.

We looked through a small window into the chapel. It is simple yet the light was stunning.

Chapel, Ponte Coperto - Pavia

 Picture added bonus, just for my Mom. (See below)

There is an inside family joke about these lovely round hay bales that you see in the photo below. 

Mom, they even have "cows" in Italy. lmao

The short story Is that at 6am driving in South Dakota (when I was in 4th grade, I think) round hay bales can look like cows to a tired Mom. She has never lived it down - it is a standing family joke whenever we see them. 

By the way, Michael took this picture - as we drove to Pavia he suggested we take the picture on our way home just for you -  giggle.

Italian "cows" for mom - family joke

Thanks for following our Italian Adventure - feel free to leave a comment.

Navigli Antique Market

On the last Sunday of the month there is an Antique Market that lines the canal in Navigli, a neighborhood in Milan. 

During my past trips to Milan this is one of the areas that I stayed in. 

It honestly remind me of Brooklyn, NY.

The discovered a couple of favorite vendors. The art created from the reclaimed tin ceilings from old architectural buildings was fascinating to me. I kind of regret not buying one for our new apartment.

An the buttons and linens were amazing. 

I also purchased a little bit of lace and some trim. How could the stitcher in me resist, right?

Just to give you an update, we are still settling in. Our living room furniture arrived last weekend, the internet is still not installed and our booster for our cell service Has Been ordered. 

Meanwhile, we are learning to grocery shop When everything is written in Italian :) and eating yummy bread and pizza.

Until next time, much love from Italy.  

Lori & Michael

Arrival, slow cell service, and no internet - yet !!!

The humans and animals arrived as scheduled a little over a week ago. I want to say thanks to the staff at the Schiphol Animal Hotel in Amsterdam for taking such good care of Java and Kona during their overnight stay during their travel. They arrived in clean cages and were eager to see us.

They have been exploring their new two story apartment. They especially enjoy the floor to ceiling windows and the stairs that overlook the living/dining room.  A few of the neighbor cats have come to the windows to say a friendly hello.

By the way, in the photo above, this is our living room and yes it is unfurnished. Shopping, shopping, shopping is what we have been doing. We feel like the first few days we lived at Ikea. Stocking a kitchen with dishes, pans, and all things needed to cook and store food is crazy to do from nothing.

The apartment came with a modern kitchen, dining table and chairs, a few small tables, shelving, a wardrobe, a dresser and I ordered a bed and mattress that was assembled the day before we arrived.

We've learned that things in Italy move slow and I mean s -  - l - - o - - w. Unless you are driving in traffic not during rush hour. Thank God Italian's drive on the same side of the road as Americans and thank goodness I remember how to drive a manual transmission car. Thanks, Dad!

Regarding slow, our apartment is lovely but cell service, while inside the walls, beyond sucks. Our internet isn't hooked up, yet. Meanwhile, we are trying to make do with a WiTourist (wifi pocket) which works about 50% of the time.

Kudos to ExpressVPN as we've been able to watch a couple of American TV shows via Hulu or Netflix when connected late at night. We would recommend this to anyone who lives abroad, is willing to pay a small monthly fee, and wants to watch American TV.  (By the way, yes, Italy has Netflix but the shows offered are not all the same - so, if you want to watch the third season of The Blacklist on Netflix while in Italy sign up for ExpressVPN.)

We'll be back a little later to share our grocery shopping experience.

Chaio
Lori & Michael

Hijacked Hello from Java...

Hi, this is Java, aka Bella. I've hijacked Lori's blog to share this opening post with you.

My FHS - "female human servant" - Lori, (the girl in the photo on the right) thinks she is Bella but I know the truth. I overheard the MHS - "male human servant" - Michael, (the boy in the photo on the right) say that since we are all going to Italy together that we needed Italian nicknames. He has started to call us Bella and Gianni.

Now, you should know that Kona is still a kitten, even though he is as big as I am, and he hasn't even figured out that the humans named him Kona.  So, there is no chance that he will answer to Gianni in the near future. lmao

By the way, I'm the adorable blue eyed Siamese in the above photo and we are currently surrounded by new cat carriers, suitcases, and tons of clothes are being sorted and packed and move around (they are really fun to hide in).

We've visited the Vet twice and both times were poked, prodded and treated for fleas all as a precaution. I overhead that the USDA needed to give us some official seal and signatures in order to enter Italy - such an ordeal! I've been through this before - flying from JFK to LAX - but this time to Italy, wow this is going to be one long flight. There will be benefits on the other side: I've overheard that there will be radiant floor heating, a yard to play in, and tons of snuggles.

I hope you've enjoyed my hijacked post. I won't be writing often but I just wanted you to know that we are just as excited to be going on this adventure.

xo Java aka Bella

PS: I hope you follow along as I know that Lori will post many photos of their adventures in Italy.