Slovenia!

We drove to Slovenia this weekend. We left at about 10:30 and drove across the border into Slovenia. We were pretty nervous going across the border being that we don't have actual tourist passports, but Mike's military ID and my military passport seemed to be acceptable. It's an open border, but they still have stopping points where they check ID. Similar to the US/Mexico border. We drove into the first little border town Gorizia to find something to eat. While we are kind of getting used to reading signs in Italian, signs in Slovenian (I guess that's what they speak) were vastly different. The language uses most of the same letters, but in every combination thinkable. It almost similar to Russian. How did we get around you may wonder. Mostly, we just try to find signs that say the name of the town we want to go to and then go that direction. Admittedly, not an exact science, but we made it to where we wanted to go and back without major incident, so I guess it works. Oh, and we had a map so we knew vaguely which direction to travel. Granted the map only shows major roads and we weren't always on major roads so that's when reading signs becomes necessary.
We were getting very hungry and it was way past lunch time so we drove to what appeared to be the center of town to eat. We got out and walked into the plaza which much to our dismay was mostly closed. The stores close at 1:00 on Saturdays. The only places open were bars/coffee shops and ice cream shops. So we went into a casino and had ham (prosciutto) and cheese sandwiches. (Gross!)

Because our trip was very badly organized, we forgot all of our tourist information and had no idea what we should go and see. But I wanted at least to drive through part of the country and not just go back across the border only seeing 2 miles into Slovenia. So we decided to make a loop back into Italy. We drove through the extreme west to south in Slovenia. So here we are driving through the little towns. It's pretty and mountainous. There are vineyards everywhere. Much more than in our area of Italy. Finally we come to a town called Stanjel and overlooking the town is a glorious castle. We drove up to it, and it was closed. It is open April through September. We all know that this is one of the main reasons I wanted to come to Europe. It was amazing. My first castle experience. I love it! (The light gray color of the words is the color of the stones in the castle.)
The second sight of interest was city on a hill so to speak. Down the road into another town, there was a medieval, walled city. There was a stone wall all the way around with a gated entrance, and a couple of half turrets at a points along the wall. There were cars parked along the street at the bottom of the hill so we assumed it was open. We parked and walked up the hill to the city. When we walked through the entrance we found that someone was holding a wedding there. What a great place to have a wedding! There were a couple of ladies in traditional Slovenian dress. We ate the food, danced and sent the bride and groom on there way. Just kidding! We felt awkward but there appeared to be other tourists milling about as well, so we just tried to stay out of the way and walked around the city. It was weird because while it really felt like we were stepping back in time, there were people living in the city. The streets were just barely wide enough for 1 very tiny car. I guess there's one way in, the streets are all one way, and eventually you get to the other end which leads out of the city because there's no way 2 cars could pass each other. Mike stepped in dog poo on the way back to the car. Ha!

The picture on the left below is the walled city. The picture on the right below is inside the city.
So those two places were very cool and definitely made the trip for us. We spent about 7 hours driving around, but it really didn't seem that bad. We got out and walked here and there. It was very pretty and the people seemed nice. (Except for in the medieval town--they looked annoyed that we were walking up and down their streets) .
Tune in next week for more adventures. Maybe Milan or Florence?

Out of necessity, we got a digital camera. So thanks anyway Laney--we just couldn't wait. These are authentic pictures. However, I don't claim to be a photographer so....

Lake Barcis

Here are some unauthentic Lake Barcis pics from the internet. We visited here last weekend, but these don't look exactly like what we saw. Although it is beautiful both in the pics and in real life they are slightly different mostly in detail.
The first pic is of the lake and town of Barcis. (Pronounced Barchis with a ch like child.) Of course there is no snow on the mountain yet and we didn't really even see it from this angle. We drove along the town side. It think this must've been taken from a boat on the water. The water flows down into the lake from the left of the picture. There are little rapids not unlike the Guadalupe. Looks like excellent tubing. I don't know if they do that in Italy. It's obviously much too cold now, but perhaps something to pursue in the summer.

This is an aerial photo. That looks to be the town on the right--but when we were driving, it didn't seem that far away from the water. There is also a dam on the lake. I think it should be at the bottom of the picture, but I can't really tell. I don't know what that white stuff. Again, these don't really tell what we experienced, but at least you get an idea. If you want better pictures, send me a digital camera. Ha, ha.

The water is green. Mike was like, "what's up with the water in Italy?". It's much prettier, clearer, cleaner than Venice but still green. Really green. It's super clear though. We didn't touch it at all. Burrrr. But there were some sticks along the bank that you could see the branches of pretty far down into the water.

Getting there was somewhat of a challenge. (Surprise, surprise-with Mike driving and me navigating we had several "discussions" concerning the progress of both.) We went to go poke around our house first and explore our new town. Then we tried to follow the signs to Lake Barcis. HA! We ended up going way out of the way to this other town where we thought we could get on the road to the lake. Plus, "hey--it's the more scenic route". DEFINITELY!

We were on this crazy, one-lane (except Italians insist on using it as 2 lanes), mountain road. We went up, up, up and then came down. Surprisingly I didn't get sick. Maybe it was because I was concentrating too hard on my plan of action for when our car would inevitably plummet over the side of the mountain and we would fall to our fiery deaths.

I exaggerate. It wasn't that bad, but almost. We were greeted at one point by a heard of sheep. Really. These of course are not the actual sheep--but it was similar to this. Picture about half as many on a road slightly down the hill from where this was taken. Down in the trees. That was our exact experience. Mike was really scared one of them was going to ram the car so while I was content to just sit and watch them go around us, Mike pushed through them ever so slowly. There was no herder--just sheep winding their way up the a mountain road. To where, I'm not quite sure.

A little way down the mountain we ran into a little old lady walking with like 5 dogs running all about. Our theory was that the dogs were supposed to be herding the sheep. The dogs chased our car around a turn and then went through the trees to catch us on the next turn. The Italians call them switchbacks. (Not the dogs. The turns.)

We did eventually find the lake (our original destination). It was oh so nice and I can't wait to take advantage of it during the summertimes warmer temperatures.

Italian Villa!

We found a house!! It was the one I had hoped it would be. I knew it had potential on paper but when when we saw it, I fell in love. The house manager didn't know the age of the house but guessed it at 70 or 80 years. I guess I'll post some pictures, describe what you're seeing, and then add in the details.

This is the front. It's a duplex and ours is the whole right side from top to bottom. The car belongs to the neighbors. The neighbors have 2 girls. One of them looked to be an older teenager. The picture looks like it has a fireplace, in what would be the living room, but Mike and I are pretty sure there wasn't one there. I guess it's been closed up.

This is the view from the other side of the house. It's taken from what will be our driveway. The tree is covering our side of the house from this angle. The tree looks like it has white blooms on it. I don't know when this photo was taken, but when we saw the the blooms, they were reddish pink. I don't know if they change color, or it's just the photo. I inquired about the kind of tree and they didn't know. Grandma-do you know what kind of tree it is? It's beautiful. There is a straight walkway leading from the gate on the street to the front door and there is a circular path that goes into the middle of the yard. Some of the other flora is rose bushes.

Let's call this the second floor. The photo on the left is the living room. You can see the very tip of the light fixture that is hanging about 2 or 3 feet down. I don't know if you can get a feel for how high the ceilings are, but they are super high. Standing in the rooms I feel so small. I know, I know. I am small, but still. The photo on the right is the front door and entry hall. The hall goes straight back through the house until you get to the stairs. Before you get to the stairs, on the right is the full bathroom. Past the bathroom is the kitchen. The kitchen is as long as the living room, but only about 5 feet wide. It has a double sink (I think) and cabinets. It has no dishwasher and oddly enough the stove is in the "dining room". The dining room is not quite as big as the living room.

Now for the description of what you cannot see. Once you reach the stairs, if you go down about 7 stairs you will be at the back door. If you turn and go down 9 more you will be on the first floor/basement. The first room is the single car garage. Walking back toward the front is the laundry room and 3/4 bath. (Includes sink, toilet, shower, no tub). Lastly is a storage/game room that is about 3 steps up.

If you were to go up the stairs from the second floor to the third floor you will find the bedrooms. Hard wood in 2, linoleum in the 3rd. No closets, but there is an antique armoire (sp?), chest, and queen bedroom suite that is already in the house that we are able to use for the master. The base loans us 2 other armoires that we can put in the other bedrooms.

Up the stairs to the fourth floor is the attic. There are 2 big rooms that are not finished out or heated, but will be great for tons of storage. It is mild here most of the time so they could also be used for sleeping if we had like 30 other people sleeping in the house.

There's a giant (as narrow as the front yard, but back about 35 yards?) back yard (shared with the neighbors) that has grape vines and what appears to be a garden, but I didn't go too far back there. They claim we are 15 min from a big lake that is cold and clear. They said great in the summer. Per Garrett's question, we are around some Americans. They pointed out a Air Force couple just a few houses down and otherwise here and there in the town. It's very close to the mountains. You would be able to see them in the pictures, but they are behind the photographer.

Amazingly enough, I think I've run out of info. I'm sure there's more, but that's the big stuff anyway. We're super excited and can't wait to move in on 1 November 2005. (that's how the military dates things :) ) We have tons of room for company.

FYI If you're making a trip to Europe, I'm sure you'll want to see more than just Italy. However, from our house it's short train rides to Venice, Florence, and Milan. We talked to a guy yesterday that took a 4 hour train trip to Slovenia last weekend. It's probably about that far or less to the borders of Austria and Germany. Consider free lodging and some free meals while you make day trips for a week. Sounds good huh? :)

Additional Venice Info.

This girl Jennifer that I barely know, (just kidding--she's one of the greatest friends ever), asked some good questions about our trip to Venice. I think the answers provide an even better picture of the city. So, I will post them there.

Q. Did you guys not ride in the boats with the guys in black and white with the red kerchiefs?

A. We did not ride in the boats, but true to expectation the guys were wearing the outfits. It's kinda like a carriage ride through central park. Romantic, but really not necessary. It's a very touristy thing and not surprisingly very expensive. I'm sure we will at some point for some special occasion. If just for the romance and to have the experience.

Q. Are the canals more of a novelty or do people really use them regularly to get around?

A. They are very much a necessity as they are the MAIN mode of transportation. There are no cars. You walk or ride a boat. That was the most fascinating thing. Everyone has to have a boat (which indelibly aggravates the water situation what with the oil and gas and stuff). Most of the boats are little boats with motors. Not gondolas. Those are more novelty. The main canals are for travel in or out and the smaller canals are for people to get to their house and park their boat on . We saw very few boat ramps/docks. They just tether their boat to the side of a building or sidewalk and leave it in the canal. In many cases, we didn't know how on earth they got into or out of their boat. There was no door or side walk next to the boat, it was just tied up to the side of the wall/building. Weird huh? We couldn't get over it. While we saw lots of boats zipping around, we didn't see anyone coming in our out of their house unless it was on a street. I guess most houses/buildings have a street side and a canal side. Bear in mind though that most "streets" are no more than about 15ft wide and in most cases about 5-8ft. Unless it's a main street with like shops and stuff. In that case they are probably about 10-15 yards? I don't know--mere speculation, but hopefully you get the idea.

Home Sweet Home?

Urged forward by the 10 houses in 10 days rule, we are trying to find a house. We have seen 1 house in 6 days, thus we are gravely behind schedule.
The house we saw yesterday was a duplex. It has a fenced in yard and big rooms. It's 3 bed, 1.5 bath. The 3rd bedroom and 1/2 bath is "downstairs" next to the laundry room and garage. It's about-10 min south of Aviano in Roverado. I kinda liked it but the sponsor that took us suggested that the price was a little high and we could probably get more for our money if we continued to look. It's positives were the size and yard, while it's negatives were the flooring and the lack of kitchen appliances and cabinets. Mike's biggest thing was that it was a duplex. He's still set on a house.
Let me expand on the negatives. In Italy, I don't think many places have carpet. I don't know why. Though that was expected, the linoleum in this house looked old, there was a little hole in it in one room, and it was it was warped in some places. Secondly, in Italy, it is normal for a house not to have appliances and cabinets. However, some do and some of the other houses we are considering have cabinets.
So today we're going to look at 2 more houses. I'm hoping we'll love the first one and sign a contract. The pictures we've seen are beautiful. Its only potential negatives are the distance away from Aviano and the price. It too is a duplex but Mike thinks that he will like it better because it's more in the mountains. It's about 30 min north of Aviano. It is pretty pricey, but if it's as nice as it looks, I think we'll be willing to pay a little more. It's only going to be about 30 euros over our cap. So we might be able to splurge.
We have a second appointment for today at a smaller house in town somewhere. It looks ok, it's just smaller.
Hopefully we'll have signed a contract before the end of the week. But as for now, the search continues.

Buongiorno!

Last weekend we went to Venice. I chose this color, because it's approximately the color of the water in Venice. It was of course unlike any place we have ever visited. You can't even begin to compare it to the river walk in San Antonio. I don't think Mike was too fond of the murky, green water and occasional odor. But the ambiance and history were amazing. It was truly fascinating. We could not stop talking about how we could not imagine anyone possibly living in the city.
Our journey began at the bus stop in Aviano. It is about 2 euros a piece for the round trip bus ride to Pordenone and back. It's about 30 minutes on the bus to Pordenone. There we bought tickets for the round trip train ride from Pordenone to Venice. It was 8 euros a piece. The train ride is about an hour and 20 minutes. It would be much shorter on both the bus and train, but is made longer by the stops.
Upon arrival in Venice (I wasn't feeling well--next time I'll know to take Dramamine), we tried to find somewhere to eat. Not difficult as there is food everywhere. We just followed the crowd through the train station and out onto the Grand Canal. It was Saturday, so it was very crowded. The sights and sounds are surreal. To me it was like standing in Times Square. It's everything you expect it to be.
We made our way down the sidewalk (not along the canal but in between the buildings) where there were vendors everywhere. They were mostly selling Carnivale masks. Carnivale is Mardi Gras in Venice. We ended up eating (surprise, surprise) pizza. Mike's favorite. Still not feeling quite up to par, I just munched on some french fries.
We walked aimlessly for about 2 hours. About half on the main thoroughfare and half off. We stumbled upon Santi Giovanni e Paolo chiesa. (Chiesa means church.) According to our Italy book, it is arguably the best example of Venice's Gothic churches. We went in (for a euro a piece) and it was pretty awesome. Huge.
We then decided to make our wanderings more specific to a destination. So we aimed for Saint Mark's Basilica. It's one of Venice's main attractions. On our way there we went through some kind of expensive shopping district (Cartier, Dolce&Gabanna, Murano glass, etc), where we did some lovely window shopping.
When we got to the Basilica, there was a super long line for all of the museums. So we just watched pigeons land on people's heads and soaked up the atmosphere. We'll go back on a day when perhaps it's not so busy, or we haven't already been walking around for 4 hours. There were bands playing which added to the ambiance. And the pigeons were CRAZY. There were many, many more than you see in this picture. You could hardly see any pavement.
We decided to go back and eat at the McDonald's we saw in the shopping district. Then made our way back to the train station. Although it doesn't really sound like we did all that much, we saw a lot of the city. We plan to go back many more times as it is the closest "destination". A few more visits and we will be apt tour guides. :)
Sorry about the lack of authentic pictures. Our camcorders (which can also do digital pictures) battery is shot and our charger doesn't seem to be working with the plug adapter. I'd really like a digital camera for Christmas (hint to Mike), but we'll see...
Our first trip to Venice was a blast!