Living the dream - another happy Venetian

Here's a recent shot of Leopold, in Venice-- with a big grin on his face as usual. He has adjusted to his new life in Italy and seems to just love being here. I need to make a video of him going up and down bridges and over canals. From the back it looks like he is hopping with those little Corgi legs of his!

Life in Venice - A quilter's paradise

Does anyone know where this is from? Venture a guess????

It's a piece of the floor in St. Mark's Basilica. As a quilter, I am in AWE of the lush patterns I see in every square inch of the floor in this church. And that's just one church. You see things like this in almost every church. Probably not quite this elaborate, but equally impressive. Every quilter I know would wish to be here taking pictures to replicate patterns on a quilt of their own back home!

Everytime I am in St. Marks's I find myself wondering--- no, wishing, that I could meet the artists who laid out the designs here. An then , even better, could I meet the magicians who executed the design and created this glorious art in real life. How did each piece of marble get cut and fit just so?

Life in Venice - High Tech, Italian style

No, this isn't Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000. It's what we see used every day here by streetcleaners keeping Venice clean. In the land responsible for Ferrari's, they are still using hand made stick brooms to sweep every square inch of Venice every morning. How weird is that??? But--- it's one of the things I love about Italy. I'm constantly on the lookout for these little cultural differences. Aren't they great??

Life in Venice - view from the bridge

Here's a view of our new home!!!! The building right in the middle of the picture between these 2 bridges, is where we have landed for the next 12 months.

We're in the Santa Croce sestiere, not at all where we originally thought we would be, but we have quickly come to love and appreciate our new neighborhood. We're just a few minutes walk to both the Ferrovia and P. Roma. Campo Santa Margharita is the closest campo, which has some lovely restaurants and shops, as well as local fish and produce stalls every day.

It's been a much easier transition than we ever expected. We feel like we're home!

Living the dream - my first Italian haircut

On Thursday of this past week I had my first Italian hair appointment. Another first in Venice for me! I have to say, I was a bit apprehensive. I've gone to the same place to have my hair done for the last nine years in Ellicott City, Maryland. The wonderful women at Envy Salon certainly can work magic with hair, at least they have with mine all these years!

Finding a new hair salon was a big deal. I figured I had two courses of action I could take. A) If I found someone who had a great haircut, I would stop her and ask her for the name of her salon, or B) just take pot luck and make an appointment at a local place, and see how things turned out. I ended up not doing either! Mike had found a salon the week before and had his hair cut at that place. He liked the guy (Simone), so I went to the same place and made an appointment for myself.

I took the formula for my hair color that my previous salon had been using, hoping this would help out some. I didn't have too many expectations, but one that I did have was that I would not be walking out of this salon with Italian red hair. For some reason, a very mahogany-red color is very popular here. It's not a color I would ever want on my head, so I was very hopeful that this guy understood me enough. My Italian is limited!

This salon is quite different from what I was used to. First, the owner is the only person in there. Simone does not have a staff of stylists, nor does he have any shampoo girls. He is it. Also it's a very tiny place- one sink. He does it all, from the appointments to the shampooing.

Simone doesnt speak much English, and I don't speak much Italian, but he understood that I had a hair color formula with me. He explained that he doesnt use the same kind of product, although the formula I had was for an Italian brand. I told Simone I didn't think it mattered, as long as I didn't leave with Red hair, pointing to the sample hair color he had in a big book. He understood!

Things went pretty much as normal, how different could color and shampoo be, afterall? But the haircutting was where I got my next big shock. He dryed off my hair, then goes off to a little back room. He came back with a holster like thing that he straps around his waist, and in it are an assortment of scissors and combs. He straps this on his hip like he's getting ready for a gunfight! And it gets better. He picks out a pair of scissors, positions the end of the scissor on this thumb, and begins to twirl it exactly as a gunfighter would twirl a pistol! I've never seen anything quite like it- all I could do was laugh! He got a huge grin on his face when he saw my reaction, and proceeded to whip that pair of scissors around on his hand as he made each cut. Actually, it was Edward Scissorhands-esque! He wasn't doing this for show, like bartenders do throwing bottles as they mix drinks, this just was his technique.

Simone actually looks you would imagine an Italian hairdresser to look like - his own long hair is pulled up in a ponytail, and he has a little goatee. However, once he started doing his Edward Scissorhands impression, I thought, good god, I hope I have some sort of decent cut when he is done. My worries were unfounded!

I left Simone's studio with a great cut, and perfect color. Not to mention a new experience. I've found my hair stylist!

Living the dream- finally, my discount Vaporetto pass!

If you have been to Venice, or have read anything about Venice, you know that there are really only two means of transportation: your own feet, or by boat. There is a very efficient public transportation boat system here, with large boats called Vaporetti (plural). The boats run on specific "lines" with stops along the way, and these lines are published so you can easily figure out which boat line you should get on to go where you want to go.

Unfortunately a Vaporetto (singular) ride is rather expensive. A ticket good for just one hour costs 6.50 Euros. If you were to do that often enough over the course of a few weeks, you'd easily have spent 50-100 Euros just on boat transportation. Fortunately, Venice has a discount card system for locals and others who are here for extended periods of time. If you are a bona-fide resident of Venice, you are eligible for your Carta Venezia at no cost, however, without a residency card, you must pay 40 Euros to obtain the card. Once you have your card, you may then purchase your monthly discounted ticket (an abbionimento) from a local Tabacci for 26 Euros per month. This gives you unlimited Vaporetto rides for the month.

There is, as of January 2008, another advantage to having this discount pass. The ACTV has just launched a new boat line, the number 3, which is open only to those having the Carta Venezia. This boat makes a few less stops up and down the Grand Canal, and will be less crowded, since the masses of tourists won't be on the boat. Some days the Vaporetto is just packed, so this could be a big plus.

Our first week in town we took the required items to the HelloVenezia office located in Piazzale de Roma to apply for our Carta Venezia. Of course, we thought that because we have a years lease, we would get the card for free. Another lesson learned--that doesn't qualify us as "residents". We were happy to take the alternate course of paying the 40 Euros. We needed our passports, a passport size photo and the money. After paying the money, we were given a form to complete. After being duly stamped, we got one copy of the form to keep, and were told to check back in 20 days at the HelloVenezia kiosk by the boat dock to retrieve our permanent card (good for 3 years).

I found the nearest Tabacci to buy my monthly abbonamento, which unfortunately I only got to use twice before my wallet was stolen in Florence, which contained my monthly boat pass along with my copy of the application form! I was now stuck for antoher month of individual boat ride prices, until I received the permanent card. I went back to the HelloVenezia office after my things were stolen to see if they could issue me some temporary replacement, but they said no. Even though they have computer records, there was nothing they would do in the case of lost or stolen tickets. I just chalked this up to just one more item I'd have to learn to cope with.

We checked a few times towards the end of the 20 day wait period but each time were told "Maybe in a week". At the tail end of February our cards were ready, which we now proudly covet! Today we'll buy our March abbonamento, and I am already looking forward to many inexpensive rides on the Grand Canal! And, as you may be expecting, I am not keeping this pass in my wallet. It's in a safe place now along with my passport!

Living the dream - Hang on to your passports!

An alternate title for this post ought to be "Living a nightmare". I have had quite an ordeal with my passport since I arrived in Italy. Here's a lesson learned for you.... do not travel with your passport in your purse!

A week after I arrived, I had to take the train to La Spezia, the town where my mother was born to handle my citizenship papers there. The train ride is about 6 hours, with a change of trains at the Firenze Rifredi station, which is a small station just outside of Florence. That's where my wallet including my passport, a few credit cards, all the cash I had on me, and my new blackberry cell phone were stolen. I went to grab for the phone to let my husband Michael know that I had completed the first leg of the journey and was about to board the next train for La Spezia and that's when I realized my stuff was gone from my purse. This incredible feeling of doom swooped down on me!

I have traveled extensively, and fairly extensively in Italy, and have heard lots of stories about items being stolen, but I had never been the victim before. I had 8 minutes between trains, and there were no police around to even report it to. The only choice I had was to get on the next train. Thank goodness my cousin Carlo was waiting on the other end for me. If it weren't for him, I might have spent that night begging in the train station to come up with some money for a return train ticket back to Venice. I didn't have a nickel, no way to make a phone call even, and no way to get a hotel room or train ticket! Trust me, me begging in the station would not have been a pretty sight.

When I arrived in La Spezia, we immediately made a police report, and contacted the American Embassy in Florence. They said not to worry, I could replace the passport at the embassy in Florence anytime. I also did all the other required calls to my banks and credit cards.


I called the Embassy again the next week to check on their hours of operation. They told me they are open every day from 8:30 -12:30. They also informed me that I needed to bring the police report, 2 passport size pictures, and 100 US dollars. On Monday morning, Feb 18th, I boarded a Eurostar train at 6:40 am headed back to Florence. The train arrived at 10:10, and by 10:30 I was standing in front of a locked door at the Embassy, which by the way, is in a huge palazzo overlooking the Arno river. Great little piece of real estate! On the door is a little notice indicating the Embassy is closed for President's birthday! Do you think they could have mentioned that on the phone when I called to ask about their hours? Yes, we are having fun now!

I called the emergency number on the door ( with my new little Italian telefonino), thinking that perhaps there was a way to get an afternoon appointment the next afternoon, since I'd be back through Florence after visiting La Spezia again. The phone message said that only emergencies like a death or imprisonment would be handled by the Rome office that day.

The next morning I called again, from La Spezia, asking if an afternoon appointment were possible. No way. Come back another morning. On friday of that week, I again hauled myself to the Santa Lucia train station at 6:30 am. This time I had a new passport in my back pocket and was on the train back to Venice by 11 am!

What have I learned??? Lots--- now i carry next to nothing in my purse, and I guard my passport like it was some incredible treasure. While I know it can easily be replaced, I also know the drill I have just been through, and don't relish the thought of doing it all again anytime soon.

I also know my way around the Trenitalia ticketing system pretty well, and the insides of both the Venice Santa Lucia and Florence Santa Maria Novella train stations. Not bad for my first month in Italy!!!

Living the dream- simple pleasures, Italian style

I just had to laugh today when I thought about how different our simple pleasures are here, compared to what we are used to in the States. On any given day here, I find myself just in awe that the vegetables taste so much better. Yes, they really do. I'll be eating dinner and will be raving about a red pepper tasting like candy!

But today, I had an altogether different pleasure. Mike went to the hardware store nearby to purchase everything he needed to install a new clothesline, complete with a pulley! Yes, my simple pleasure is a new clothesline on which to hang my clothes to dry. I do miss my washer and dryer back home! We have a washer in the apartment, but Italian washers aren't what we are used to. There's no large capacity washer, that's for sure. This is tiny, seems to take forever to do a cycle, and sounds like a spaceship about to take-off! Dryers are not commonplace in the apartments here. Clothes can be seen hung out all over, even across canals!

Mike came home from the hardware store with rope, 2 pulleys, and a turnbuckle thing-y, and asked if I wanted it strung over the canal or in the backyard. I'm afraid I'd drop clothes into the canal, so I opted for the backyard. He proceeded to rig the thing up, and before long I was hanging sheets out on the line! I'm in business now!

Living the dream- We're HERE!!!!

It's been a few weeks since arriving in Venice, and we're just now getting connected to the Internet. That's been one of the items on our "frustration" list, but we seem to be past that now. YAHOO! Connecting to the internet is vital to our plan to exist over here. I have a blog full of internet connection tidbits to report- but later for that.

Arrival for me was so much smoother than I had expected. For one thing, Lufthansa handled the dog expertly. They made sure I knew his status every step of the way, which was so comforting for me. When I landed in Venice, I knew from Mike's experience with his dog, Leo, that I needed to go collect the dog from a special doorway near baggage claim. I was ready! I had all my luggage ( 4 heavy bags) loaded onto the cart, and there came Sam through the doorway! He and I were both glad to see each other!

Mike met us at the airport, which was a huge help. I could not have managed with Sam's large crate, him, and all those suitcases. We got to the watertaxi dock, showed the driver the location of the apartment and off we went! We are incredibly fortunate to have an apartment right on a canal. The apartment is exactly like the pictures we were sent- it's perfect for us. Probably not perfect for everyone, but since we are used to living in an old house, this old house was not a shock to us. It so suited to us I felt instantly comfortable.

The dogs adjusted quickly. In fact, I think they just love it here. They are out walking several times a day, and getting tons of attention from people. Italians seem to love dogs, and our two love them back for it!

We also got lucky to have one of the few backyards in Venice( giardini is the word for garden, which is what this would be called). The dogs are enjoying this little extra bonus, cause they get to run out there often.

So we're here, getting settled. Our internet time is not unlimited, so more next time. But for now, the journey really begins!

Living the dream - and a big case of nerves !!!!

In just 2 days, at about this time I will be on a plane headed to Italy with my dog Sam. Finally!!! I have been a huge wreck since Mike left a week ago, not sure why. We've been apart before and I have not felt this anxious ever. Could be I have a long long list of "stuff" that has to get done and very little time. How did we leave so many little tasks undone, like the load of stuff to go to Goodwill thats stacked in the basement? Or picking up prescriptions at the pharmacy? Not to mention the things that got added to my list that I hadn't even planned on, like returning the cable box to the cable company!

I have no choice but to plow through the list, but I'm still feeling overwhelmed. My goal for tonight is to finish packing - well, I've only sort of started, so I can't accurately call this task "finish". More like "pack".. all of it. I have things pulled out that I want to take, folded even, but I am going to have to sort through and remove items. I have way too much. Hopefully I'll be able to come to grips with the right amount of stuff to take and just get it done. How many pairs of shoes are too many???

I'm not the only one having a bad week. Sam, my dog, has been terribly lonesome for Leopold (our other dog), I think. I can only imagine the thoughts running through his mind about where Leo might be. I believe he thinks Leo has escaped from the backyard, and that he must go search for him. I'm thinking that must be the case because Sam has snuck out past a gate three times this week. Two of those times he squeezed through a pretty small crack, the third time workers forgot to close a gate which allowed Sam to breeze right through. In every case, I have had to stop, get in the car and scour the neighborhood for him. After three episodes, I called the vet cause I am concerned about how he will manage on the flight on Thursday. The vet prescribed an anti-anxiety med for him. After all his escapes, I am the one needing his medication!

Blogging has slipped off my "must-do" list lately. I have big plans to resume once I arrive with daily blogs of everything we do as we acclimate to our new life. I can't wait for Thursday's flight, and Friday's arrival.