A Random Italian Update

I just realized I haven’t really talked about what life is like out here since that one post where I almost cried in the frozen food aisle. I’ve shown you pictures from a few trips, but that’s about it. The thing is, when you move it takes awhile to get your bearings. We’ve been told it can take around six months before you’re actually settled here. I laughed when I heard that. I mean, six months is half a year, people! I certainly hope we’ll be settled by then. We’ve been here two months, so we have several more to go before we find our “normal,” but things are good and we’re starting to find our routine. 

Aerial view of our town. Source.

Our home is in a little town called Maniago (Mawn-ee-ah-go), and it’s about a half hour from the base. I absolutely LOVE our location—there are two pizza shops, two tiny produce stores, two bakeries, a wine bar, a butcher, two cafes, and a gelateria within a two-minute walk from our house. Maniago also has a market every Monday, which is where I’ve been getting our veggies, cheese, and practicing my Italian. “Ciao! io capisco un po Italiano! (I understand a little Italian!)” The woman at the produce stand is delightfully patient and is helping me not feel like a fool with my limited Italian. I just got the nerve to start going to the cheese monger (heehee), so hopefully I’ll improve there, too. 

I know a lot of you want to see pictures of everything (the house, town, market, bakery, etc.), but there are still broken-down boxes everywhere, empty white walls (still figuring out how to hang pictures on cement), and I want to get to know the town a little more before I get a reputation for being the Crazy American Girl Who Takes Pictures of Everything in Town. Don’t worry, I will be that person sooner or later, but I want to get to know the places and people before I start snapping away. I promise pictures of everything over the next three years 🙂

We also still only have one car, which makes life—especially around dinner time—interesting. My husband works ridiculous hours and never gets out of work at the same time, so we’ve been trying to make that situation work. We found a (used) car for a good price that we’ll most likely buy, but it’s not available for another month. I think I’m most excited about getting another car so I can start going to the gym regularly again. The pizza, bakery, and gelato shop all within a hop, skip, and a jump from here are starting to take a toll on my body…but that’s a different post for another day.

I feel bad writing an entire post without including any photos, so here’s one from Paris—think of it like a sneak peek of what’s to come! 

Tomorrow we’re headed over to Salzburg, Austria, for a quick day-trip to visit their Christmas market! We haven’t bought a single Christmas gift for anyone, so hopefully we’ll find some good buys there. We’ve heard fantastic things about the market, so I’m excited to check it out! 

I hope you’ve had a good week and have a great weekend!