Fun in the sun and in the mountains!

OK....so now that I've given everyone a glimpse of what life was like with the family in Sant'Arsenio, I can now tell you what we did during the day...

The first full day in Sant'Arsenio, all of us drove up into the mountains for a picnic. However, we first went to the top of the mountain to see this really quaint old church on top of the hill where you can get a great view of the valley below. (See pic)

Then we went to the picnic spot. As soon as we got there and unloaded the car, we got the grill ready which meant gathering up braches and twigs (a bit foreign to me since I'm used to charcoal or gas grills in Texas....HA!). Antonio (Angelo's dad) got everything going and then he and Angela senior cooked all of the meat for the picnic. It was DELICIOUS! We had everything under the sun (including a few things I wasn't sure which animal they came from...).

After lunch, Angela, Dario and I decided to go on a hike up the mountain and we came across somewild horses, one of which was a little pony! They let us get really close to them so I could snap a few pics before running back up the mountain. It was great! :-)

Then we came back to the picnic spot, ate some more (of course!), and relaxed for a bit. Many of you will be proud to know that the Moose has now officially used "Mother Nature" as a bathroom for the first time and didn't get too weirded out - HA! Angela laughed at me b/c I was asking so many questions about the "particulars!" You know me though...I ask a lot of questions! :-)

That night after we got cleaned up, we ate a fantastic meal that Angela senior prepared and hit the hay after our exhausting day.






Day 2 consisted of a day on the beach! We drove down on the coast (almost to the very south of Italy) and spent the entire day lounging around and playing in the water. Being the pale Moose that I am, I opted out of staying in the water and sun all day, and kept a shirt on (with lots of sunscreen as well of course!).

Instead I walked along the beach and collected rocks (which are the very LAST thing I need with having to carry everything on my back in a huge backpack!). I couldn't help picking them up to bring back with me though b/c they're seriously the coolest rocks ever! All of them are the strangest shades like orange and brown striped, green, black and white striped, gold, etc. Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but by golly I have them! HA!

In the afternoon after lunch (yes....more EATING!!!), Angela, Dario and I rented a paddle boat for an hour and went out into the Mediterranean. The water was so blue and clear (you could see the bottom) and we even saw a jellyfish in the water!


After we returned from our boat ride, it was time to head back (since we had about an hour and a half drive ahead of us). We were REALLY gross with sand and "the beach" all over us, so we all took showers before heading out to dinner. We went to a really great restuarant in a neighboring town and feasted on pizza, fish, bread, wine, and cokes! That's where I tried the raw oysters and octopus. Everything was delicious! To wrap up the evening, we went over to Angela's parents house to have some espresso and cake for dessert. Angela's Mom (Elisa) makes this really great chocolate carrot cake that is her own "invention" she says. I love it!

Anyway, those are the major highlights of the trip. I had a GREAT time and I'm so glad that Angela and Dario were able to come with me, as they weren't going to be able to in the beginning. Angela has been my own personal "translator" for the past week and has really been a trooper since she doesn't know ALL English words herself. Angelo's parents speak a little bit of English, but Angela Junior's parents don't speak any at all. Consequently, I made sure I was never far from Angela's side!

Dario has been really good at trying to learn conversational English, and I've tried to learn my bit of Italian as well. However, I've had to stop myself from just "talking louder" when I'm speaking and the person can't understand me. It's quite hilarious, but we've all been doing it for the past week, along with a lot of grandiose hand gestures - HA! I've found myself exhausted at the end of the day though b/c of all of the effort it takes to communicate. There's no telling how tired I'd be if I didn't have Angela though - WHEW! :-)

Tommorrow I leave for Dusseldorf (Germany) to spend a few days with Kate and Olivia (Stuart's sister-in-law and neice). I'll post more to the blog when I can with pics of our adventures in Germany!

I miss you all very much and can't wait to show more pictures!!!

Love,
-V