Christmas - With a Kiwi/Italian/Irish/Greek/South African Spin

~The family with the addition of 'Lucky'~

We had Christmas - it wasn't at home and it wasn't the same but it was Christmas none the less...

~The cutest Christmas Pixie ever~

Things we missed

• family - we missed you Les, John, Karen, Iris, Rory and Tottie.
• old friends - and you all know who you are {{{{{big hugs}}}}}
• ham - at between 18 and 30 euro (NZ$45-75) a kilo we gave the big chunk on the bone a miss this year
• sunshine warmth and the thought of summer holiday
• traveling to Kinloch
• Santa - he's got a different name in Italy

Things we got instead

• a cuzzie! - one of my Irish cousins Stephanie was hee with us
• Greeks bearing gifts - Stephie's husband Yiorgos and her youngest daughter Haroula
• new friends - Penny (a kiwi woman I met in Milan) and her husband Clinton (from South Africa) with their two girls aged 6 and 8 joined us for Christmas dinner and stayed the night before heading to France on Boxing Day.
• SNOW! but not until Christmas night.
• Babbo Natale - ie Santa in Italian

~Steph, Yiorgos and the Christmas table~

Santa was very good to us all (regardless of Poste Italiana's efforts) and we are all now outfitted in trousers and jackets for the snow. Alan is getting a pistol for Airsoft which should arrive within the week and Caitlin got a new set of professional stilts by Voltige. The adults got a home theatre surround sound system that makes movie watching quite an experience - we watched a Pirates of the Caribbean marathon (Boxing Day) and I really jumped!

~Keep unwrapping - only six layers more to go~

It has been a peculiar Christmas. The city lights and Santa are much the same as at home except that the lights spell out 'Auguri' and Santa is called 'Babbo Natale'. The carols are the same and even if the words sound a little different the sentiment's the same.

This year I wasn't rushing around organising heaps of stuff at school and going brain crazy in the process - this year I was rushing around doctors and hospitals and worrying about Caitlin's health. Caitlin's appendicitis/peritonitis lead on to a bout of low blood pressure that saw her passing out with little or no warning resulting in a few bumps to her head. Blood tests revealed anemia and and unusual thyroid readings - leading to more blood tests - this time at the hospital (I'm not going over that story - suffice it to say that tantrums and tears work wonders in achieving service) and ultrasound scans of her throat area. We go back to the doctor next week to assess the results - however all looks mostly okay. Not sure about Caitlin but my stress levels are certainly more comfortable now.

Boxing Day was very quiet and so is today, as Caitlin went to the hotel with her new cousin Haroula on Christmas night and hasn't been seen since. The 'Greeks' are off to Foxtown (http://www.foxtown.ch/info.php?lingua=en&centro=mendrisio) again today and we'll see them later this afternoon. The shopping is just too good up there - especially now the sales are on.

~One pooped Christmas pooch~

Really Big Snow Day - Work and School Closed

Just a quick post to show you what we wakened up to this morning and - now at 2.30pm - it is still snowing.

Wow - It Really is Breath Taking Here

One from Patch and Alan this evening ...

Today it was necessary to drag Alan out of his dumgeon (spelling mistake intended!). Dad decided that fresh air was in order - so off the boys went on an adventure - with camera in hand. The two headed up Campo Dei Fiori - the local national park beside Varese. For those in the know this is above Sacro Monte, the small village nestled on the side of the cliff.




Here is Alan in about four foot of snow - the day or two before we go and buy snow boots, proper coats, hats and gloves! This is six days since the last snow fall. The view is due west; the mountain/peak/hill to the left is hiding the sun.

This is a small village - still to be identified - to the north of Campo dei Fiori - suspected to be 'Castello Cabiagliano'.

And beautifully caputured in the setting sun is Sacro Monte itself... isn't it stunning.

Another Stitch - or three - in Life's Rich Tapestry

I grew up with LOTS of sayings which usually began with "as my mother/sister/grandmother would have said...". One of my favourites sayings has always been "another stitch in life's rich tapestry" which I believe is attributable to my Aunty Betty. On occasion I have wished for a slightly less brightly coloured and complicated pattern in the tapestry of my life!

This week Caitlin added a few more stitches to her own life tapestry and to her tummy. She'll be bringing home an Italian appendectomy scar. What started out on Tuesday as a dose of the cold the family were all sharing turned into appendicitis by Thursday evening. Antibiotics from the doctor seemed to settle everything down and after another visit to the doctor on Saturday morning (not an emergency visit - they just work weird hours here) she seemed to be well on the mend. The doc said she could return to school but to go to the hospital if the pain got any worse ...

So, Monday morning 8am off to school (no breakfast)...

Monday morning 9.30 I get a phone call to say Caitlin is in pain. I rush up to school and collect her.

"Hospital?"
"Mmm."

We made a quick stop home for directions to the hospital and to pack a bag on the off chance things would not go well. And then we got to experience A and E in Italy... Because Caitlin wasn't rolling around in agony they didn't seem too concerned with her - more concerned about who and how the account was to be paid... Still - after 7 hours, blood tests, poking, prodding, watching the italian world go by, getting lost, and doing it all in Italian - a surgeon decided it might be best to just take the appendix out. By 5pm we were on our way to a local private hospital set in a beautiful villa, surrounded by snow. 'La Quiete' - quite a picture.

A meeting at 7pm with the head of surgery resulted in a theatre booking for 1pm Tuesday afternoon... drips, intravenous antibiotics and still no food. Turned out Caitlin actually had peritonitis - and a high threshold of pain.

Two more days in hospital and finally Thursday morning she got to eat real food - dry bread - tasted like nectar of the gods to her! Then a visit from the Professor Thursday afternoon and we got to go home about 4.30pm. Happy, happy, happy dance - well - slow shuffle really.

We are now safely home, ensconced in our own beds once more and looking forward to finally getting the christmas tree up for 2008. We're a long way from Christmas '07 and the tapestry is much richer and more vibrant for the experience.

Cheers all!

Snow, Snow, Snow!

The locals try to tell us that it rarely snows in Varese - maybe four days a year. BUT! It has snowed twice this week.

Patch came and wakened me about 6.30 on Monday morning to tell me we were living in a 'winter wonderland'. Indeed it was! Of course I had to run around like an idiot in silk nightie and sheepskin boots, waking the kids to come and look... After dressing warmly they made the most of it all.

- at this point I retired to the diginity (and safety) of the lounge - just in time!

Alan made a great snowman and he lasted several days - after Caitlin headed to school, I arrived home to find the snowman somewhat anatomically altered - definitely a snowMAN.

Varese set out to outdo itself on Friday and after a clear start to the morning it began to snow about 8.30am. And it snowed and it snowed and it snowed! The place looked gorgeous and out came the camera - again!

Soon it became far too difficult to drive - the road was too slippery to negotiate and so we settled in for a long day at home. Luckily enough Caitlin was not at school (touch of appendicitis! - all clearing nicely now). Finally about 2pm the falling snow flurries turned to gentle rain and the snow on the roads became slushy enough for the tyres to get a grip. We now proudly possess ice scrapers for the windscreens and chains for the tyres and sometime - very soon - we'll be getting lessons on how to put them on the car...

Supporting Patch in Movember

Hi All,

During Movember (the month formerly known as November) I, Patch, am growing a Mo. That's right I'm bringing the Mo back because I'm passionate about tackling men's health issues and being proactive in the fight against men's depression and prostate cancer. To donate to my Mo you can either:

Click this link https://www.movember.com/nz/donate/donate-details.php?action=sponsorlink&rego=2154336&country=nz and donate online using your credit card, or

Write a cheque payable to 'Movember Donations Account', referencing my Registration Number 2154336 and mailing it to:
Movember
PO Box 12 708
Wellington 6144

Remember, all donations over $10 are tax deductible and you'll get a receipt.

The money raised by Movember is used to raise awareness of men's health issues and donated to the Cancer Society of New Zealand and the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand. These two charities will use the money raised to fund research and increase support networks for those affected with prostate cancer and experiencing depression.

Did you know:Depression affects 1 in 10 men....Most people who experience depression make a full recovery. The first step is seeking help. Last year in New Zealand 2,700 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 600 died of prostate cancer - (that's nearly two each day).

Photos of the team here in Italy will be forthcoming at the end of the month giving evidence that we did the hard yards here where the mighty manly Mo's aren't big in the fashion stakes!

Thanks for your support everyone.

Patch

Birthday Weeks

Patch and I have been having our birthday weeks just recently. As our birthdays are exactly a week apart we long ago decided to make the most of the intervening and following period.

My week started on Sunday with a trip to the (english speaking) All Saints Church in Milano for Remebrance Day services. This required an early start, paniced adjustments to jacket buttons and hairdos, and a couple of muesli bars grabbed on the run. The service was LOOOOOONNNNNGGGGG and mostly sung. Instead of a sermon there was an address delivered by the second in command of the Brit contingent from the local NATO base. His name is Rupert - this appealed to me immensely - a rupert called Rupert! Most suitably named.

An aside - I love those names that match or are appropriate to peoples work - in Marton the local undertaker was named Death. A couple of days ago I read in a magazine about a woman called Sally Styles who is the registrar for the Hairdressing Council in England; Sally Styles the hairdresser!

From the service we drove out to the War graves at Treno where wreaths were laid by the Consul Generals of New Zealand, Britain, and India, also from South Africa. It was very moving to walk through the graave stones and read the names. Many were only in their early twenties. Sometimes whole crews were buried together when an aircraft had crashed. Most of those marked in the cemetry were prisoners of war. A very sombre and emotional visit.

We returned to the city for drinks and nibbles at the British Consul but by 3pm starvation was setting in and we made for the nearest restaurant. Hunger aleviated we next called to visit some American friends in the northern suburbs. We have hardly seen them since leaving the hotel where we all spent our first few months. One quick coffee turned into three hours and a couple of wines. Great time!

A final half hour drive home saw us arrive in time to open birthday cards, have a feed of smoked salmon and a celebratory glass of bubbles before birthday phone and skype calls. Lovely, lovely way to finish the day.



Piccie of my birthday presents still to arrive... Patch (and John and Les - thanks for the birthday money!!!) have bought me two of these candelabra. They are silverplated and 75cm tall, holding five candles. They will look stunning on the dining table - especially for Christmas.












The other purchase is a four poster wrought iron bedstead - hopefully it will arrive later this week. I've wanted one of these for years and years and this is the loveliest one I've seen - crisis measuring after ordering it to check that it would in fact fit in the room height... thanks to a sloping roof I'm okay.




One of the other Kiwi girls is having her birthday today - it must be the season! Happy birthday to all the scorpios out there.

What we have been up to...

Simple post - and about time for another one I hear you say!

Well - we have been busy. Caitlin has this week off school for half term. The week leading up to it was full of tests, and a testing time it was too. Another new experience. She ahs been to three parties ove rthe last two weeks and is getting well into the social scene although finding the students very immature compared to what she is used to.

Alan and I have begun our Italian lessons. We go three mornings a week for about 10 weeks. It's an intensive 'Italiano per Stranieri' (Italian for foreigners/strangers/Aliens/immigrants) course. The lady running the course is lovely, with gorgeously Manchester accented English. The others in the course come from Germany, Holland, Russia, France and China; what a mix. All have a reasonable amount of English so that is the default language in the class.

Alan is getting in touch with a local rugby club and hoping to join them for the season in order to work on his fitness and as an opportunity to meet people his age. The social life here for him is slim and far from satisfying, although he is making friends.

Barry was quite sick for about three weeks but has finally come right with the aid of antibiotics. Work is a little stressful and getting more so, but different from home. He is getting into Karate here with a group about 20 mins down the autostrada. They have swapped his Kempo grading for the equivalent in Karate but he is finding it a little challenging as some things are the same and some quite different. Still, this is helping him to take a mental and physical break from the work stuff.

I've just finished working with a seminar group doing the same Master of Education programme I did back in 04/05. It was a fabulous opportunity and helped to restimulate the synapses. Also great to get a chance to give a little back to teh community from which I have got so much.

Sometime ago we meet a kiwi woman from Milano. She's been living here for about 18 years and has a 15yo son and 13yo daughter. They came to stay for a weekend a month ago and this weekend Natalie and Jess are coming to stay again. Caitlin and I will pick them up from Milan tomorrow and they train back on Sunday. Go the expats!

Going to be up to watch the All Blacks together 9am (our time - exactly 12 hours out from NZ time) Saturday morning. Think of us as you all watch the game... we're watching at the same time. Spooky really. Go BLACK!

Weather is turning much colder now, perhaps because the clocks changed last weekend. Today we really only made it to 10deg. The view of the lake is improving as autumn takes its toll on the trees. Caitlin said the trees are coated in honey wholegrain mustard leaves. It's a perfect description!

Mondiale - Seeing the World in Varese

(Alternatively titled) - How to Meet the Natives
(Alternative alternate title) - Why we Need to Change the Flag

Over the last week Varese has hosted the World Road Cycling Championships. There have been hordes of people from all over the world visiting here to support their teams. Couldn't find anything out here about a New Zealand team so eventually researched and found the bikeNZ website. They had a list of the cyclists competing in Varese. The challenge was then on - we had to be the best support team they could have - Didn't we????

Thursday saw the Men's time trials passing along the road just above us. We parked ourselves in the open gateway of a (Canadian) friend's house and drapped her fence with New Zealand and Canadian flags. And along came the locals...

"Ahhh" smiling and nodding at the flag. "Where were we from?"
Nuova Zelanda, we cheerfully respond.
"Ohhh!" knowing nod.
Many smiles and more nodding.
"We live across the road from you."
Yes, that's right, we agree.
"Ahhh" more smiling and nodding.

We had some funny conversations in 'Itanglish' - a mangled version of Italian and English - when we discovered that our house had been visited by robbers and we had had the police in. Nothing of the sort had happened but we now know who the looney in the street is! Apparently she told the neighbours some great tale about what had occured whilst they were on holiday over the previous two weeks.

Also met a lovely young Italian mum with her 9 month old baby, Archimede. Most Italians think she and her husband are crazy - they gave their child an unusual name - you don't do that in Italy. This explains why every second bloke you meet is called Massimiliano or Guiseppe or Marco.

On Saturday and Sunday we went up into the city and set up camp beside the track cheering first the women and then the men on the road races. The women complete 8 laps of a 17 km track and the men 15 laps. We waved our huge Kiwi flag and screamed ourselves hoarse. And we had a ball! Most people who stopped to chat thought we were Australians. They vaguely recognised the flag or had a relative in Aussie or had visited Aussie or... and had no idea what or where NZ was. The similarity of the flags required constant explanation. We need a new flag! Sometimes they would suddenly exclaim - "All Blacks!" and then we knew they'd got it. At least the Canadians and the Welsh we met knew a bit more.

Mid men's race on the Sunday we suddenly heard someone calling out "Kiwis!" and there across the road were the NZ women's cycling team. They recognised us from the previous day and wanted to say hello and thanks for the support. What a buzz!

So we may not have been the largest support crew, Or the most colourful, Or have the longest flag pole, Or the weirdest costumes ... But we had fun and our team appreciated it. I guess that is why I stood in one spot for seven hours - to meet the world AND to get a little touch of home.

Photos - New House

So --- here it is (or they are) --- piccies of the house. This first photo is taken from the deck looking back towards the house.

To the right of the deck is the lounge room, glass on three sides and a glass roof; double glazed like every window in the house. The large white couch is wonderfully deep and a great place to curl up and read. It's my favourite spot in the house.

From the lounge, standing by the tv cabinet, this next photo looks back towards the dining room and kitchen.

And this amazing room is our kitchen, with the dining room to the right. On the far side of the room you can see the huge stove, the indoor barbeque, and the built in pizza oven. The 'chandelier' of stags' antlers both horrifies and fascinates me! The sinks and the fridge are in a very little room immediately to the right of the big stove, behind the hutch dresser.

For those of you coming to stay - here is a photo of the spare bedroom. This room has been painted beutifully with a snowy scene and starry sky. Really pretty!

And here is one of the bathrooms - this one with a jacuzzi spa bath. The main bathroom has a jacuzzi shower!

Photos - Solbiate Olona

When we first arrived here in Italy we atayed at 'Le Robinie', a golfing hotel/resort. Nice looking place and good for a short holiday - not so good for teens sharing a bedroom for 8 weeks. Above is the hotel from the carpark entrance and below is a photo taken at dawn from the far side of the golf course looking at one end of the club house toward Mt Rossa (we think) in the background.

Shopping has been an experience too - here is the biggest role of luncheon/mortadella I've ever seen.
Did we mention how cheap the wine is here... that's E$3.95 for 5 litres of white wine.

Photos - Singapore

I've spent the morning trying to download, and catalogue into named and dated files, the 497 photos and videos on the camera. I'm nearly there - so thought I'd post some now...

On our way to Italy we stopped in Singapore for three lovely - but very hot and humid - days. Here is the house we stayed in.

And there was the cutest lizard in the garden, digging the deepest hole.

We also had 'Singapore Slings' at Raffles on our wedding anniversary - S$22.00 a glass!!! Surprisingly, we only had one each.

We're IN!

We've moved into our house at last! The sea-pack has yet to arrive and we are all but camping - still we have so much room to spread out. Furniture-wise, we've been through flat-pack Hell and made it almost out to the other side. A couple more wardrobe doors and a large pile of cardboard to the recycling place (when I can find it) and we'll be done.

Although we have seen hardly any birdlife around the area we have seen today both a snake (George) and three small bats (Bruce, Trev, and Eric - as in the 'fruit bat'). Although I keep promising photos - spectacularly failing to deliver - I have got a shot of the snake. I've got the photo as far as the daughter's laptop however network file sharing hasn't quite kicked in, so another day of waiting I am afraid.

Mum has taken house photos and we have some piccies of the spectacular thunderstorms we are experiencing. Tomorrow - I'll post them - Really - Truly. And in the mean time I'm off to watch some more lightening!

Driving in Italy

Driving in Italy is an experience to be - survived.

We have now got used to driving on the left (well mostly). There was a day last week where I leapt into the car in a big hurry and got the fright of my life when I landed on Patch's laptop bag. My brain connected to the fact that I was in the wrong seat about the same time my butt connected with the (very sharp and uncomfortable) zipper on the bag. Luckily for both of us no physical damage resulted from our accidental meeting. Of course, until now Patch had no idea this had happened. I figured that since his laptop has worked fine ever since there was no need to mention anything ... I'll update you on any resulting damage if it does occur now he knows ;)

I know I mentioned that road signs are advisory only - and speed limits likewise - but plain good sense should tell anyone that tailgating another car at 130km/hr with less than a car length between you both is abhorently STUPID. Anyone who insists on getting that close to my backside requires a prior, personal introduction (and invitation) at the very least.

And thenwe have roundabouts - a fairly new concept for Italians. They have only used them here for about five years. I'm not suggesting they have no understanding of the concept of these (elsewhere) useful traffic control measures but I ask you - Where else in the world do you get a roundabout;

• in the middle of a large intersection controlled by traffic lights - and who the heck has right of way?????
• on a straight piece of two-way road, with no off roads????? One road in, one road out; no island between lanes to prevent anyone doing a u-turn anywhere along the road.

I think I have finally begun to understand a little about the driving psyche here in Italy. The rule is "If it is behind me it is not my problem". Another way to interpret this rule is "If you car is behind my car you are responsible for your own safety". What this means is that;

• if my car's bumper is in front of your car's bumper then I can move into your lane, with or without indicating, because you are behind me and therefore you are responsible to get out of my way.
• I can pull out of a carpark on the side of the road when ever I feel ready to move off, even if you are coming along the road behind me - because you are behind me and therefore you are responsible to get out of my way.
• if, whilst driving in the centre lane of a three lane road with a (recommended) speed limit of 130 km/hr, I choose to suddenly slow to 60 km/hr - and you are not allowed to pass on the right - then you'll have to brake very suddenly and not swing aound me but instead wait for the cars on the left to pass me first - because you are behind me and therefore you are responsible for your own safety.

Still - nine weeks in and another ten months to go before we have to sit our Italian drivers licence test. I figure I'll be so scared I'll be about ready to quit driving by then!

Kiwis are everywhere - it IS a small world

Last night we went and had dinner in Luino, on the north eastern shore of Lago Maggiore, with a friend that Patch started in the Air Force with. He and his wife have just moved to Italy as well after living in England for many years. How incredible that we both move to Italy at the same time to almost the same place. They are about an hour from where we are currently staying and half an hour from where we will be living in Varese. This is the closest we have lived since they were in Blenheim and we were in Christchurch back in '91.

We had a wonderful evening with Saundy and Lisa. As they had only been in there house two days, and only had electricity for two hours we decided to walk down into the town to have pizza and gelati for dinner. The place was amazingly busy - people everywhere. Lots of families of all ages out together enjoying the warm evening (21 degrees at 11pm), walking, talking and eating gelati. This is life in Italy!

It was especially nice to have an entire evening being able to understand every word being said. It is quite disconcerting to have little idea of what is going on around you conversationally; especially when it involves you. Waiting patiently for a translation half a discussion later is disconnecting. We're getting better at picking up the gist of conversations so that helps. Soon we may even be able to converse ourselves...

We have a new home!

We've done it... On Thursday afternoon Barry and I went into Varese and signed the rental contract on our home for the next four years. The house is in Varese itself, on the southern side of the city and the north eastern end of the lake, Lago Varese. Our address for 7 August will be Via Zanelle 20, Varese; postcode to follow.

The house is the one we refer to as the 'vault house'. It is an architecturally designed place about 7 years old with a 7 tonne bank safe imbedded in the centre! Alan is thrilled at having somewhere to keep 'important' things such as his (still to be purchased) air soft gun and also his x-box when we go on holiday. The owners currently store their art and treasures in their when away from the house for more than a day. They have STUNNING art!

The landlord is planning on leaving much of the furniture for us, which is great as it is really lovely. This includes the kitchen (yes - the kitchen - many houses come without!), fridge, awesome modern aga style oven about 1.5-1.8m wide, leather settee, beds, drawers, sideboards, cffee tables etc. Wednesday of next week I go to Varese to compile an inventory with the landlord of exactly what stays. This will let me know what we will need to purchase.

We have done a trip to Ikea and got a catalogue to browse. It was only when we got home and I translated the title that I discovered the catalogues are only for use in the store - ooops - not for taking home. Oh welllll. Caitlin has identified the bed and desk she wants. We need to visit a few more shops for other things though.

We are hoping to move in earlier than 7 August. It all depends on when the landlord can move his family to their new home. He had wanted the move day to be 10 August but I explained that my mother is arriving on 8 August for six weeks - so he immediately offered to make it the 7th. He will try to make it a few days earlier still if he can. This would really help us as we are all going stir crazy in the hotel.

Will post photos of the house after the inventory visit!

Internet dependence - going cold turkey

I know I'm not an addict but being away from the computer for a week has been really hard going. The only access here in the hotel is still the computer in the lobby. This periodically loses the internet! Far too frequently for Alan's liking and usually when he is connected...

I keep wanting to go and look up some information about things to see and places to visit and lessons for the kids and support material for their learning and... and I can't. Even just catching up with the news from home on Stuff or my email or playing a game or... Okay I'm an addict. I NEED the internet!

The hotel has just changed from cabled internet to wireless in the lobby and started to charge; 4 euros an hour or 8 euros for a 24 hour period. Horribly expensive and rarely operational. We are back to a solid connection to get anything at all and we still have to pay.

We investigated getting a card for the laptops that would allow us access to the internet in our rooms (via vodafone) at 19euro a month. The only catch is that you have to sign on for 24 months. Definitely out of the price range that!

The other option is access via our mobile phones. I think I can post to the blog from my phone so will try to set that up now and then attempt to post later today.

House hunting in Italy

We've begun the hunt for a home in Italy. So far we have had two days out looking at a total of seven houses. Two were possibles. We are out to look at more tomorrow, Friday, and will probably make a decision then.

Housing in Italy would be hard to judge from what we have seen to date. Most that we have been shown are fairly modern, less than 10 years old and really don't provide the 'Italina experience' we were hoping for. Also, security concious is an understatement. Even here in the hotel our door is about 10cm thick with bolts that extend into the frame on both sides when locked. Some of the houses have bars on the windows, all have security fencing and require gate latches to be released from the house before visitors can enter. One house even has a seven tonne safe. The house was built around it. one wonder's about the owners business interests...

Some of the houses we have viewed have been stunning but embarassing in there size. The most incredible was in a small town called Caidate. The house has been in the hands of the same tennant for 26 years. They are moving to a new home of 900 square metres! This place is their home and workshop. They make 'clavichords' (brand Bizzi) and their show room , which is attached to the house, is extraordinary. The really interesting part of this house was walking through a little door from the show room, and almost immediately through another little door, then out into a courtyard surrounded by animal stalls. The courtyard had a huge arched entrance to our right and as we stepped through we realised what the the agent meant when she said the house was 'behind the castle' - oh that castle!

The two homes we like so far are quite different. One is very architectural and the owners are happy to leave much of the furniture. This would be helpful for us. The issue with it is the lack of space for the kids. The living area is all open plan so there is no separate space for them, except a large 'playroom' which only has external access form the house. Of course that may not be a bad thing. However, I'd like to have the place as a workroom and studio.

The second house we like is also a newer home with good living areas but very small bedrooms. The lovely thing about the house is the outdoor living room in the corner of the section. This little open air room has it's own kitchen for summer living. I loved it! The property also has a para pool in poor condition. It may or may not warrant the effort required to clean it up and get it running.

I wonder what we'll be visiting tomorrow with the next agent?

Now for some observations on Italy...

Okay - so we have survived a few more days here in Italia... and we are trying to think more Italian ... the issue is that things are a little different ... so here are some observations to date ...

• We are NOT europeans. We are nothing like Europeans - in looks, style, or manners. We would never stare at someone whilst insulting them behind their backs. No we are NOT americans even though we speak english with a strange accent. An apology would be nice!
  
• NZ is far more advanced than we ever thought. In NZ you can buy groceries any day of the week - even any hour of the day. NOT SO in Italy. Here EVERYTHING closes on Sunday - all the way through to 2pm on Monday. OMG!!!!!! This would not have been an issue had we known about it and had we not been trying to buy groceries for the other two families arriving at 6.30am Monday morning.
  
• Switzerland is also closed on Sunday. We rang to check. At least they answered the phone.
• Hotel rooms come with furniture - and towels. That's all. No plates, kettle, pots, cutlery ...
  
• Houses have at least as many bathrooms as they have bedrooms. There is a bidet in every bathroom. The cleaners must think us very grubby as ours is never used.
• Traffic lights, road signs and driving laws are simply for guidance.
  
• The shortest period in time is the gap between the lights turning green and the first horn sounding.
• The country is very beautiful. It is very green and many of the towns are filled with trees lining the streets.
• There are as many friendly people as not - especially once they realise we are from Nuova Zelanda. They all go "Ahhh" and smile.
• Driving on the right hand side of the road is easy once you get used to "easy left (turn), hard right (turn)" in order to keep to the correct side of the road.
• The wine is cheap. VERY cheap. €3 for 5 litres - for cooking.
• Bubbly wine sealed with a cork and a string needs a corkscrew to open it. No amount of shaking the bottle will free the cork! Some day I may post the video!!

We still have access to the internet only through the single computer in the reception of the hotel. I do have a new Italian cell phone number and will forward it to all shortly.

Also apologies to those I text to advise (about my new number) at 5.30pm local time. I forgot it was 3.30am NZ time. I'll let the rest of you know my number at a more civilised hour.

Two days in Italy - all the rumours are true!

We have surived our first few days in Italy really well, and we have discovered that all the rumours about Italy are true.

• The country is truly beautiful. Avenues of trees lead to our hotel and, in the light breeze yesterday, leaves drifted across our path from the trees either side.
• The people are mostly very friendly, (and forgiving) especially when we try to speak the language.
  
• Image is very important! Clothing is worn VERY tight - even when it really shouldn't be - and/or very elegantly.
  
• Driving is linked to virility. Cars are small but driven like you were on the track at Monza.
• Red tape is incredible. It took a total of around 10 visits to about 6 different offices over 3 or 4 hours to get the dogs from the airport.
• Italians love dogs. You should have seen all these men in overalls fussing over the dogs when we finally got them out of the travel cage.
  
• The food is divine - fresh, tasty, varied. YUM.
• The wine is CHEAP. In the local supermarket you can buy wine in five litre bottles for about €3-4. A good bottle of local Italian bubbly is €7-8.
  
• The modern electronic world hasn't entirely arrived. There is one internet connection in our hotel. It is in the reception area and it is a 56k connection... nothing at all in the rooms.
  

Yesterday afternoon we ventured out around the local area on our own with the Tom-Tom satellite navigator. A wonderful experience. Sesto Calende really is gorgeous and living there would be lovely. We drove back roads and made our way through some little towns with the narrowest streets you've ever seen. The houses open straight off the road, not even a foot path.

This morning Barry has gone off on his own to his office. Manuela, our relocations agent, will pick us up this afternoon to start looking for houses. She is trying to get us some SIM cards so we can use our mobiles here. (Vodafone disconnected my ability to roam so I cannot make or recieve calls or texts on my NZ number)

Must away - can't hold up the computer any longer. Ciao per adesso. (Cheers for now!)

Last day in Singapore - Italy here we come

We've had a lovely quiet day today. Some simple holiday down time was needed; so was time to repack! We eventually ventured out about 1pm for lunch at a well known local eatery.

'1036' is famous for its seafood although I found I couldn't order anything I had just been introduced to. Poor Caitlin was thoroughly enjoying her 'fou yung egg' until she discovered the shrimp.

http://www.edirectory.sg/articles/article-118.html

After lunch Caitlin and I decided to return to the house and rest. Barry and Alan headed off for more adventures. They returned around 5pm and Alan was buzzing. He'd had a ball with attack helicopters flying overhead, a visit to the military museum and managing to capture a squirrel on video!

Our plan for the rest of the day is to shower and change before heading to the airport about 8pm. That way we can explore the famous Changi airport before flying out around midnight. The idea is to sleep for 8 hours or so at the beginning of the flight (12.45 hours) and then awake and be ready for arrival at 6.45am local time, Milan.

Two days in Singapore - too many experiences!

What an amazing couple of days we have had here in Singapore. This is such a fascinating place with 4.6 million people all fitted into an area roughly the size of Lake Taupo. They plan to increase the population to 6 million over the next few years.

The contrast in housing is extraordinary. Most people live in 'HDBs' - high density building (I think). They build these sets of towering apartments, twenty at a time. Each set of towers gets a set of shops and a set of schools. Once complete they just move another 100,000 people into them. Instant city.

Each set of the housing towers is decorated with fishing poles, extending diagonally out from every window ledge, covered in drying laundry. Drying is a term I use loosely. The humidity is so high that after 24 hours the washing on our outside line was wetter than when it came out of the spin cycle.

The house we are staying in is one of the 'black and whites' built in the Sambawang area in the 1930s. The NZDF used them to house officers when NZ had a whole battalion up here. Now many of the houses are leased out to the Australians and Americans. This particular house is used for personnel in transit. Friends, Gillian and Steve, are based up here and invited us around to have dinner with them last night. Their home was once the 'top house' here and was taken over by the Japanese commander after Singapore surrendered during World War II. Steve's son had recently done a research project into the histroy of the house and was able to share some of its fascinating history.

Steve also took us for a drive to a local park at the beach and showed us just how close Malaysia and Singapore really are. Spitting distance. You can almost see the faces of the people in the barge-based bar across the strait. So strange for us Kiwis to see another country from the shoreline.

Today we all headed into town and began our adventures with Sinapore Slings in the Long Bar at Raffle's hotel. Caitlin and I then went off to explore the 'delights' of Orchard Road. What a contrast to the sites of the previous day. We did make some purchases but, even with the famous sales being on bargains were few and far between. We headed back to Sambawang to meet up withe Barry and Alan who had been off doing there own exploring. After picking up a few groceries for our last breakfast here we made for home.

Dinner was a difficult decision to reach so in order to appease everyone we drove to the 'Terror Club'; the local American navy club. Another culture shock. The food was everything one would expect in a military club; crumbed and deep fried with soggy salad. Having to over hear the 'gentleman' at the next table trying three times to arrange an assignation with a 'lady' added to the evening. What finally finished it for us though was the truly corny country and western music.

It's been a challenging few days on many levels; the move, the jet lag, the food, sights, smells and sounds, being blatantly in the minority. Exciting and tiring probably sum it up.

Happy 18th wedding anniversary to us!

Arrived in Singapore

We've made it this far! Almost half way to Milan and we still have our sanity - although it has been tested a little in the last two weeks. Being without internet for the last six days has definitely challenged my sanity! However, here in the transit housing in Singapore there is a guest computer with internet access and almost the entire island has wireless access. Kids will be in heaven once they wake up.

Caitlin has already got online to chat with friends and to let know we had arrived this far safely. Well done her. I could barely keep my eyes open at that point and even looking at email was nearly impossible. It's now 6.32am local time and still dark so I'm huddled over the keyboard using the light from tyhe screen to illuminate the keys ... the bulb in the overhead light doesn't work. Still it's a connection with the world - so I'll huddle on.

Farewells at the airport were deeply appreciated and very difficult to face. It was wonderful to have so many friends there to see us off. More than a few tears were shed and so many hugs I'll stay held for a long time to come. It was especially lovely to see so many of the kids' friends there. What a great bunch of stunning young people.

The flights were great. We arrived into Auckland in time to walk accross to the international terminal and straight onboard Singaopore Air (SIA) - as last boarding call was being made. Not even time for a passing glance at a shop - can you believe it?! SIA have an excellent reputation in the air and it is well earned. We were very well looked after; food, drinks, comfort, entertainment - ahhhh :)

We have three days here in Singapore and hope to do some relaxing time at the American "Terror Club" today, just being on hoilday and doing (and thinking) nothing. Monday and Tuesday we want to see Orchard Road, and Sentosa Island, as well as taking time to visit all the places Patch used to go when up here on deployment. We've been lent a car with a GPS system and Patch has had the 'dual' on how to use it - so tourism here we come.

Farewell Party - What a blast!

Saturday was the day for the farewell party and party we did! At one point there were five parties going at the same time; one in Caitlin's room, one in Alan's room, one on the front door step, one in the lounge and one in front of the TV watching the rugby. Go Crusaders! Of course this did lead to Uncle Rory going into hiding to avoid the bragging nephew.

We had friends popping in and out all day and it was lovely to catch up with everyone although saying good-bye was not so easy. The last two party-hearties, Fiona And Rachel, finally gave up sometime bewtween 3.30 and 4am. Totally mad but it had to be done. Patch made it to 1am which was a big effort.

The 'sheep dip', now a PatchFi tradition, was served as per tradition in a large plastic bucket. Knowing there were to be a number of teenagers at the party Fiona got sneaky and hardly put any alcohol in - the kids thought it was delicious and stole the bucket eventually. Little did they know they were only getting about a teaspoon of alcohol each!

The evening progressed from social chit-chat to rugby mayhem and on to a sing-along challenge. The winner by a mile was definitley Patch and the 'leg' guitar. Unfortuneatley we couldn't convince Uncle Rory to repeat his 1977 classic performance of 'Black Betty' with bare chest and 'tennis racquet' guitar. The kids were stunned to find that the adults all knew the words to 'Rasputin' and a couple of other recent hits. Hee hee little do they know the oldies heard it first.

So - that's another step on the road to Italy. Two and a half rubbish skips, one signed rental agency agreement and a sold spa pool means we are ever closer to our destination.

Friday - two weeks to go

What a busy day today. Been talking to the insurance company, the bank, the rental agency, the dog movers... So many decisions to make and at least some progress is being made.

Mum has arrived with us. She flies out on Tuesday and will soon be with the family in Nth Ireland. Next time we see each other will be in Italy. How exciting - and a little weird!

Okay - now it's really happening

Turned out we didn't have the actual final definite 'Yes' last time I posted. We got that yesterday morning. Bit of an anti-climax in the end as it has been such an awful wait whilst decisions at the top were being confirmed.

So in 12 days time the packers arrive and four days later we are on an aircraft. There is still so much to do and so little time...

We are onto our third skip bin. Those of you who know what hoarders we are will appreciate what that means. Lots of stuff has been thrown out - or sold on TradeMe - or given away to charities - or has found a new home with friends!

It's really happening

We are off to Italy. In one month and one day we will be landing at Malpensa airport in Milan, Italy. A whole nother chapter of life is beginning for us.

We hope that this blog will be an easy way for family and friends to share our journey.