Just Like Old Times

Last year we got into a nice routine with our neighbors.  We would sit and have coffee or pizza, in our house or theirs, while their baby played or slept, and visit.  Tom and F talked music.  Within a few minutes, one of them would take the guitar off one wall or another and start strumming.  A and I would talk school, shopping, men, family, tv shows, whatever struck us that day.  We would drink tea or beer, eat cookies, play a game, or watch a movie.

These times made Duino our home.  We had friends who we could talk to about nothing or everything.   We could each get out of the house and go for a walk with someone who spoke English.  After a bad day, or a disagreement with each other, we each had someone else to talk to.  Don't get me wrong, we love each other and all, but we spend so much time together that a little space and different audience is a gift.

You can imagine how sad we all were when we learned that A and F would move to the Netherlands over the summer.

They had a great opportunity to further both of their careers, they would be closer to one set of grandparents (but farther from the other), and, eventually, little I will have a great school to attend.

Tom and I would be fine--our Italian is good enough to get by in grocery stores and restaurants (most days).  We have a car now, so we can get around easily.  We know other people in town, and surely we will make new friends.

This weekend, we went to visit them.  After work, we had a 1.5 hour drive to the airport, an hour flight, and another 1.5 hour drive to their house.  Saturday we went on a bike ride and saw the town of Maastricht.  We joined A's family to celebrate her mom's birthday.  Sunday we went on a long walk from their house into the maze of bike paths that cross the country.  Then we got back in the car, another 1.5 hour drive, 1 hour flight, 1.5 hour drive to get back to Duino around 11 pm.

Was it lots of travel?  Yep.  Typical stressful European travel?  Yep.  Did the house cleaning or the laundry get done this weekend?  Nope.  But what do I remember about the weekend?

Sitting in the living room Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea.  I (the baby) napped.  Tom and F strummed guitars, planning their show they will someday, somewhere play together.  A and I just talked.  Just like old times.  With so many changes for us in the past year and a half, it's nice that some things don't.

Duino from a Different Perspective

We thought you might like to see our town from a slightly different perspective...from the water!  It's taken a year, but we finally have some watercrafts over here in Italy!  No, they aren't kayaks and no we did not sail our 14-foot jonboat across the Atlantic.  We bought two SUPs (standup paddle boards)!

As you may or may not know, the most difficult thing about living here in Duino for me personally has been the lack of any waves to surf.  Except for our trip to Sardinia last summer (another blog post is coming about that trip I promise) I haven't surfed in Italy at all.  So a compromise had to be made...buy an SUP and deal with it.  I had previously vowed to never own an SUP (it's a surfer thing), but I have been pleasantly surprised by how much fun it is having these boards!

Just look at how much fun we're having!  We bought one board a few weeks ago to see how much we liked it.  We quickly bought a second board once we realized just how much fun it is to paddle around in the Adriatic.  I think I can speak for both of us that we are thrilled to be back on the water!  We both missed the various ways we had to be on the water back in NJ...maybe we didn't realize just how much we missed it until that first paddle around the castle, seeing the cliffs that we've hiked on so many times from this different perspective down on the water.

While it's not quite the same as surfing waves, it's surprisingly a very decent substitute.  The muscles that you use and the balance that you need are very similar...and you're "standing" on the water just the same.  Surfing is surfing.  Did I just say that?  Am I really prepared to be an SUPer?  Just look at Kristen on that board standing out on the Adriatic...very relaxing just like riding a longboard on a little peeler in glassy conditions.  Maybe I can be an SUPer?!?

Having the SUPs also gives us a real escape from our small town.  There's a quietness on the water that you can't get in town.  The cliffs block all the noise from the roads, the train tracks, and the students.  In the evenings, when it's the best time to paddle here because the wind drops every afternoon, there are hardly any boats on the water either.  Who knew that such solitude was just a few hundred meters down below those cliffs.

Well that's enough rambling...want to experience this for yourself?  If you can't come and visit us to take a paddle for yourself watch this video to see how it feels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q02PocgT9hc&feature=youtu.be

A dopo!

2 Hour Road Trips

In less than two hours, we can drive to four countries (maybe more). We can get to great beaches, hiking, skiing in winter, and historic cities.

In Padova: A boat in a moat

This year, we have vowed to get to those places.  Our car gives us freedom to do just that.

Last Sunday, we woke early ready for a hike in the mountains of Slovenia.  The weather had other plans.  There was rain to the East (Slovenia) but it was beautiful to the West.  So we changed plans and visited Padova (Padua) instead.  Padova is an old University town, and still has that feeling. Some beautiful churches, artwork, and outdoor cafes make it feel totally Italian. We also enjoyed the botanical garden, where they have been collecting and studying plants from all over the world for hundreds of years.  There is even a palm tree that Goethe visited and they named after him (just that one tree, not the whole species).   I didn't really get why they named the tree after him, but when an author's most famous work has your last name in the title, and then you see a palm tree that he sat under a few hundred years ago, it's still pretty cool.

A famous cafe where intellectuals drink coffee and have intellectual conversations

The Botanical Garden

"Goethe's" Palm

Tom kisses drinks from a fountain

A sunny day in Ljubjana

Yesterday we went to Ljubjana, Slovenia's capital.  We didn't know the European Basketball championships were there this weekend, so it was quite busy when we arrived around lunchtime.  The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a fried cheese burger for lunch.  It wasn't what you think--it was literally fried cheese.  No meat.  Not sure why it was called a "burger" but it did taste good!  We spent the day wandering the streets and poking around in little shops.

NOT ice cream and coffee?!?

Later we stopped for coffee.  I asked the waiter about a picture on the ice cream menu.
"Is this ice cream and coffee?"
"No, it's ice coffee."
"Ok, I'll have that."
I watched them make it. . . three scoops of ice cream, coffee poured over the top, with whipped cream and chocolate syrup.  I don't know how that isn't ice cream and coffee, but it was delicious!