So my trip has commenced! So much has happened already and it hasn’t even been a week! The airports were surprisingly simple to get around. Germany people definitely are not the most pleasant by any means. I think I will be ok not visiting there anymore…. Italy was even easier, they are much more laid pack, and didn’t even ask to see my passport! The family I am staying with was right outside the exit gate waiting for me! They were happy to see me, and I was glad they were so easy to find. The language barrier has been kinda hard, but I am picking it up quicker than I thought I would. The two boys are great. Ceasere is three, and the most difficult. Very smart boys, but he loves the word no, and uses it to his advantage. Antonio is five, and he has taken to me much more then the young one. I think it is because he speaks some English, I imagine this helps a lot.
For the first two nights we were near Lake Maggiori. This was about an hour away from Milan, and very colorful housing! I began to indulge in Italian food, and it was all delicious! I think the biggest difference is their lack of things like.. salt and pepper. It isn’t available on the table, and wow, I still haven’t figured out how they stay so thin. I have not eaten a vegetable since my arrival (besides tomatoes of course ☺ ). They eat starches constantly! Between the fruit after every meal, and the expresso (café), it must be the mixture that helps them to burn off all the carbs! I really have to thank my dad for setting me up with a German plug adapter! hahaha I guess we didn't know there were different ones for different countries. Luckily the family had a converter from German to Italian. Now my computer charger only sticks one foot out of the wall :).
The boys are really learning to help out, and they were learning to wash the car, rake the leaves, and cut the grass at their Grandpa’s house. (The first house) We also went to a country club where there was a beautiful golf course, and we went to the pool!
Today, we arrived in Tuscany. It is so breathtaking here; I have never seen anything like it. I think everyone should come here because it could be one the most beautiful place on earth. The city of Radda is very close, and you can see it across the vineyard. I think we are all going there tomorrow. If I wasn’t so tired, I would walk there tonight. I still have not completely made up for the time change, but I am trying to stay awake the whole day to adjust. I don’t think I truly knew what kind of family I was with until I came here. Guliana explained on the way that they own a vineyard, and also bottle their own olive oil. They are wealthy to say the least. I am staying in a house overlooking the vineyard now. There are three houses on the property and I am staying in one with my own bathroom. The boys are in the other house, which I am very happy about! They have been waking up early and can be very loud! Yaya is their nanny/housekeeper. She does all the cooking ,cleaning, etc. She will leave at the end of the month for a couple of weeks, but will be back soon. She speaks Italian and Russian and it is really neat to listen to her. The Sersale’s other family is also staying with us in Tuscanny. The grandmother (who speaks better English than anyone ☺ ), sister-in-law, and three cousins (8,6,1). There are two pools here and lots of yard to run and play. Sienna and Florence are right down the road and I think I will go visit there this weekend.
