Taormina

After a week of INDOC classes, we were ready to get out and explore Italy!  We decided to head up to Taormina, which is about an hour drive from Sigonella.  For the most part, the driving was no different than home.  Until we hit the toll road.  There were about 3 lanes leading to the booth to get the ticket, much like the NYS thruway.  Unlike the NYS thruway, those 3 suggested lanes turned into at least 5 lanes and people were just jumping in where ever they could and everyone just let each other cut in, no road rage.  I considered getting a picture, but we were so close to the people on either side, I felt kind of funny.  Along the way we passed Catania.

Some horses on the overpass....

And a mall...

I am sure we will be checking out the mall in the near future =)

The city up on the hill is where we were headed.

There were several tunnels we had to go through along the way.

That road jutting out from the mountain is the way to Taormina, yuck!  However, we had to park at a garage before that point and jump on a bus to go the rest of the way.  The roads in the city are very narrow, and have a lot of pedestrian traffic.  At times it was hard to believe that where we walked was actually a road, until a vespa or car came down the middle, clearing the walkers to the side.

This was right after we got off the bus.  Through that arch is a beautiful street lined with shops and trattorias, as well as plenty of places to get some gelato!  It is a very touristy area.

This is a vendor with fresh produce in the truck.

Me and Mike, looking up one of the little streets.

 Some familiar sites, Bennetton above and of course, Coke.  The soft drinks in Italy are made with real sugar, not corn syrup, so they have a sweeter and almost a lighter texture to them.  It is hard to explain, but there is a definite difference.

Mike and the kids with the Ionian Sea in the background.

This is what they were facing in the previous picture.

A fountain on one of the side streets.

It was a hot day, and walking up hills and steps made some of us a little cranky.  So we stopped and got a drink.

Shortly after the drink stop, we got a snack.

Sam got the Sicilian pizza with salame.  We learned in our INDOC class that if we order a pepperoni pizza we will get a very nice pizza, with peppers.  So I don't think Sam will be having a pepperoni pizza while she is in Italy.  Tommy got a simple cheese pizza, and Mike and I shared the cone shaped fried snack.  It is an authentic Sicilian snack called Focaccia Salame.

Inside there is rice, meat of some sort, peas, and tomato sauce.  It was very rich and very good.

As we sat and ate our snack,  a car drove by.  You can kind of tell how narrow the roads were from this picture.

The next several pictures are from the Greek amphitheater 

They actually have concerts in here.  Right now there is a stage set up for an orchestra.  Recently Sting did a concert there.  Tommy has made it a goal to go to a concert there before we leave.

Here are some sites walking back down to the bus stop....

Along the walk back down, we stopped for some gelato and granite (granita), which is kind of like Italian Ice, but soooo much better!

These are the granite selections.  I had lemon, yum!

Above and below are the gelato selections.  I think Mike and the kids all had chocolate chip, also yummy!

The last set of stairs to the bus stop.

That sums up our day in Taormina.  We will definitely be back as we just did a walk through, and there is a castle even further up the hill that we want to see.

Some of you have told me you are having issues with commenting.  I have no idea how to fix that, but I will see if there is anything I can do!

The Big Move

So our trip Tuesday was a long one.  We arrived at the airport around 5 with our 16 bags for our 6:55 flight, only to find that the plane was delayed until 9:25.  Fortunately, the grill was open and I was able to get some food for the kids.  The kids then curled up on the benches and went back to sleep.  From Gainesville we headed to Miami, where again we had delays.  Since our flight out of Norfolk was not until 8:00 pm, we had no problems making the connection.  The planes getting to Norfolk were tiny, but the plane out of Norfolk was the biggest one the kids and I have been on.  There were 3 aisles with two seats each on either side and 3 seats in the center.  The flight included dinner and a snack.  While the kids had high hopes for the dinner, I knew better.  They served either beef with potato or chicken with rice.  Of course the chicken was stuffed with spinach, so Tommy was less than thrilled!  We had eaten at the airport in Norfolk, so at least we were not completely starving.  They also showed movies, The Hunger Games and the new Mission Impossible.  I think there might have been one more, but I was sleeping off and on. 

From Norfolk, we stopped in Rota, Spain.  Unlike a normal flight, it was not a free for all to get off the plane.  They called for higher ranking people to disembark first and then all those who had Rota as their final destination.  While we were waiting to get off, a girl sitting a few rows behind started up a conversation with the kids.  She has been in Sig for several years and was excited to meet some new high schoolers.  It was nice to meet some people before even arriving. 

We got to the Catania airport and really didn't have to do much in the way of customs.  I think they scanned one of the bags Mike was carrying and one that Tommy was carrying and they just waved me and Sam on through.  Our sponsor greeted us and we put some of the bags into a van that was collecting luggage and some in the car we were riding in.  When we got to our house, we were greeted by the Officers Mike with be working with, and some of their families.  One of them has a son going into his freshman year, but the others have little kids or none at all.  They were all very friendly and welcoming.  Then we went to dinner with a few of them at a restaurant across from housing.  The food was amazing!  When we got back home, the negotiation for the bedrooms was on.  The kids both wanted the front room, Tommy wanted it because it was brighter, Sam wanted it because of the view of Etna.  The decision was Sammie got it and Tommy gets the TV that was in the office in his bedroom.  I will post pictures of the inside of the house once we get our stuff.  It is plenty big enough, which was surprising to me.  We have a small yard, but that is fine since we have to mow the lawn ourselves.  There are plenty of fields and basketball courts right around the corner.

This is the outside of the house.  The window to the left is over the kitchen sink.  Above that window is Sam's bedroom.  To the right of Sam's window is the hall and next to that is the main bathroom upstairs.  Our bedroom and Tommy's bedroom is in the back upstairs and the dining room and living room are in the back downstairs, both with large doors opening up to a patio and the yard.

Our 2nd night we had french toast for dinner, at Tommy's request, and opened a bottle of wine that our sponsor had left for us.  Then we headed to the basketball courts and went for a walk around housing.

Friday night, our neighbors, and Mike's co-worker (Joe and Shelly), had us over for dinner.  They have been so helpful and even have given us the key to their 2nd car so that we can get around a little on our own.  On Saturday morning they invited us to join them for their Saturday tradition of going to Motta for an Italian breakfast, which is gelato and brioche.  Even Sam got up and moving for that breakfast!

The gelato was at a little cookie bakery and it smelled heavenly in there!

We sat outside on a covered patio to eat our breakfast.

You can't see the town well, but this is looking uphill from our table.

This is about all we saw of Motta.  We will actually get a tour of the town sometime during our 2 weeks of classes.  I guess there is a castle there at the top of the hill

Before we left, we got a plate of cookies to bring home.  This is how they wrapped them for us.

The powdered sugar ones are a crispy pastry filled with nutella.  There were also a couple of chocolate dipped wafer cookie filled with nutella, a lemon filled cookie and some yummy macaroons.

After our breakfast, we went back on base to get the sim cards for the phones set up and get some more groceries.  While we shopped, Tommy sat in the food court.  3 kids saw him there and came over and introduced themselves and talked for a while.  We also saw the family we met on the plane and chatted with them.  After dinner we were going back out for a game of basketball and met some neighbors who have also just arrived.  Everyone is very friendly and the neighborhood is pretty quiet and peaceful.  When the sun goes down, people head out and either hang out in their carport/patio or walk around.

The next 2 weeks Mike and I get to be in classes.  I get to skip some of it, but Mike has to be there for everything.  There are a couple days that are cultural information and we will bring the kids to that.  One day we will go into Catania for a tour and another we will go to Motta for a tour.  After that I can sign up for a Survive and Thrive class.  I guess that is either 1 on 1 or a small group class for spouses where they bring you into Motta and show you the markets and little shops.  I will be signing up for that as well.