So. Life in Italy. Things have been going along decently well. We’re still waiting on the Italians to decide if we are responsible for paying the fees associated with the towing and impounding of our VW Golf or not so we were down to a 1 car family for a while. Not cool. But that has been fixed! Goose can now scratch, “Own a BMW,” off his bucket list! We now own a 1993 BMW 520i…or something like that. It’s got 4 doors, a working clutch, working brakes, working headlights, and is decent on gas. Oh and didn’t cost an arm, a leg, and your firstborn child like the other beaters on base. SOLD! King Tut especially likes it because it smells like whatever dog the previous owners had so he is quite content to sit and sniff the backseat. Perfect.

I won’t bore all 2.6 of you that read this too much with information overload on my first post back but clearly, I have new things to talk about and pictures to share. Speaking of pictures, they’re annoying me. I’m not crazy about Picasa right now and I can’t find any other photo organization software that I kinda sorta like. Lame. I’d like Picasa a wee bit better if it didn’t continually freeze up my computer. Also lamesauce.

There. Proof of life. The gypsies haven’t stolen me and the food hasn’t put me into a food coma. Yet. There’s always tomorrow I suppose.

Okay, okay so it’s really Friday now but still. When I worked at the American Red Cross, Thursdays always seemed to bring out the crazies. And yesterday brought the crazy too.

So the standard MO of most people stationed here is to ship one “nice” car from the states over and buy a Naples beater to use as a commuter car and/or the one you use when you want to do something fun like drive downtown. So we shipped over a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe (we were torn – do we ship the 2003 Santa Fe or the 2003 Santa Fe?? It was an agonizing decision but I think we made the right decision in shipping the 2003 SF.) and shopped the lemon lot (no, they aren’t ALL lemons, it’s just the generic resale lot) on base for a while. We stumbled across a beauty – a 1993 VW Golf. It was scratched to hell, missing some of the decorative siding, ran like a champ, and good on gas. And it was priced right – $1,500. SOLD.

In the wee hours of Thursday morning, sometime between 0200 and 0600, someone stole our Golf. Yes, we had our car stolen. Excellent. The really sad part? I was up all night – literally. Around 0100-0130, I heard some extra car doors and stuff and got curious so went outside and looked around. Checked the Golf’s doors (locked), and wrote it off as neighbors having company over. While I whiled away the hours playing Halo via Xbox Live, the Golf grew legs and ran away. Goose woke up and we put the dog out where he proceeded to harass the dogs through the gate so we went out to shush them all. I had mentioned the funny noises to Goose and he took the time out in the yard to peek over the fence to look at his car.

“Hey hon, where did I park my car?”

“What do you mean where did you park? You’re looking at your car!”

“No, I think I parked around the corner.”

Awwwwwwwwwwesome. I tried calling USAA to find out exactly what to do but seeing as how it was 0530, the offices were closed and there wasn’t really much I could do. Goose went to work and reported the theft to the base police who put out a BOLO with the Italians but was told to not hold his breath. So imagine the surprise when the Carabinieri called and said,

“Oh hey, good news! We randomly raided a gypsy camp for reasons completely unrelated to your car being stolen but guess what! Your car was there! YAY!”

Okay so it probably didn’t go like that at all but that’s the gist of things. So Goose got to drive to to the Carabinieri impound lot to check out the car. Apparently the gypsies around here really, really stink at hot wiring cars. Not only did they completely strip the ignition, they also ripped wires out of the left and under sides of the steering wheel and under the dashboard on the passenger side in order to try every, single, possible wire combination. And if theft of personal property we left in the car was their aim…well, they kind of suck at that too. Their loot consisted of things like the glove box door and the rear console ashtray. Not sure why they left the almost new spare tire but hey, to each their own.

The catch to all this is that obviously we are now back down to one car. Well, we still technically own 2 but we need to total the Golf and scrap it. We can’t do that until we get the car from the impound lot where it’s accruing a fee of 10€/day that it’s there. It obviously won’t start so we need to have it towed to the Support Site so we can get it scrapped free of cost but that’s going to cost around 200€ to tow. And if we want to do it now, we have to pay all those fees. Nice, right? We get our car stolen and then WE have to pay for it all? Hooray! Can’t wait!

The good news is that Goose talked to one of the Italian lawyers that collaborates with the MP’s to help out the Americans and he said that the magistrate should rule that we are not responsible for those fees. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it’ll take weeks (and probably over a month since August is Italy’s national holiday. Yes, the whole month.) for that to happen so we’re just playing the waiting game.

But hey, I am so checking, “Get your car stolen!” off of my bucket list!

Yes, that’s my dog trying to climb the tree after that cat, why do you ask?

King Tut is having a slumber party as his friend George’s house (aka, Gina is watching him for us), Goose will be here handling the packers, and I will be at the new place waiting around for the internet guy who has a window from 8-12. Super. I fully plan on bringing my coffee pot though since I have cream over there.

Just a few more days in hell and then we’ll be in a much better place all around!

1. I can’t lift things that are too heavy. (I fell working at the pool a couple years ago and if I do too much, my wrist locks up on me. No bueno.)
2. Goose has to work.
3. Everyone we’d ask to help is on leave.
4. I was stressing and breaking out just thinking about it.

So for both our sanities and our marriage, we are going to pay the nice moving men to come, box up our crap, haul it across town, and then even dispose of all packing materials. And all it will cost us is money. Genius! Those guys come on Monday. Yes, I know it’s the 4th of July but apparently the Italians don’t celebrate Independence Day for some bizarre reason. Plus, Goose is SDO. Again. Pretty sure he’s had weekend duty for the past month. Sigh.

Today though is different. I’m playing Round #749823 of the “Hurry Up and Wait” game. (And I don’t think I’ve won even half of those games. Ever.) Part of being stationed OCONUS is that we are asked to leave behind all our appliances in lieu of being assigned some when we get here. So I have a super awesome Italian fridge, dryer, microwave, an American washer (bigger! As in, I can wash more than 1 pair of jeans at a time!), and a hutch. The hitch to this moving thing is that housing “requests” (read: demands) that they move all the stuff they are loaning us to the new house. So what does this have to do with me playing the HUaW game? Oh just that housing said the guys to move things would be here sometime between 8-12 today with my American range (squee! I get a real oven! No more Easy Bake oven!) and American dryer (see: American washer, above) to pick up all the things they have supplied us with and then follow me to the new house where they will set it all up for me again. Exciting.

The way I figure it is that since I actually woke up and showered before 0800 is that they won’t show up until 1155 because that’s just how things in my life go. Oh and did I mention that we’re masters at poor planning? Yup. I don’t really know where the idea came from but we thought it’d be super fantastic if we moved over the things we were wary of the movers taking. Like the TV, my XBOX, and the couch. WTF were we thinking?! Because now I have nowhere to sit in the living room (well, there’s the dog’s crate I suppose but King Tut’s in there already. Boo.) and nothing to do while I wait. Awesome. And hey look, it means I blog about something other than traveling, aren’t you excited?

And if I don’t blog, I’ll be shopping for things online that I don’t need. Like  metal chickens. Come on, how awesome would it be to watch the military movers move one of those?! Or Lucite Grapes. I don’t know why I find them so fascinating but I kind of love them, they are so shiny and pretty and go perfectly on my hutch. Or carnival glass pieces. Or, probably the most dangerous, window shopping these. Oh.My.Gawd. Think Goose would mind if one showed up??

Somehow I feel like the safer option is to make another cup of coffee and sit with my Kindle. 2 hours down, 2 to go.

Yeah, that place.

Goose was SDO this weekend (and ended up working like 12 hours each day to boot, sadly) so Gina and I took a girl’s trip to Menorca. Hopped on the C-26 and flew out for a mini, random, tropical getaway. No reservations, no plans. We ended up staying at this super awesome resort hotel and had this AH-MA-ZING view from our hotel room:

Life’s rough.

When we got “tired” of the beach (or, rather, tired of the sand and the water started cooling down too much), we’d go to the pool:

I just love a good swimming pool, don’t you?

Sun setting over the bay. I seriously didn’t want to leave.

I tried to be all island-y and ordered fish for dinner. It came looking at me and I didn’t even get a fish knife. But, as you can see, I was victorious and managed to not mangle the fish! I win.

I had to take one of these stereotypical feet shots this morning. Gina and I hit the beach for one last swim/snorkel this morning and this was after the beach but before the pool.

And let’s not discuss the mass amounts of alcohol consumed, shall we? Although, speaking of drinks, funny story! Gina and I went to one of the outdoor bar/cafe things on the beach (the one you can kind of see in the first picture, actually) around 1400 on Saturday afternoon and ordered some food and rum and cokes. The waiter looked at us with a slightly puzzled look on his face and said,

“It’s a bit early to start drinking, isn’t it?”

We kind of looked at him like he was nuts and gently explained that it’s NEVER too early to start drinking. Hell, breakfast starts out with champagne so a rum and coke at 1400? Pfft. Child’s play.

So this is why I’ve been MIA the last 3 days or so. (It’s okay to hate me. Just a little though. )

If you’re curious, we currently live in a town called Giuliano in Campania. Predictably, it’s in the Campania region of Italy, just outside of Naples. We are moving to a slightly different area to a town called Lago Patria. It’s about the same distance to Capodichino (aka the base Goose works at and/or the local Naples airport) and the same to Support Site and the large shopping center. One of the big appeals to living in Lago and the surrounding area is the proximity to Carney Park, aka, location of the dog park. Also we’ll be closer to friends, another big bonus.

Quick run through of what you’ve seen (mostly in order, even!):

• The front of our new place, which, as you can see, is a duplex but that’s okay. Ignore the car and the puppy.
• The side yard (it wraps around the house to the back left which is where the garage is as well)
• Yard in front of the front door (That tree with the pink flowers is apparently a pomegranate tree, exciting!)
• Entryway from the front door
• Living room from the entryway
• “Sunroom” which is likely going to become the dining room
• Bathroom/laundry room off the back of the kitchen
• Kitchen!
• More kitchen! And a puppy’s ass…sorry!
• Stairs
• Landing at the top. Straight ahead and to the left are guest rooms, master is to the right
• Master bedroom
• Master bath…and the puppy again.
• View from the Balcony
• Again
• The balcony
• Guest room and a puppy tail. (Sorry, fresh out of snails.)
• Sunset from the balcony
• Puppy’s seal of approval

Did I mention that I am very excited?

So we pile in the small plane (even got to sit in the VIP seats! The very same seats that Senator John McCain just sat in on his little jaunt around Europe a couple weeks ago.) and take off. A quick stop in Sigonella with just enough time to pop over to the cafe to get a drink. And look, on the menu! They have REAL coffee and even a cafe latte! Now kids, I’m going to give you a hint. DON’T ORDER THE CAFE LATTE AT THE CAFE IN SIGONELLA. Why not?

This is why. You get a cup of milk, on ice. Not just any milk, Parmalat milk on ice. (And what’s with the domed lid on a cup of milk?? Sheesh.) And sadly, not even a cup of drip coffee poured into said milk could save it. All around a colossal waste of money. Unless you count the laughs then hey, well worth it.

Back into the plane and fly on up to Stuttgart where they deliver the box with the part and then we head off to Athens. We got to our hotel rather late and walked up the street for a gyro from the little shop that was still open at 0030. Pretty hoppin’ place actually! Lots of business and even tables outside, perfect. And the food was delicious to boot.

Thursday was different. Thursday we woke up, had breakfast at the cafe (yes, cappuccinos in Greece, awesome), and took a cab (since when we asked about public transportation were told that the busses MIGHT be on strike, not sure) to the Acropolis.

This is what you see from where we were dropped off. You look up the hill and there it is – The Parthenon. It’s just….there. It’s obviously under some restoration right now but still amazing.

Looking out from in front of the Parthenon. More ruins and the city.

More Parthenon. See, under renovations.

Oh look, it’s the Parthenon! And some dark clouds starting to roll in.

Pillar ruins…and those pesky clouds again.

After we left the top of the Acropolis, we wandered down the path and came across this, the Theater of Dionysus. The seats look super comfy don’t they?

Looking up at the Acropolis from the other side, at the Parthenon Museum. No pictures allowed so, I have no pictures from the stuff inside. Nothing too exciting, really. The coolest part was probably the plaster replicas of the all the Elgin Marbles (they are at the British Museum in London) of the friezes.

After all that, we ended up in the Plaka area and the markets. Walked around there, looking at all the shops and things in the area. Oh! And there was a Starbucks there in the area! …Yes, I made Goose stop. And yes, we got something to drink. Come on, we had to. Good thing we stopped when we did too because the sky suddenly decided to rain down hard and for a while. So we used it as an excuse to sit, drink our drinks, and wait out most of the rain.

See?? Completely unexpected and not sought after but hey, why not? It’s no Dunkin’ Donuts but I guess it’ll have to do.

For dinner we stopped at a small restaurant, I don’t even remember the name or what exactly we had but the food was good, and the view was great. (Did I mention that I love Greek food? No? Oh. I love Greek food…and Goose does too apparently.)

What I got to look at through dinner. Not too shabby!

This is Goose’s view from dinner. Not bad either huh? I believe this is the Temple of Athena up on the Acropolis. No, it’s really not that close, I just had my kick ass lens with me for my baby.

See? Further away but still closer than you’d think. I was playing with my baby while we waited for food and drank the wine.

The Acropolis at Night.

The Parthenon all lit up.

That’s all she wrote for this trip. I have oodles more pictures but those are the main highlights. Definitely somewhere we want to go back to because we didn’t get to the Temple of Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch, or the main museum because of the whole lost time bit. But that’s okay, gives us a reason to go back, right? Maybe en route to Santorini or something.

That’s all she wrote, folks. I’ll share pictures when we get keys and I can get to the house to take some! I feel like the biggest weight has been lifted and I cannot wait to get out of here!

Carry on.