An italian song that we've enjoyed listening to...I hope you do too



Fabri Fibra Incomprensioni - The most amazing home videos are here

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Scotty wasn't having fun. He was naseous for thirty minutes after this. A wimp from New Zealand? Maybe it was all the gelato ...

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If you have been following the blog, you already know that we are back in Viareggio. And if you've really been paying attention, you'd know the reason why... to house-sit, or cat-sit rather, for a woman named Sofia that we met a month ago. In a normal world, that's exactly where we'd be... cat-sitting for a Polish-Italian widow in the Tuscan beach town of Viareggio. Sounds like a dream right? However, plans change. What seems normal, sometimes gets turned upside down and suddenly you're stuck in the house of obsessive compulsive maniac, who knows no other way to talk than by yelling at the top of her lungs in a italo-polak dialiect that's incomprehensible... even to Italians. Che miseria.

This was our situation. And I say was with the deepest sense of relief. Relief that we no longer have to step foot in that environment again. You can rest assured though, we were never in danger - we were simply the w r o n g people for the job. A job that we thought consisted of watering plants, feeding the cats (occasionally petting them), and in general making sure the house didn't burn down. But it turned out to be an agreement that neither of us knew we entered into. It should have read as follows:

If you, Brian and Jessica, agree to the following conditions please sign your names at the bottom. Of the conditions clearly presented in this letter, you will be expected to comply with the entirety. But please note, that this is only an example of the conditions that may be presented to you. It could be more or less.

You will NOT be given a list of daily chores, but you WILL however be expected to know what these chores are, and complete them in a timely manner. You will NOT be allowed to wear anything on your feet other than the appointed slippers that the owner (Sofia) has handmade for all guests in her house. (pics to follow). You are only allowed in the kitchen during the following hours: 7:30 am & 7:30 pm. Occasionally, the kitchen door will be unlocked around lunchtime. You must close every door in the house after you pass through it. Even if you plan on exiting said door immediately after entering, you must close the door. If you plan on going outside, you must place a pair of shoes/sandals outside that door so that you will always have something to change into when you take your slippers off. You will not be given a key to the house, therefore it will be necessary to let the owner know your exact times of departure and arrival every day so that she may be present when you ring the security bell. She will then unlock both doors for you where you will proceed to take your shoes off outside and trade them for the previously mentioned sandals. You will be required to memorize every obsessive compulsive pattern or formality used by the owner so as to not disturb the tranquility of the house and her peace. For example, if you are lucky enough to be trusted with dishwashing duty, please note that the yellow, sterile, dish gloves must never touch the soapy water in the sink. And if they do, the owner will then be compelled to throw those "soiled" gloves in the trash whilst looking at you in disgust for the horrible mistake that you made. Please understand that even though every square inch of this house may appear clean and spotless to you, it won't however appear the same way to the owner, because she is crazy. As for the cats, don't expect to have any relationship with them. They are not allowed outside of the porch, and if they approach the screen door leading into the house you may find the owner yelling at them exclaiming "Che vuoi!!!! Non mi hai capito?!?!?! Hai capito niente!!!". translation: "What do you want!!! Do you not understand me?!?!?! You understand nothing!!!" (please note she is yelling this to the poor cats who are only looking for some affection).

In summary, please be aware that the agreement you are entering into is anything but the agreement you had in mind. The owner will not be leaving for several weeks, therefore you will be living and working with her until she leaves. Please enjoy the papa smurf tapestry handmade by the owner for guests like you. If you accept these terms, please sign below.

________________

________________

OK. if this was given to us, maybe we could have avoided the last two days. But, things don't always work out like that. Life does however, turn out just fine. We were asked to leave at about the same time we decided we couldn't take it anymore "Non c'e la faccio piu" and we immediately called up our friend who gave us this recommendation. She apologized and sympathized with us, welcomed us into her hotel for the night, gave us a free place to stay for the weekend, and offered us an apartment to rent for a reasonable rate here in Viareggio. I guess things do have a way of working out. If there's an agreement we have now ...it's to stop by the hotel occasionally - just to talk English/Italian with the owners and their family. That's it. We are happy with our new situation. We hope to be in Viareggio for the month of June and then plan on meeting up with Alan and Erica thereafter.

Here's to leaving behind the crazies...

Brian & Jess

La strega. You can look up that word

Disobeying the master by touching the floor - thus making a mess.

Now we're just being outright criminal.

Papa Smurf

Confused and unhappy.

Happy to be leaving.

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So....we're at the train station in Napoli waiting on our train for Viareggio. We've just spent a grrreat week at the B&B, Villa Ischitana. Our hosts, Stani and Philomonea were sweet and happy, the beach was beautiful, and the food delicious. Our days started with a breakfast of croissants, nutella, coffee, yogurt, and orange juice-or the Italian equivalent of Tang. The scooter was lots of fun and allowed us to explore all parts of the island. I know you might think something could happen like Brian almost running us into a wall, accidently popping a wheelie, and landing while simulaneously honking the horn, but that never happened. We found a beach that was not crowded and had two great ristorante/pizzerias nearby. Last night, we stumbled upon a baia which are these naturally hot thermal baths right on the edge of the ocean. It was so beautiful, late at night, stars out, and tucked in a cove with cliffs all around. We wish we had found it earlier in the week....but it's hardly anything to complain about. The pictures describe Ischia better than words so I'll leave the rest to that (check them out on Picasa-click Photos above). We're looking forward to heading back to Viareggio and seeing what's in store for us there...

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We are in Ischia right now and we have a room and a scooter for one week. I posted a new album on Picasa -- from Casa Rossa. Enjoy it... we certainly enjoyed being there.

More later.

Brian

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Where do we begin? Some of you may think we put our blog on the back burner, but we have a perfectly good explanation. No internet access for two weeks - believe it or not.

We've been working at an 'agriturismo' called Casa Rossa in a small town, Niviano - just south of a bigger town, Piacenza, which is south of a much bigger town, Milan. Francesco and Laura are the owners who live here with Laura's 15 year old daughter, Ginevra. All of them couldn't have been more kind to us. We were treated like family, fed plenty of delicious food, and as expected...the countryside was beautiful. Our work day started around 8:45 and lasted till 4:00 M-F with a casual lunch break from 1 - 2:30.

Our Italian is getting better every day, largely due to growing confidence. We've made friends from London, New Zealand, Poland, and California... And of course there are plenty of stories. Both of us have mastered the Rubik's cube, learned several new recipes, spent hours in the sun, and took several naps in the loft of a barn. There were good times and bad times - hot showers and cold, but the most ironic thing was that we had to leave Tennessee to become a redneck - pics to follow. But the hardest part is telling the story. Inside jokes don't translate. Coincidences to us are less meaningful to you. Everything here is new and exciting and frankly... too much to put in a blog. When we are back home, we will tell the whole story - complete with hand gestures and spousal interruptions.

I dwell on food, this is no surprise. So I guess i'll talk about it. Casa Rossa has been the culinary highlight of our trip. Laura and Francesco love to cook and most importantly love to feed. Fortunately for them, we love to be fed. The generalization of Italian cooks filling your plate until you can't take it anymore has finally been validated. Every meal was more than we needed. Then when we couldn't take it anymore "Non c'e la faccio piu!" Laura would bring out a homemade tort or a bowl of Macedonia (kiwis, strawberries and apples macerated with grapefruit juice and sugar). Need I mention the espresso? Of course, pasta has been a staple here as well. Regardless of the meal, we ate it as a 'family', together... with many laughs and broken translations.

Right now, Jess and I are in a cafe in Piacenza. We just skyped a B&B in Ischia, an island off of Naples, and made a reservation for the week. It's called Villa Ischitana and the room comes with a free scooter rental to take to the beach. Tonight we're getting on an overnight train to Naples from Piacenza, and tomorrow we'll take a ferry to Ischia. After Ischia, it's back to Viareggio where we are housesitting for a Polish woman for 15 days. Don't worry though - it's not as random as it sounds...we met her through our host at the B&B in Viareggio. Sweet old woman whose husband passed away recently... apparently she couldn't find anyone to housesit for her because she has 4 cats. Also, she thinks we'll be able to find work there - maybe at a restaurant. And if we're interested she will rent out a room in her house for us after the 15 days at a good rate.

lots going on... hard to remember it all right now, but we're safe and happy and healthy -- well almost healthy. Our allergies have been a problem on the farm. They are clearing up now, but the last week has been rough.

We're short on time so i'll end this now.... if the connection is strong enough, we'll upload pics from Viareggio and maybe Casa Rossa.

Let us know if anything important happens back home. Miss y'all. Love y'all.
Brian and Jess

check out our photos from Viareggio

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I have a farmers tan…
Yep, it’s true. I have officially made it. After three amazing days in Viareggio, we arrived at our new wwoof farm, Casarossa. This organic farm/Bed & Breakfast is on the outskirts of a little, unimportant (non touristy) town called Piacenza, about forty-five minutes south of Milan and is home to Francesco, Laura, and her daughter, Ginevra. There were two other wwoof girls here when we arrived and they told us that their experience here had been very bad (no hot water, Francesco is moody, they had to work all day 8-6) and that they were leaving in the morning. However, our experience has been very different. The entire family has been extremely pleasant and hospitable, Francesco showed us how to turn on the hot water the first day, our working hours are they same as at Villa Lina, (six hours) and we have eaten all our meals together which Laura has prepared for us. Every meal gets more delicious than the last. So far, we are very happy here. Brian has been working in the vineyard and I have been pruning the hedges. Which is how I got my farmers tan. Yippee. The only frustrating thing is not being able to access the internet on the farm. Yesterday, Brian and I took a long walk outside of the farm and its so gorgeous. We are looking forward to doing that more often. Brian has gotten two recipes from Laura for some of her delicious cooking. Her apple torte is published with Slow Food. As soon as we find a faster internet connection with more time, we will post our pictures from Viareggio and the farm. We will try to make another post soon, but it might take a little while…thanks for keeping up with us!
Jessica and Brian

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Hello. Salve. What up. Hey. Ciao.

Sometimes we forget which one to use, but we're adjusting well after our time in Knoxville. It was a really sweet time at home with family remembering Jessica's Papaw. Since then, we have been saddened to learn that two of our friends from Central UMC have also passed away, Nancy Connelly and Virgie Peake. Our hearts are with their families as well as continuing to be with Jessica's.

As for us, we arrived in Rome on the 29th and left for Viareggio the following day. Our room is h i l a r i o u s - also clean and unique. The ceiling is on average 4 1/2 feet high, but the bath is HUGE, the bed is comfortable, and we have two skylights where I can stick my head out and stand up straight... pictures to follow.

Viareggio is a beach town in Tuscany. We are VERY happy here and are glad that we have till Sunday. The seafood is everything we expected - fresh. Last night we took a stroll down and around the marina. The weather was slightly cool, maybe 60 degrees, with the waves crashing against the rocks. Sweet. Romantic... still full off of seafood and pasta, we headed toward the brighter lights and found a theatre playing a late showing of Wolverine Origins.... I was reluctant, but Jess was dying to go.... Needless to say we bought 2 tickets and loved every minute of it. People clapped at the end. Funny really... It couldn't have been a better movie for us to see in Italian, because it was easy to follow.

Today, we woke up late and have been spending time getting adjusted. Jet lag can be nasty.

Some other updates: Jessica solved the Rubik's Cube. (picture below). Brian played with a cross eyed cat (picture below). Sunday we head out to our next farm in Piacenza (south of Milan) http://www.casarossapiacenza.it/
We put up a new album from our easter and "little easter" picnic on Picasa. We will wait and create an album for Viareggio, because we haven't taken many pictures yet.

In the meantime, the sun has set and someone in a distance is playing a harmonica. It's time to get off the computer and enjoy this beautiful town.

Love you all

Jess and Brian

Flight from London to Rome

Rubik's cube. Solved.

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