2
Burlamacco
Posted by Brian
on
Monday, June 08, 2009
in
Viareggio
Good riddance crazy lady. Our new gig is better than we thought, and we thought it'd be good. We have a comfortable room with a beautiful view, bottomless cups of espresso, and a family who have accepted us as their own. Sofia and Carlo run the hotel with their daughter Sara.
Here's our daily routine
8:45 am - Breakfast: cappucinos, espresso, sweet croissants, juice
9:15 am - depends
1:00 pm - lunch & Italian Soap Operas with the fam. Always delicious and more than we can handle. Finished with some fresh fruit and more espresso.
2:30 pm - go out for a bike ride or a walk. Maybe go to the beach. If there are English guests arriving we might hang around to translate.
4:00 pm - Nap time with the windows open and the faint sound of church bells ringing
6:00 pm - wake up from nap and shower. Go downstairs and talk Italian with Sofia, Carlo, and Sara. Maybe go for another walk. Maybe even have another espresso.
8:15 pm - dinner. Same as lunch, but a little more formal.
10:00 pm - Go out for another walk or bike ride. Maybe get some gelato or lemon & sugar crepes.
12:00 am - watch TV in the reception with Carlo and talk Italian. Then it's off to bed
This is of course, a gross generalization of our days, but it's as accurate as it is simple. Sometimes in the morning we'll help Edele, the maid, changeover the rooms, or make espresso drinks for the guests, and occasionally we just hang out together. Lately, after lunch we have been giving English lessons to Sofia and Sara. Our Italian skills are accelerating... a result of spending hours a day with people who only speak thus. I think we fit in here. Other than being taller, paler, and blonder... wearing shorts, sandals, and longer bathing suits - yeah, we fit in just fiiine.
Jess and Sara (16 yrs) have formed a sweet relationship in our short time here. If you passed them on the road, you'd think they had been friends for years... with all the giggling, dancing, and sharing of ipod headphones. Thanks to MTV, Sara along with everyone else in her generation is fascinated with American pop culture.
I, as expected, have formed a sweet relationship as well.... with the cross-eyed cat. She likes me I can tell.
A lot is still lost in translation though. The other day, a woman ran in here yelling something about being trapped, and can't find a way out, to which Carlo rushed outside and followed her next door. I was left stunned, and hastily searching for the translation of tetto. I began to put the pieces together when I found that tetto means roof in Italian. Then I recalled hearing gatto in the sentence. At this point, I was fully aware that the cross eyed cat was stuck on the roof next door. It takes time ya know.
We have also been 'skyping' more frequently. Search for JessicaGPS and add her as a contact. We would love to talk to all of you, just remember we're 6 hours later in the day than you at least.
Here are some pics from our first 10 days at Hotel Burlamacco. The first one is the view out our bedroom window on a cloudy day.
And there is another album up on Picasa.
Love ya'll. Miss ya'll.
Brian & Jess
|
Here's our daily routine
8:45 am - Breakfast: cappucinos, espresso, sweet croissants, juice
9:15 am - depends
1:00 pm - lunch & Italian Soap Operas with the fam. Always delicious and more than we can handle. Finished with some fresh fruit and more espresso.
2:30 pm - go out for a bike ride or a walk. Maybe go to the beach. If there are English guests arriving we might hang around to translate.
4:00 pm - Nap time with the windows open and the faint sound of church bells ringing
6:00 pm - wake up from nap and shower. Go downstairs and talk Italian with Sofia, Carlo, and Sara. Maybe go for another walk. Maybe even have another espresso.
8:15 pm - dinner. Same as lunch, but a little more formal.
10:00 pm - Go out for another walk or bike ride. Maybe get some gelato or lemon & sugar crepes.
12:00 am - watch TV in the reception with Carlo and talk Italian. Then it's off to bed
This is of course, a gross generalization of our days, but it's as accurate as it is simple. Sometimes in the morning we'll help Edele, the maid, changeover the rooms, or make espresso drinks for the guests, and occasionally we just hang out together. Lately, after lunch we have been giving English lessons to Sofia and Sara. Our Italian skills are accelerating... a result of spending hours a day with people who only speak thus. I think we fit in here. Other than being taller, paler, and blonder... wearing shorts, sandals, and longer bathing suits - yeah, we fit in just fiiine.
Jess and Sara (16 yrs) have formed a sweet relationship in our short time here. If you passed them on the road, you'd think they had been friends for years... with all the giggling, dancing, and sharing of ipod headphones. Thanks to MTV, Sara along with everyone else in her generation is fascinated with American pop culture.
I, as expected, have formed a sweet relationship as well.... with the cross-eyed cat. She likes me I can tell.
A lot is still lost in translation though. The other day, a woman ran in here yelling something about being trapped, and can't find a way out, to which Carlo rushed outside and followed her next door. I was left stunned, and hastily searching for the translation of tetto. I began to put the pieces together when I found that tetto means roof in Italian. Then I recalled hearing gatto in the sentence. At this point, I was fully aware that the cross eyed cat was stuck on the roof next door. It takes time ya know.
We have also been 'skyping' more frequently. Search for JessicaGPS and add her as a contact. We would love to talk to all of you, just remember we're 6 hours later in the day than you at least.
Here are some pics from our first 10 days at Hotel Burlamacco. The first one is the view out our bedroom window on a cloudy day.
And there is another album up on Picasa.
Love ya'll. Miss ya'll.
Brian & Jess
This is a pier in Torre del Lago where Giacomo Puccini lived.
Skyping with Anj
|
