Hi all,
Since I last wrote, our plans to go to Venice changed. On the 31st, after sitting on the train for an hour, our train was cancelled due to a broken train down the tracks. We were to go to Venice and return to Torino before heading to Rome and then on to Spain. We are now combining the trips and when we leave for Venice tomorrow we won’t return until the 21st or after to Torino. This is kind of a good thing as it saves us about 10 hours on the train we would have had if we’d separated the trips.
Well, I’m a bit apprehensive about leaving. We have settled in here with a routine and are very comfortable. Other than not being able to cook food, we’ve had everything we needed. We love the hotel staff and fill some of our days with trying to figure out if two of them are brothers (we might finally ask them today). This is of interest to us because this man appeared at the front desk one morning who looked exactly like another of the staff , Riccardo, except that he had a goatee. We thought at first that Riccardo had grown a goatee, but how could he have grown one overnight?! We kept thinking of reasons to come through the lobby so we could get a better look. The new staff member is Enrico (with the goatee) and I think we must ask them today if they are related. It seems silly when I write it, but of great importance to us in our current “in the moment” world. Forrest wrote in his journal last night all of their names and which were each of our favorites. Our days are sweet and simple- we sleep in, eat pastries, explore, scrounge for more food, play and finally look forward to Barry returning home at 7:50pm. We have dinner until 10:00p, Barry rolls into bed at 10:30p, the kids and I at midnight and then we do it all again the next day. I’m remembering the extra energy it takes to live out of one suitcase and be more organized than I already have to be. I’m excited about the adventures ahead and I already have our Eurail Pass, so we will go and have fun, but will miss our “home” here and Barry.
We made it up into the mountains finally the other day. We visited Aosta which is beautiful and well worth a visit. The town is very quaint and had quite a few Roman ruins. Everywhere you look, the mountains are in view. They are Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. From Aosta you can take a bus another hour up into the mountains where you can board the tramway up the mountain. It actually takes 3 separate tramways to get you to the top of Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in Europe, I believe. I was very tempted, but we would have had to rush through Aosta and Daphne and I are a bit afraid of heights. I remember taking a tramway in Austria when I backpacked Europe and I was quite nervous. If Barry can come with us later on, I’d love to try it.
About a week ago I lost my camera. I leave open the possibility that it dropped out of my pocket when I was moving about that day. That said, I was also slammed really hard from the back on the tram that day as well. I had the camera in my coat pocket, but it was unzipped. Bummer. Forrest asked me in bed the other night if I had set my good intentions for Italy. Before Guatemala we talked a lot about setting our intentions that all would go well and that we would be met with lots of good. Because we were to travel a lot without Barry and the crime sounded a bit scary there so I worked on it a lot prior to leaving. I told him that I always set good intentions, but that I had not worked as much on Italy as I wasn’t aware that the pick pocketing was so rampant. The guidebooks don’t adequately cover this issue and I should have read some of the travel forums, such as Trip Advisor, before leaving. Others have written about the same happenings throughout Italy, so we’ll have to stay on guard until we leave. Many NBC people have also been bumped. One co-worker of Barry’s had his cell phone taken from his unzipped jacket pocket just yesterday. It might seem so obvious if it weren’t for how physical ALL Italians are when getting around. We now have a very set way we travel around. It requires that I look very unattractive by wearing my fanny pack loaded with all cameras, money, passports, etc. under my jacket so they can’t easily unbuckle it and take the whole thing. On my back I now carry a backpack with hats, gloves and all of the other necessities that aren’t valuable. I am very bulky looking now, which I only mention because every woman in Torino wears a fur coat, gorgeous leather boots and not a hair out of place. The gear I carry alone outweighs these ladies! Forrest then walks two paces behind me to my right. He has added a scowl to his face for additional affect. So far this has worked.
That’s all for now. I’ll write from the road. We’ve now been gone from home for a month. It’s going by fast.
Much Love,
Laurel
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