Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Journey of a lifetime

Buongiorno from Torino! We made it, we are safe and snug in our suite and I'm getting quite accustomed to having someone clean up after our 6-person family. Seriously, this is addictive. Also, no pics yet again. I really need to start writing my blog on the laptop. That sounds like work, so lazy me is just typing out these posts. Maybe I'll add pics later. Just an incentive to get you to come back for more. ;)

The kids enjoyed their first flights. Little J was all grins and laughs the first leg. My Little Boo got "bored" on the first leg so we did some coloring and playing to keep her occupied. After that leg, we thought we had this travel thing down. Ha! Who knew JFK was as huge as it is! We had to travel from Terminal 4 to Terminal 1 for Ailitalia. Oh boy. Going back through security in an international line lends itself to some interesting moments. The kids were troopers and did a great job. The meltdowns started once we were in the terminal. Hungry kids, lots of walking and fatigue all culminated in an unhappy little boy. He refused to eat anything and just put his head down on the table. Of course, once our food arrived, he was starving. All's well that ends well...we had a long layover and he got to order some food. I do feel bad for the little guys, tho. We had promised them a plethora of movies to watch on the flight, thinking we were flying Delta. Yeah, didn't happen. Most films were in Italian and there weren't many options. Oh well, I guess they didn't need to watch all of those movies.

As always, God has provided for our family. We were able to rent a van from the Milan airport to drive to Torino. Today, Joe was able to get a 5+2 vehicle. They didn't have a 7-passenger, but they did have a 5+2. One day I will understand, right?! Thank you to my prayer warriors for praying us through this trip/move. God is good, all the time.

I have to say, this suite is one of the nicest places I have stayed in, ever. The bedrooms are nice, it is very quiet, nice facilities, 3 bathrooms, modern furniture. I keep picking out things I want to install when we return home. It has one of those raindrop shower heads. Exquisite! Individual little reading lights. Perfect!

We also took a journey to the supermarket close to Joe's work. Well, I must say, it is a relief to know that grocery shopping is miserable with 4 kids, regardless of location! Granted, the kids had been going on only a few hours sleep. We're lucky they didn't misbehave so much as to get us kicked out of the store! Plus, we will be able to have a few home cooked meals while in our suite. Last night was thin pork chops, roasted potatoes and a salad. It tasted so good to have home cooked food!

Today we walked, took the subway and checked out an electric train. I must say, I'm proud of these little guys for their ability to adjust to all these new experiences. Escalators still cause some slight anxiety for Boo, but she's getting more comfortable with them. She's a pro on people movers and escalators with a pull-behind suitcase. Put her in front of an escalator by herself and she still starts to close in on herself. By the end of this week, that will change, I'm sure.

Lunch today was an experience. We went to Soup & Go. It is cafeteria style, which is a bit of a challenge for those unfamiliar with the language. We did alright, but spent more than we should have! Lol. We will learn. It was tasty. We then walked to Porta Nuova and toured that area. We went in the Palazza Madama to get pricing info. I will be taking the kids back there. I'm not certain but I think we saw some old Roman columns in one part of the palace. They were excavated out under the floor. Glass floors and no one freaked out! Well, no one but me. Ha! I'm not a fan of grates or glass floors. It was so cool, I managed. I can't wait to take the kids back soon. We will also see Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace) while we are there. I love America...but it is so cool and interesting to visit places with such a history. These kids are going to learn so much through living history these two years. Seeing a Roman arch is so much more impactful than talking about it. After walking around a bit, we had some hot chocolate and cappuccino. I'm not a fan of Italian hot chocolate, like Little J and Boo. So we have an even score...3 for Italian hot chocolate, 3 against. I ordered the cappuccino. I already knew my dislike of hot chocolate. Joe got to drink 3 hot chocolates. I think it was even a bit much for him! Lol. Oh, one more thing that I might have mentioned on my housing posts. When in Italy at a bar (they serve coffee here, not alcohol), you drink your drinks at the bar, standing up. You pay more to sit in a seat. Just FYI for all my traveling friends. It'll save you a few EU.

I must say, I feel incredibly humbled and blessed by this experience. I know God has big things in store for our little family. I can't wait to see what all He has planned!

4 comments:

  1. You're kids are so brave too! Wow, so much packed into so little time. I need one of those cappuccinos!

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  2. Yes, yes you do. I'm becoming addicted. I now understand this coffee thing.

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  3. I am loving your posts!!! I feel like I am right there with you as I keep reading them. Thank you for sharing...

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    1. Thank you! It is nice to post so we can keep a log of our adventures. It is also great to keep friends and family informed of our journey. 😊

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