Lago Maggiore: Our First Excursion

At last, we've got access to internet!  Due to the nightmare that inevitably ensues whenever trying to get anything accomplished through the Italian bureaucracy, it's been a little more of a hassle than originally anticipated to get connected in our flat.  Consequently, today has officially been "Bring Your Wife to Work Day" for Luke so that I can get some school work done and be connected to the world again (if only for a day).  Thankfully, it also gives me a long awaited opportunity to update our blog.
Upon our arrival to Italy, we dropped our luggage off at our hotel (our room wasn't quite ready as it was 9 a.m.), spent some hazy, jet-lagged time at Luke's office, and finally returned to the hotel for a much-needed 4.5 hour nap.  Some of Luke's co-workers kindly gave us some suggestions for things to do during our first weekend in Italy, the most wonderful of which being Lago Maggiore.  Ironically we're living in the region of Italy that is known throughout Europe for its beautiful lakes (coincidence? we think not).  Our first adventure was to explore the one closest to us, Lago Maggiore.  We were given directions to Arona, a city along the lake's shore where we could catch a ferry that would take us around to the different Isolas (Islands) or ports around the lake (which stretches up into Switzerland at its northernmost point).
Buying our tickets was our first taste of the huge language barrier we're facing over here.  It probably didn't help that Luke and I couldn't really understand the various options that were posted and therefore approached the ticket desk simply asking for two tickets.  For what?  The ferry, of course!  After the woman behind the counter impatiently tried to explain to us in very limited English and lots of Italian that the ferry was a public service and we needed to know where we wanted to go, Luke looked at me with a look that desperately said, "Do something!"  We managed to convey that we wanted to visit the islands (as it was the one option we understood), hand over some money, and get tickets in return.  We were finally off!  The day ended up being filled with some of the most beautiful places and picturesque scenery either of us had ever seen, impressing upon us that even though it's a little bit of a rough start, we are so lucky to be able to experience this beautiful country together.

Luke enjoying the ferry ride with Arona in the background

Luke and Steph in front of the castle that occupies Isola Bella (Beautiful Island), the first island we visited.  The island used to be privately owned and while there is now a small town on one end, the vast majority of the island is taken up by the castle gardens, which we were able to tour.

Luke's first taste of Italian pizza - in case you can't tell, the reaction was very, very audible.

The average street in town.  We climbed through mazes of these passageways all over the islands.  It seems like you've traveled back in time or are in a movie.  It was very, very beautiful and little shops and restaurants seemed to hide around every corner.

 Hanging out on Isola Bella's docks in front of the castle

Luke checking out one of the entry rooms in the castle.  Everything was so detailed and ornate; it was unbelievable to think that one family used to live there.

From the castle, we moved into the garden, which took up approximately 60% of the entire island.  The views, the plants, and the solid white peacocks that walked around it all were incredibly surreal.  Sadly, it put our vegetable patch to shame (yes, it was that spectacular).

 The "centerpiece" of the gardens

From Isola Bella, we went to Isola Superior, which was a little smaller and more populated.  After enjoying some wine at a little cafe, we made our way back to Arona and witnessed absolutely beautiful skies on our ride home.

Preparing for Italy

It's hard to believe that tomorrow we'll be boarding a flight that will move us to Italy.  As I type, movers are rapidly making our mountain of "things to take" that had accumulated in our living room disappear into neatly organized boxes.  I'm just hoping the boxes eventually arrive in Italy... and that our apartment ends up being bigger than our living room (which is not an entirely unfounded worry).  If it's not, things could get a little tight.

Considering everything that Luke and I have already successfully done this summer (namely getting married and, of course, surviving the little visit from Irene on our honeymoon), we have high hopes for the whole Italy experience.  Luke has been taking a few language classes through work and can successfully introduce himself, say please and thank you, and say he's from America.  I, on the other hand, with the help of Rosetta Stone, have mastered about 6 colors and approximately 20 inanimate objects.  I'm not sure how to tell anyone "My name is Stephanie," but if I need to talk about a black horse eating white rice or a green apple, I'm all set.  

Despite preparations, moving is never a stress-free event, especially when moving to a place neither of us have ever been.  We're just doing our best to remember to pack everything we'll need for the next 6 months and trying to let the excitement overcome the nerves.

Well, until our next post (which will be from Italy!), Arrivederci!

Honeymoon

For our honeymoon, we rented a villa in St. Maartin for 10 days.  Our days typically included sitting around on the kitchen balcony drinking coffee in the morning, reading, hanging out by our pool, going to the beach, and having some amazing meals.  Oh, and going to bed around 8:30 every night.  One night we got in bed, exhausted from our day, and turned on the TV to see what time it was... and found the time to be 7:20 p.m.  We then decided maybe we should watch a movie. All in all, the honeymoon was beautiful, relaxing, and absolutely amazing.

Enjoying our pool... and our view

Our first morning - pretty nice way to wake up!

The beach by our villas

Mullet Beach - about 10 minutes away from our villa

Our first dinner out

 I had to try a caribbean lobster... which ended up being HUGE! 

It ended up feeding me for the rest of the honeymoon. Literally. I was still eating it on our last day.

Look closely at the sky: pretty cool surprise when we woke up one morning

On the beach: pretty routine

Hanging out on the boardwalk in Philipsburg, which is where all the cruise ships would dock

This was a cool restaurant where we could literally look through the floor planks and see the water underneath us

A very cool secluded beach by our villa (which you can see in 

the distance - it was one of those white buildings)

Out at what ended up being one of our favorite places: a beach bar right by the airport called Karakter.  The bar was literally in an old school bus and you could watch the planes take off and land about 100 yards away.

 Sunset back at our pool

The typical morning routine: breakfast, coffee, and reading on the balcony

Out to eat at this amazing french restaurant in Grand Case called La Villa.  This was definitely my favorite meal of the trip.

We spend our last hour in St. Maarten on Airport Beach, the beach that is literally right in front of the airport.  You can stand here and watch the planes come in for landing, and it looks like they are going to land directly on top of you.

Post-Wedding BBQ at OUR HOUSE!

Despite most everyone telling us we were insane, we decided to have everyone over for a barbeque the day after our wedding.  We just couldn't resist the opportunity to spend more time with all of our friends and family while they were in town.  It ended up being one of our favorite parts of the weekend.  I'll never forget how great it was to look around our very own house and see my family, Luke's family, my friends from all different stages of my life, and Luke's friends from all different parts of his life, all hanging out together.  It reminded us, once again, how incredibly blessed we are to have SO MANY amazing people in our lives.