Italy 2013

 October 4th, 2013

On Friday we landed in Venice at the Marco Polo airport. Our flight was quick and only lasted 45 minutes. Luckily, we will be staying with the Lynch family, a friend of a friend, so we had Mrs. Becky pick us up from the airport. We appreciated this so much because it is a struggle sometimes to navigate our ways through a new country. The Lynch's however, do not live in Venice. They live in Vicenza, about 45 minutes away from Venice. Their house is beautiful, centered more around the country side of Italy. 

One thing that did surprise me in their house was the bathroom. 

If you're like me, then the picture says it all. Haha. That ladies and gentlemen, is a Bidet and it is used to wash your genitalia and butt. Yeah......let's just leave that alone! Haha. 

Mrs. Becky picked us up from the airport and took us straight home to drop off our bags. We then headed straight to the American military base here in Vicenza. 

Here we got temporary passes to enter the base. I love visiting the base because it is like a little America. It looks like a small town and has everything from a library, to a supermarket, and a food court. The food court was heaven for us because we were able to get American food like Popeyes, Taco Bell, Charley's, and Subway! And after being in Europe for so long these restaurants are wonderful to see and eat!

After having lunch at the base, we headed off to a vineyard. 

On the way to the vineyard however, we stopped by a cheese factory, the Grana Padano. 

We tried sooo many different types of cheeses, and my favorite one by far was the Asiago cheese. It was delicious and the smoothest of them all. 

Right next to the store where we bought the cheese was the actual cheese factory, where they made the cheese. Because everything was so fresh, the smell from outside was not too pleasant!

 *~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After the Grana Padano we went to the Vineyard called Villa Sceriman for some wine tasting. 

While we were here we sampled two different wines, Vino Rosso and Proseco. 

I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I have to admit they were both very delicious. I did, however, enjoy the little snacks that came with the wine tasting. We had Asiago cheese, salami (which I have learned to love), olives, and onions. 

At the end of the wine tasting you can go into their shop and purchase any of their wine, all of which is made right on their vineyard. And of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy my father some fine Italian wine, which conveniently also has a nice wooden box, making it easier for me to travel with! 

HOPE HE WILL ENJOY IT! :)

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After wine tasting we headed off for dinner. My first REAL Italian meal! The restaurant was so cute and homie. The restaurant was very friendly and the food was amazing. For dinner I had gnocchi for the very first time. Gnocchi is a type of pasta made out of potatoes, and it was surprisingly delicious. On top of the pasta was tomatoe sauce and mozzarella. Yum! 

Everything in the restaurant was great....except for the bathrooms. Apparently, Italy has a hard time with regular bathrooms. But this one was just allllll wrong. 

Because here, the toilet is on the FLOOR! And apparently this is very common in Italy. Who knew. But more importantly WHY? 

Overall, my first day in Italy has been wonderful. It is everything you see in movies and more. The country side is beautiful and the people are so nice. 

I have no doubt Italy will be everything I expect it to be. <3