Sheila e Joe a Firenze: January 2012

January 2012

Buon Anno! Our holidays seemed to be extended this year, as our sons were here over a six-week period. Quinn came before Christmas and Conner joined us after the New Year. Their visits overlapped for about ten days, so they got to have some time together too. In fact, they took a long weekend and visited their AFS brother, Francesco. The three played some soccer together and also went to a professional soccer game in Torino. That was a highlight of their visit.

We had the most wonderful Christmas Eve and Day in Bergamo with the extended Mazzocchi family. It was an opportunity for us to speak lots more Italian, which always helps bump up the skill level. The food was so fabulous. The Christmas Day meal lasted for about five hours with many courses. We did take a break in the middle to open presents, though. Alice Mazzocchi is such a great cook! In fact, Sheila was so inspired that she came back and took a three-hour afternoon cooking course on pasta sauces at Cordon Bleu School of Florence. The group learned to make five different sauces and of course got to taste each and every one. So Sheila had five generous helpings of pasta covered with these varied sauces. She road home from class on her bike and did not eat for the rest of the night. The class was in Italian of course and she was glad to have waited to take the class, as she was able to understand the teacher pretty well. She is already perusing the website to look for another one.

This wintertime season means that the tourist population is way down. It’s really kind of nice. We have been frequenting the museums more, especially with our sons here. What a treat to not have any lines outside and no crowds on the inside of these famous places. The Uffizi and the Pitti Palace were both very quiet. It was glorious to be able to linger in front of Raphael’s paintings with no one bumping into you. We bought an annual family pass to all the state museums in Florence. This allows us to get into many museums and gardens for free. What a great Christmas present that was.

Brett Morton and his fiancée, Alessia visited us for a couple days in early December. He is from Kalispell and was one of Francesco’s good buddies when they went to Flathead HS fifteen years ago together. Brett is now in love with an Italian woman and they both work for an Italian non-profit in Africa. Of course, Brett and Francesco are still buddies!

Joe started back to school January 9^th. He managed to work a little at the school studio and home on a few projects over the break. He is back in the full swing of the second trimester.

Sheila is slowly returning to some semblance of a routine. She starts back to yoga this week. She and Lorenzo continue to meet 2-3 times a week for conversation exchange. They now occasionally need to study and clarify grammar rules in both languages. It can get rather challenging and comical.

Lorenzo’s elderly father has a neurological impairment resulting in his needing more caregiving from the family. Next week, Sheila and Lorenzo are going to a medical supply store together to look for some adaptive equipment for the home. Sheila gets to do an OT consult for her Italian friend. How do you say, “gait belt” in Italian?

It was great having our boys here for Christmas. We miss the rest of our families and friends, so keep writing when you can. Hope you like the photos.

Joe and Sheila