Castello di Massa

Another beautiful sunny day. I could spend my whole life in this nice weather! Puffy white clouds, seventy degrees, warm sun, gentle breeze, coast of italy in the distance, great mountains of marble just behind me.

Our little town of Massa is even more fun in the sunshine. I visited the big marble church while the girls tossed a ball on one of the "safer" (foot traffic only) streets. We meandered down the tiny streets near the main square, looking in shop windows and watching people walking past. Jess spent a few minutes in a store full of baby and kids' clothing. Too bad the dollar is so weak against the euro, or we would have probably bought some cute dresses for the girls! We found a little bread shop, and bought focaccia, pizza, and water. I kept seeing signs for some event called "Spina Fiorire" taking place this weekend. I finally figured out that it was some sort of special occasion, taking place at the castle- the same castle that we tried to visit the last day that Joyce was with us. (It was raining that day and the castle was closed. See how sad the girls looked!)

So after we went back to our apartment to freshen up (aka "everyone go use the potty!"), I went online and roughly translated the Spina Fiorire article on the Massa-Carrara website I found. The family that owns the castle- the Malaspina family, which roughly translates to Bad Thorn, has a spiny, thorny plant named after it. That plant/bush is found througout the many castles that the family owns. This particular castle in Massa was gutted by the Axis powers during World War II and is no longer full of decor. Nonetheless, the Spina Fiorire is an annual celebration of the blooming of the thorn bush, and the castle is open with free admission. Winemakers, cheesemakers and various other people from all around Tuscano and beyond come to the castle for a four day festival of sights and tastes. We could see red banners adorning the castle wall, even from our apartment.


Sounded like an adventure of us, so we loaded up the girls and drove just a few minutes to the parking area below the castle. There were so many cars jammed up and parked everywhere that we knew something neat was going on at the castle. We headed on up the cobblestone path, around the back side of the hill, and took pictures of the view along the way.



The castle gate was open, and people were coming and going. We found one passable English speaker inside the castle, who explained to us that we could walk throughout the castle and see the wares of the many artisans. I bought a wine glass, which entitled me to sample the free wines. There were banners, and people dressed in medieval costumes.


There were tables set up throughout the castle, and people constantly offering us cheese, olives, sips of wine, tastes of limoncello, and all sorts of other goodies, including pig heads






We couldn't have imagined a better afternoon. Jess found a great deal on a marble rolling pin, made right here in Massa-Carrara from the quarried rock. (Now I have to figure out how to get it home without breaking it!) The girls watched a man juggling swords and enjoyed some lollipops while we walked along one of the top walls of the castle. From way up that high, we could see our apartment and beyond, down towards Marina di Carrara and La Spezia.




Most of the time, I had either Ellie or Maisie on my shoulders or in the backpack. Climbing steps and slopes, I feel my legs getting stronger day by day! So far, this one of my favorite memories of our trip.

Parma-Reg

A bit of an inside joke, but I'll share it with you. The family back in Oregon thinks that regardless of the sex of baby #5, that "Parmagiano Reggiano" seems the most appropriate name. So when we saw this banner, we couldn't resist taking a picture. Even the arrow is pointing (nearly) at the bambino/bambina!

Toys and Lost in translation

Here is a picture Cami took at the little toy store in Massa. It’s almost as if no other part of the store existed. Cami and Hailey were mesmerized by the high-detail plastic animals, insects, and characters. We bought a few to give to Hailey for her birthday on May 1st. (BTW, if you have a moment and want to send her an online birthday card, please use Jessica@fordice.com or my account.)


I took Cami with me to the car wash. Again, I let her take some pictures. What I really liked was the instructions for the coin-operated vacuum. I thought, "Oh, cool. Something actually translated into English”, because I never see that. Funny thing was that the translation made no sense to me.

Festa della Liberazione

So the time here is flying faster than I (Jess) expected! We can hardly believe we are approaching one month abroad. This Thursday will be the one-month marker- Hailey's fifth birthday. We have had some great experiences this past weekend, so I will share...

First, we are so thankful that Mark got a three-day weekend this past weekend due to Italy's national holiday celebrating their independence (like 4th of July in the States only w/o fireworks). It was a plus that the weather was sunny and 70 degrees everyday from Friday-Sunday.

Friday we went down to the Marina (di Massa) and found a big park for the kids to play at. The city name, actually, was Ronchi, but Massa sounds better, doesn’t it? After we parked, we unloaded the stroller and the kids. As we were approaching the intersection to cross over to the park, we heard all these sirens and honking cars and watched as several police cars, medical vehicles, motor cycles, and a handful of other "important" looking cars came cruising through the intersection. We were puzzled by this at first, thinking maybe an important political figure was coming through, but then we saw one lone cyclist in competitive racing uniform come past, so we thought maybe there was a bike race passing by. There was a man directing traffic looking rather official and he wasn't waving us across the street yet, so we wondered if more was coming...Sure enough in a few seconds a whole group of cyclists came through! Zooming fast- probably a hundred or more! It was some sort of race and we all got a kick out of seeing them come through.





After the guard waved us through, we walked across to the park and the kids had a blast playing. We are so glad to have found a nice park like that! The bonus is that right next to the park is a little tiny amusement park (if you can call it that) that has a covered area with bumper cars and arcade rides like you might find at Chuck E. Cheese or something. There were probably twenty different rides and the kids were thrilled (as you would imagine)! They also have a small group of inflatables you can pay extra to bounce on if you want, but we decided to save that for another day (maybe Hailey's birthday or something). Cami and Hailey quickly discovered the bumper cars and had the time of their lives trying that out. Mark rode around with them first, to get the used to it and then they were hooked.

(Now Mark writing) After our stop in Marina di Massa, we headed south along the coast. The freeway is called the A12. You can go as fast or slow as you want, and everyone does. At one point, I was rattling along in the minivan at 130-135 kph, which is roughly 80 mph. About once per minute, a car going at least 90 is passing me. Occasionally, a sports car going 100. No big deal. I’m passing small cars going about 50 mph, too, it seems. But the freeway driving is nothing compared to the surface streets. If you’ve ever been in Italy, you know what I’m talking about. It’s both horrifying and wonderful at the same time, driving within inches of walls, cars, mopeds, and people- on both sides, all day long.

So, we made our way down to Viareggio, which means “Way of Kings”. It’s a sea port now well known for it’s yacht manufacturing, but also for it’s Carnival festival in January. We parked a few blocks from the main promenade, and enjoyed a nice walk along the river leading to the ocean. As has now happened many times, a very friendly older couple, counting the number of kids, will call out something like “Bravo!” or “Bella!”, often then asking about our daughters. I pick up the words “Tutto femina?”, meaning, “All girls?” and do my best to explain that I don’t speak Italiano, but that yes, their all mine and all girls. I love then pointing at Jessica’s tummy, and saying, “e incinta!” (She’s pregnant) which yields even further response and cheering! The Italians are now well known for having very few children, and it’s a concern to many people that they country will not be able to sustain the older generation.


Of course, we ended our day with a round of gelato. We’ve never seen all four girls so messy at one time. Ellie completely covered her outfit, and Maisie wasn’t far behind. But the grins on their faces, for such yummy cioccolato gelato, is well worth the mess!


On the way out of Viareggio, back to our apartment, I made a wrong turn. We were heading to Rome, instead of north towards Parma or Genoa. No big deal, I thought- we’ll just turn around at the next exit. Sadly, the next exit was like ten minutes down the freeway. Upon exiting, I shot onto an older (non-toll) freeway. Not much better- it’s moving slowly and it’s going to take forever to get home. Eventually, I found my way into Pisa and then back onto the freeway. But at one point my GPS system was providing me some outrageous directions, which are captured in this great photo. The green is where I was supposed to go!

Daily Life in Massa

Here are a few snippets of life in Massa, over the last week.

On Sunday, after we had "church" in our apartment, we took a drive down to the sea, and headed left when we reached Marina di Massa. There are so many little private beach clubs, where you rent your little beach chair and umbrella, that one can barely see the ocean at all! So we drove until we found a free, open beach. Ellie enjoyed running down to the water, and throwing handfulls of sand at the sea- then shrieking and running back when the waves came in.

There is no denying that we produce a LOT of trash. When it's time to take the trash out, here is where it goes. Blue for bottles, yellow for paper, and gray for everything else. It's not a long walk, but since it's a common trash area, and it serves a number of buildings, it's a few hundred meters away. There is a big dog in one of the yards that likes to bark at me. First time he rushed to the gate, teeth glaring, I almost jumped out of my skin! Where did he come from?!

When we were leaving the grocery store one day, I looked up and saw all the clothes drying for two particular apartments. At first I thought, "The one family only wears white" and "that other family must only wear black". Which of course would be quite humorous.

Jess pointed out that "MOST people tend to wash the SAME color clothes in a single load, UNLIKE you". She used this opportunity to remind me that brand new reds simply can't go in a load with whites- a mistake I made last week.

Okay, check this out. My kids are a bit tired of the pasta and pizza, and they enjoy fish occasionally, so why not find some fish sticks here in Italy? I'm thinking, "Oh, this will be great. Pop 'em in the oven- lunch in just a few minute. Nice change of pace."

I must have failed to read the packaging, which I translate loosely from the Italiano: "Picture on the front cover has nothing to do with the fish by-products on the inside. Be forewarned that we have put something we found at the dock inside a box and now give it to you." The word Nasello on the cover is strangely similar to the word "Nasal", and given the resulting lunch we created, nasal was about right! One bite, and it all went in the trash. Come se dice "Disgusting"?


So, mama needs some new clothes. Her little tummy is already pooching out! So we went up to the Oviesse store, which was probably equivalent to a tiny Kohls or Meryvns. From what I could tell, quite a decent selection of nice, fashionable clothes. While Jess picked out some maternity pants and skirt, I took the girls next door for lollipops. It sure beats having Ellie barking like a dog, on all fours, inside the department store.

Various topics

Genetic influence: Hailey is very much like her Uncle Zach, and apparently Grandpa Jeff and Aunt Joyce to a lesser degree. All had very "sensitive" noses as children, and Hailey is demonstrating the same. So, if she smells the eggs at the grocery store, which are not refrigerated, she instantly starts gagging. She refuses to walk down most rows at the grocery store now. While we are tremendously sympathetic, we think she may be imagining many smells as being worse than they are. For example, she now can't stand the aroma of peanut butter, and runs out of the room. But she was eating it just fine a few weeks ago.

At dinner the other night, she was very upset about the smell of fish in the ristorante. We finally had to convince her to hold a lemon up to her nose, so that she could keep functioning. Poor thing!

Since she doesn't have a mixer, Jess bought a can of whipping cream. Next best thing. She made pancakes and the girls had a blast. Ellie looks magnificent, I'm sure you agree. What a cute little lady!

At my office on Thursday, there arose a commotion out on the main street. A massive yacht was being moved down the street, towards the harbor. I knew that they build yachts about twenty minutes south of here, in Viareggio, but I didn't know that Carrara also has a shop or two. This beast was probably a hundred feet long. We wondered whether or not it would fit under the overpass!

We have three little scraggly plants on our deck- our herb garden. The basil is simply not going to make it, but the rosemary and mint are saving us money each week. The doll featured in the mint plant can't find her clothes. The girls gave all the little dolls a bath this week, and most of the clothes are now missing.

Sunny Sunday

It was hard to get up today! I wanted to lay in bed. But it was a beautiful sunny day. So then I wanted to lay in the sun on our patio. I played with Ellie and Maisie, with their little dogs and pegasus (pegasi?). My shoes became cars, and the big orange blanket on the patio was the sand.

After a nice morning at "home", we decided to head out for awhile. When Momma is pregnant, Momma wants a hamburger! So we made a stop at McD's, before driving down to the sea.

The private beach clubs seem to go on forever. We drove for twenty or thirty minutes, enjoying the sun and scenery. Again the kids got to run out on the sand for a few minutes. We also washed the car, became rather confused at the gas station (did that man just steal my receipt?), and I bought a big frying pan and cutting board for our apartment. The drive back up past Carrara was very nice, but eventually we made our way back to Massa.

At the grocery store, here is what I bought: Salami, berry jelly, croissants, yogurt, eggs (dropped these in the car, losing a few), a pineapple, oranges, bananas, strawberries (devoured at dinner!), cookies, more cookies, gelato, Coke, Sprite, frozen pizzas, and gummy bears. We usually do a little better when Jess does the shopping.

Inside the apartment, we have now set up the DVD player. Thanks for sending that, Scott. It's great to have the occasional distraction it provides. Sort of funny though, it only plays black and white. My co-worker Aaron thinks that's because the U.S. is NTSC, which is 30 frames per second, and that Europe is on the PAL standard, which is 25 frames per second. The girls don't seem to mind. They watched a Chip and Dale cartoon while Jess fixed dinner.

Exploring our area

Not to be a downer, but I would say that the last two days of this week for me have been the hardest so far. I won't go into great detail, but I think the kids and I finally reached a point of feeling the reality of the fact that this is where we're going to be for the next few weeks and the "honeymoon" feeling sort of wearing off. Don't get me wrong...we are still so grateful and blessed to be doing this, but the reality is that there will be hard times and I am praying we'll all grow in those times too. Cami and Ellie both told me on different occasions that they wanted to go home, so that was hard. I think we were able to recover a little bit by talking about all the fun that we've had so far and the fun that is yet to come. I think we also did well by making it a priority to get out of the flat yesterday and enjoy the weather.

Yesterday was probably the warmest and nicest day we've had since we arrived here--very mild and sunny! We spent the first half of the day having a nice brunch, cleaning, and resting.
In the afternoon, we ventured out to try out the Massa mall (called Carrefour) which Mark equates with a little bit higher-end Beaverton Mall (the original mall itself, not the nicer additions to Cedar Hills Crossing). They have a giant super store, much like a Walmart, within the mall as well as many clothing stores and other typical mall-type stores. We went into the largest super store and were a little overwhelmed by the number of people shopping there (should have expected that on a Saturday). The kids felt at home there with a nice toy section where they recognized several of their favorite characters. I found the women's clothing section and bought a maternity skirt for my already-expanding belly (see picture below).

After the mall, we headed to check out Mark's office in Carrara. The kids had a great time seeing where dad sits when he's at work during the week and I did too.

Next, we drove on to explore Marina di Carrara more. Mark didn't realize there was so much in the city near his office and we found a nice big park with play equipment for the kids to play on. Everyone else had the same idea we had because everyone in the city, it seemed, was out with their children enjoying the weather. It was so nice for the kids to get out and get some exercise and it gave Mark and I great relief and pleasure to see them having such a great time playing with the other Italian children and just getting to do one of their favorite things from back home. We'll definitely be doing that more while we're here!

Last on our list was letting the kids get their feet in the sand at one of the beaches near where we're living, so we drove back down to Marina di Massa to accomplish that goal. First, we walked up the pier to watch the fishermen catch fish with their giant yellow nets. The kids really got a kick out of that! Once again, Maisie charmed the crowd :).

The beach was nice and the kids were so happy to play in the sand and watch the sea water rolling up toward them. Maisie hasn't played in sand since last summer when we were at Wayne & Marnie's condo at Cannon Beach.

Mi dispiace, non parlo italiano!

"I'm sorry, I don't speak Italiano."

This is a great phrase. I find that I can say it to pretty much anyone in Massa, and occasionally it buys me a little bit of sympathy or help. At one store, however, the checker didn't seem to care, and rattled off something while waving my credit card at me, and I took that to mean that either my credit card wasn't working, or that he was gassy. I hoped it was the former, so I offered him a different credit card, and thankfully he settled down.

I tried to find a few things at the grocery store today- such as pancake batter, and baking soda. I called a co-worked back at the office, and for baking soda, he sent me to the soda pop row. Oh well. I eventually found "levito", which might be the right thing. There are lots of interesting pictures of pizza and bread on the front, and the name sounds promising.

Other fun grocery store tidbits:

1) You must put a one-euro coin into a slot on the shopping cart in order to free it from the prior one. You get your money back when you return the cart to where it belongs. There were no stray carts in the parking lot, as a result.
2) You weigh your fruits and vegetables yourself, and sticker them with a bar-code price. Saves the checker time, apparently.
3) Oh man, the choices of meats, cheeses, and breads is out of this world!
4) If you buy tiramisu to take home to your wife, be REALLY sure to actually put it into one of your bags, or you'll accidentally leave it in the store, and not find out until it's time for dessert- and then you are an idiot.
5) I kid you not- no less than 5,000 different types of pasta
6) Peanut Butter- if you can find it, is expensive. One small jar cost $6 USD. We will consider it a luxury to be enjoyed infrequently.
7) If you have a cute baby with you, the bread lady at the back of the store will give you (and the baby) a nice piece of warm foccacia bread while you shop!

In the afternoon, the sun disappeared, and clouds rolled in. By dinner time (7:45 tonight), big flashes of lightning and booming thunder sent the little ones scurrying. Heavy rain pelted the windows. It was sunny and 65F yesterday! So we enjoyed gelato in the apartment while watching a Mickey Mouse video on my laptop. I was able to get the video driver on the other PC working, so the kids can play some educational games during the day.

Now, off to bed! Buona notte!

Sun is back (temporarily)

Yesterday and today (tuesday and wednesday) have both been sunny and mild. Such a nice change from the rain of last week!

Yesterday the girls and I sunned ourselves on the terrace, did some fun homeschooling assignments and just enjoyed being together. Cami and I made paper dolls and then drew pictures of the scenery around the apartments and tried to guess what the other person drew. Cami, Hailey & Ellie gave their miniature dolls baths on the deck--each girl had her own "tub" with soapy water to wash in. This was a big hit (and a big mess!). Later in the afternoon we took our first walk (mom & girls w/o help) to the bread shop across the street for incidentals. Maisie rode in the backpack while the other girls held hands as we made our way to and from the store. Everyone did great! They were rewarded for their good behavior and following my directions when we got back (each girl picked out a treat from the store and I told them they could eat it when we got home if they did well on our little walk).

Today it has been a little cooler and cloudier, but still mostly sunny so that is nice. Mark checked the extended forecast and it is supposed to be clouds and rain (indefinitely--ugh!). Needless to say, we are praying that system will blow over quickly. I know, I know. We're from Oregon and we shouldn't be phased by this, but being in a little apartment with not a lot of room for the kids to run around is pretty challenging here and I think the pregnacy hormones are causing me to feel more depressed without the sun shining (which is how I felt last week).

Sorry that there aren't pictures to post this time. I may get some in tonight when Mark is home, so check this post again later if you want...

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers and for following along on our days here in Massa. Friends and family, we miss you and love you all!

Rain, rain, and more rain

This week has been cloudy and rainy! We feel like Oregon weather has followed us here. Mark went to work every day and Joyce and the kids and I basically stayed in doors and read books and did housework and played. During the brief dry spells, Joyce took Cami and Hailey across the street to the Non Solo Pane store a couple of times for bread and incidentals, while I stayed back with Maisie & Ellie. Also when it’s been dry, they have been making good use of the terrace. Ellie took the initiative to make her own little picnic out there and invited her sisters to join her. On another day, Joyce bought the three older ones each a water color set at the Coop store, so one day they did some painting…

One afternoon I was particularly exhausted and (a’hem) very out of it, so Joyce took the three older girls downstairs to run around in the courtyard at the first floor of our building while I napped with Maisie. They needed that (and so did I).

The only major symptom of my pregnancy that I have been experiencing so far is tiredness. If I get cozy either in the car or on the couch, I nod off within a few short minutes. It was a miracle that I didn’t fall asleep with the kids last night (since I have done that every night for the last week.)

This week we finally found the larger grocery store that is in our area, Esselunga (thanks to the tips from our landlord, Franca, and Shandra Galloway.) It is much bigger than Coop and is a lot like the supermarket in the states that we’re used to. Maisie went along with Mark and I the first time we went and quickly charmed the ladies in the bakery. She had fun and even got a free piece of foccacia!

I have continued to have fun trying out some of the fun types of pasta they have here and experimenting with ingredients I have on hand. So far I’ve only used a recipe once. The ingredients here are so good that even the simplest foods taste delicious! I’m trying to enjoy it while it lasts because usually I avoid cooking during the first trimester of my pregnancies as soon as nausea and food aversions set in. I’m praying that those symptoms will be mild for me here so that I can continue to enjoy cooking and eating here!

We had fun with a “beauty parlor” one evening with the girls, before going out to dinner. Joyce did nails and I did the girls' hair. The girls had a blast, especially Maisie, who loved having her nails done.

Wednesday night we went to dinner near the Massa city square; more pizza and pasta. It was pretty good and the lady who served us was very kind. Cami enjoyed the "tartufa negro" for dessert (dolci), which I roughly translate to "yum".

Friday night Joyce took us to a beautiful restaurant up in the hills above our apartment. The name is Il Trillo. It was recommended to us by our landlord—one of her children had their wedding reception there and we could understand why when we stepped in the door…. The restaurant itself was modern and bright inside, unlike many of the common restaurants we’ve been to that are dark and rustic. They have a patio that I assume is open on dry warm days that has lemon trees growing overhead. Absolutely gorgeous! With the view from the hillside and the lemon fragrance wafting through, I’m sure it would be a spectacular place for any event. To say the food was amazing would be an understatement. We tried two pasta dishes that originate in Massa, so that was fun. A nice man- possibly the owner, picked a nice lemon and gave it to Cami. She carried it around with her baby doll for three days. We finally convinced her to enjoy it before it rotted, by making lemonade. (Well, one half she walked around the apartment, licking.) Thanks again for the great meal, Joyce!

We have been trying to get back into a regular schedule, too. Joyce helped this week with learning games for Cami and Hailey. Here Hailey and Joyce used some little toys that Lufthansa gave us on the flight to make equations. Hailey seems to be really enjoying addition and subtraction, and is really picking it up quickly. She also made up a code this week. “A plus A is B, dad! And D plus D is E!”