Month 3 in Biella and school's going great

Well, we have had a great run of it with the weather. It's been cold but not unbearable and we've had some great blue skies and only about 3 days of wet weather. Shane headed back to Aust for a week to catch up with people at work and it's apt that as he leaves, it starts raining, and does not stop, for 4 days. The upside to this wet weather is that it has stopped now (hooray!), and that there is a heap of white stuff on the peaks around Biella. The cold snap started last weekend, and with below 0 temps at night I'm going to have to work out what to do with the veggies that we are storing on our balcony and my beloved coriander that has saved the day the staple of pasta, time and time again. If it dies I'll be devastated.

I can't believe that we have been here for 3 months. The first few weeks of the boys at school I did have my doubts about whether what we had done was the right thing. We had a week about 2 weeks in where Charlie in particular was really upset every morning when we dropped him off at school, he would cry and I spent about half an hour outside his classroom one morning trying to convince him to go in. Broke my heart! Thinking back about what we were asking this 6 and 4 year old to do every day it seems so long ago... leave their mum and dad, and head into a room of strangers who spoke a completely foreign language and expected them to follow along and join in.

Sammy has been totally embraced by the kinder and the teachers love him, he's also a popular appearance each morning and afternoon at Charlie's school at drop off and pick up, all the bigger kids in particular love the boys and it's so nice to see them running around like crazy, playing and loving being with these kids and a part of the school community.

The kids have made some great friends and have been getting into playdates more than we were able to do in Melbourne, it's been so nice to have their friends over and watch them play nascondino (hide and seek), despite the apartment being small, they seem to be able to find space and hiding spots and rip around corners like lightening.

Kids playing soccer 

Sammy and his friends waving goodbye in the morning

Who would've thought I'd get a blood blister from scoring 400 chestnuts? 

Castagnata, chestnuts roasting

Sammy with his great kinder teachers

One of the lovely mums at school

Charlie doing his homework

We've also had a bit more time to do things with the school, so we've gone along to Sam's kinder to help out with the nonni to prepare for the castagnata (the chestnut festival in Autumn).

Shane went along and read to the kinder kids in their English class and I'm doing lessons every second Friday with the grade 6s at Charlie's school teaching them about Australia. My class consists heavily of talking to them about Australian recipes and what we eat and showing them youtube clips so they love it.

Charlie's second 'first' day of school

With Sam successfully enrolled at kinder, even though he is still not allowed 'officially' to eat lunch there and has to come home at 11.30 each day, we prepare for Charlie's first day of Italian school. 

The grembiule/smock/uniform shop aptly called 'Mr Job' apologetically tells us that they have no more grembiules in Charlie's size so he will need to get one that is far too big or far too small. After a lot of searching on the racks, we find one in the right size and send it away to have Charlie's school logo embroidered on it. He better not get it bloody dirty because he's only got one and we don't have a drier. 

Two days before school starts I go to pick up the grembiule from Mr Job. Charlie's not with me when I pick it up, but it looks really big, and the size '85' doesn't seem like the size that I ordered - I was pretty sure we had found the last '75' on the racks. Charlie tries it on at home and it swamps him completely. It looks like a graduation robe. Shane and I both worry that because of Charlie's exotic origins, his ginger/blonde hair and his inability to speak Italian,  when combined with him wearing something that looks like a dressing gown, he'll find himself the source of much schoolyard ridicule.

I head back to Mr Job after our unsuccessful fitting when the shop reopens from the lunchtime 'pause' at 3.30pm and explain the situation. They take pity on us and call a seamstress who agrees to take the oversized grembiule and cut it down to size. We pick it up the afternoon of the day before school and it's a lot better. Phew.

Nervous smiles before the walk to school

Charlie's first day starts at the leisurely time of 8.30am. I'm nervous, Shane's nervous, but he's doing a good job hiding it and I think Charlie is packing it....I would be too. I feel like we're feeding him to the wolves. We get his grembiule on, and he's doing a really good job of keeping it together. We walk to school together, drop Sammy off at kinder, and then make our way into the school unaware of what awaits us other than knowing it's an assembly of sorts for the first day of school. We stand up the back, but basically it breaks down like this...

- 15 minutes of the principal speaking without a microphone so we have no hope of hearing her

- 10 minutes of head priest speaking but I don't catch much of it, probably too many religious words in there

- 10 minutes of older kids reading poetry about not being scared on the first day of school, followed by awkward pre teenage girls half heartedly doing a dance...really cringeworthy, but 10 points for getting up and having a go

By this time I feel so nervous I feel like I'm going into a job interview. All the parents seem to know one another...will we fit in?...how will Charlie go? will he make friends? will we make friends? It's a downward spiral this type of thinking, but once you're in it, it's difficult to rationalize and cut it out. My knees start trembling and Charlie starts holding on a bit tighter. It feels like the assembly's reaching a crescendo. Then a song starts and the principal starts calling out names and one by one the little kids in 'prima elementare' get collected by a more senior kid. They go to the front and pin their names on a big bumble bee, and then sit up the front until they are joined by all the littlies, sitting up there on show for everyone. There are a few that shed tears, actually some of them were bawling. And for poor Charlie that had no idea what was going on, he did pretty well. 

After every name had been called out, a different song starts, but this one sounds a lot like a song befitting a funeral procession. More tears follow as the kids follow the teacher out of the gymnasium. I have no idea where the kids are going or if we're meant to follow, but as Charlie walks past and I am trying to take a photo of him, he bursts into tears and grabs onto me with dear life.  These Italians have a way of dramatizing everything. It's been built up so much Charlie is beside himself.

After a few moments of sobbing and hugs, we realize we can all go up to the prep classroom and the parents can stay for a while. This goes down well, and even better when Charlie realizes he can pick his seat and that there's food outside. Charlie sits down next to two really nice boys. He's in the middle of the classroom in the middle of a 3 seater desk. Very well chosen I think and I'm happy for him. Once that's done, we head outside and Charlie heads for the food table. Shane and I are shocked that there's only coke, fanta, or peach iced tea on offer for the kids, and in a moment of weakness we agree that Charlie can have some coke (this is a big deal in our family!). He loves it and suddenly all is right with the world.

Shane and I meet some great parents. Charlie's desk neighbor's mum invites Charlie over to their house after school for a play, and all of a sudden we are welcomed into the school community and people are so lovely to all of us.

Encouraging words from papa

Poor little Charlie falls to pieces

Feeling a bit better and more settled in class

We say goodbye to Charlie after some prolonged hugs and there he stays for the next few hours to stare blankly into space while people around him speak in a language he is not yet able to understand.  A pretty big first day of school in anyone's language but a success since he's not totally against the idea of going back the next day.

Rantings of a crazy person? Even when you're not working you can have a bad day

I know I shouldn't complain because I'm not enduring the stresses of the working week, nor the traffic on Hoddle Street, but I'm feeling particularly flat. I'm interrupting the chronological order of the blog for a bit of a whinge actually.
I'm sick of the big supermarket and never being able to find a park. When all I want is sultanas and sesame seeds and they only sell 100g of sultanas for 4 euros - they grow grapes in Italy, surely it can't be hard to dry them?!
I'm getting a little bit sick of the evasive stares from people when you walk down the street - I'm seeking out a simple buongiorno or salve, instead I get nothing. I realize that if I were in Melbourne this probably wouldn't bother me, but here it's really getting on my nerves
I'm really over the upwards and downwards looks from other women, mostly nonnas, at the school pickup, who seem fascinated by my attire, regardless of what I'm wearing. Whatever happened to the sisterhood?
Enough of the mothers who couldn't care less about you until they find out you're from Australia, then seem extremely interested in everything that comes out of your mouth.
Basta with the real estate agent who is always busy and can't seem to find the time to answer your calls, and doesn't apologize even when the gas has been turned off and it's day 4 without hot water or a stove to cook on...all because the previous tenant didn't pay his bills and he forgot to tell us to transfer the contract (not the case with water and electricity)

OK, so I'm feeling a bit over things at the moment, but I should definitely make note of the generosity and kindness from so many people we have met in the last few weeks, my whinge shouldn't take the shine off that, it's just that at the moment I'm a bit sick of rushing around and not knowing if Charlie is meant to stay at school after lunch, and then racing to pick up Sam on time because we're looking at cars 40 minutes away so we can stop paying car rental because our permesso di soggiorno has only just arrived....

I feel like things are so busy at the moment. It's like no matter where you are int he world, regardless of whether you are working or not, there are always things that make you feel like you never have enough  time to get anything done... I'm really looking forward to starting yoga next week with Bruno, hopefully he'll set me straight.

First day of kinder for Sammy Bammy

I've been harbouring quite a bit of angst about the kids going to school...will they make friends? will they understand what's going on? will the other kids pick on them because they're different? I could go on.

First day of kinder!!

We consider ourselves lucky to get Sam a kinder spot near Charlie's school, and he's just excited that he can go back and run on the green carpet (the ladies were steam cleaning the carpet when we popped in to find out about admissions and the kids were forbidden from going on the green carpet...forbidden fruit and all that).

Sam starts on a Wednesday and on the first day I'm presented with a list of things to provide to the kinder for Sam:
1. 2 packets of pencils
2. 2 packets of pens
3. Sheets
4. Blanket
5. Cardboard cups
6. Pencil case (but only for 5 year olds)
7. Exercise book (but only for 5 year olds)
8. Paper towels
9. Pillow
10 A towel
11. A bib

While I'm reading the list the question marks start popping up...
Why 2 packets of pencils and pens? Are they colored textas and pencils or just plain? How big should the sheets be, should they be for a single bed or the ikea kids bed size? What's the towel for? Is it a hand towel, face washer or a proper towel? I'll get a face washer.
Surely a child of 4 doesn't need to wear a bib, that's ridiculous, I'm not buying a bib! Why do I need to get cardboard cups? I can't find these in the supermarket except really expensive Winnie the Pooh ones and they only have a pack of 6, will Sam be ostracized for using plastic cups? Better get the paper cups.
If the pencil cases are only for 5 year olds, where does he keep his pencils and pens?
We need a backpack. When I see the prices of backpacks in the supermarket and other shops I wish we had packed theirs from Aus. The cheapest ones are about 30 euros and they go up to 80 euros. For. A Backpack. Shane and I wish we hadn't brought the kids with us to choose their backpack because after we tell them to choose we see the prices. Sam's happy with his Power Rangers backpack for the bargain price of 28 euros. We take Charlie into a sports shop and he gets a hiking backpack instead. Poor bugger just wanted one with skulls and graffiti but that wasn't gonna happen at those prices.

Wednesday is the first day for Sammy. When it comes around I think we have everything we need. I carefully pack everything into a big bag to take to kinder. Sam rocks up, excited to get on the green carpet. Looking around I see children are wearing grembiules or smocks over their clothes and they are putting on slippers. WHERE WERE THEY ON THE LIST?! And sure enough, the sheets are ikea size, the towels are bigger than face washers and all the kids have bibs with their names neatly cross-stitched on them. I have never cross stitched in my life. I am a wannabe sewer and knitter, but anyone who knows me can attest to my lack of handy womanly skills.

We meet the teachers who are just lovely and they have an amazing ability to spend time with each child and parent and keep the classroom under control. I like this place. Sam is happy here and there's a window for him to wave from when we walk onto the street so it ticks the boxes.

After we drop him off I write a list and head off to buy bibs, bigger towels, cotton for stitching his name on and plastic cups (all the kids have plastic cups!!)

We work out that to eat at the mensa we need to fill out a form at one of the public offices and pay in cash. When I get there I see that there is an option to put dietary intolerances, so I tick it because he's got an intolerance to lactose. But I can't hand the form in because it needs to be accompanied by a doctors certificate. I run outside and explain the situation to Shane, who says that maybe we just don't tick that he has an intolerance. Two days later I head back and have ticked 'No' in the box for dietary intolerances to see if we can get it through (don't worry people, Sam's pretty good with what he can and can't eat)..The people at the office say we can't do that and we need to get a doctor, by going to another department, who can then refer us to a pediatrician, who can then conduct tests and give the certificate, which we can then use to accompany the mensa form so he can eat at kinder...all this transpires one day before I am going to head off to France and Turkey with mum, so it's left in Shane's capable hands to navigate the rough waters of Italian educational and health services bureaucracy.

Day 2, kitted out with grembiule, mittens and beanie

All in all, a successful start to kinder for Sam. He's happy in his slippers and grembiule, loves playing on the slide when he first gets to kinder and really likes his teachers because they make him paper airplanes. What more could a 4 year old want :)

Navigating makes me sweat but driving when you don't know where you're going is worse

After mum and dad fell in love with Grasse in the south of France last year, they booked a few weeks in Grasse this year and generously offered to have the Heslops come for a visit.

Dad sends me the directions to the house but after trying to get there following the same directions tells me to throw them out and he'll explain where the house is when we're in France. Makes sense. Until we get to Grasse after a 5 hour drive in the rain, with no map because our internet/phone etc doesn't work in France, no address, and unable to call dad.  Our entry into France is also tainted by me trying to navigate freeway exits with a map downloaded in Italy but on a resolution too large to see which off ramp to take...and a heated discussion in the car in front of the kids because I didn't get an address...what point would an address be anyway if we can't look at a map and there's noone around to ask directions because it's pouring with rain!??

Tense beginnings aside, the week in France is fantastic. Despite early and very hesitant attempts to speak French after a very long hiatus, I start to enjoy speaking French, albeit badly and always low volume so noone can hear how badly I speak it.

Ladybeetle

 Shane's detailed research again pays off with a day trip to Theoles Sur Mer, one of the top ten beaches in the Cote D'Azur and only about an hour away from Grasse.

Tea time

Cloud gazing

Yum, no pizza or pasta for me!!

Shane and I head to Nice one night to catch up with Andrea, Shane's new cycling friend, a lovely guy from Biella who has a bike shop. Despite best intentions we get totally lost and drive around Nice for an hour trying to find Andrea who is trying to find us. The directions of 'head to the ocean' and 'head towards Monte Carlo' don't really help because we've got no bloody idea where we are!
We get there in the end, and ride into Nice on Andrea's bikes with my dress hitched up around my thighs...next time we catch up with Andrea I'm definitely wearing jeans. We head into an amazing seafood restaurant in the heart of Nice where we end up eating a huge platter of seafood...all raw...raw sea snails, raw mussels, raw prawns, raw scallops....


Shane had a few great rides into the hills behind Grasse and discovers a town called Gourdon, which is a beautiful town at what seems the top of the maritime alps with the best ice cream I've had (and I've had a lot). Favourite flavour - lavender - don't knock it till you've tried it.

Walking in Gourdon

Nonna in Gourdon

The last few days we discover a lot of places that the kids would love, so we'll definitely be back and now that we know how to get there, it will be a much more relaxing ride.

Grey skies in Biella

We arrive in Biella and set aside 2-3 days to get things organized in the apartment, make sure the kids have somewhere to go to school and kindergarten, and check up on the progress of our still-absent permesso di soggiorno.

Our apartment, the pretty pink palace

We move our bags into the apartment in about half an hour and the place is just like we remembered, great warm colors, cosy bedrooms, a big fireplace in the centre of the loungeroom, and a big, new kitchen (oh yeah!)...luckily the lights come on and we have running water, although the first gushes from the taps surprise us with a slow trickle of yellowy water. No hot water or gas for the stove, but we're pretty happy and so far so good, the boys are running around, and even though the apartment is small by Australian standards, the boys test out the cat-swingability and it passes the test. A strict 'no jumping on the bed' rule gets enforced within the first 5 minutes, quickly followed by 'no climbing over the balcony or onto the nearby roof'. Our kitchen balcony is overlooked by about 4 buildings so no cooking in undies for Shano.

Without pots, pans, cutlery and gas, we head out to grab a bite to eat and I'm relieved to find a Chinese takeaway restaurant nearby, hooray, no Italian for us tonight! Unfortunately the brusque order taker tells us in Italian with a Chinese accent (I still find this hard to get used to), that there is no chicken and sweet corn soup...disappointed! We get by on fried rice, duck and some 'special fish' soup (read fish stock with corn flour and crab sticks - ewwww) that makes its way straight into the bin.

On first entry, Biella doesn't really do a lot for the eyes, it's a small town that made its fortune by becoming one of the textile/wool/cashmere powerhouses in Italy. If the number of 'For Sale' or 'For Rent' signs are anything to go by, it has struggled its way through the GFC and come out the other side negatively affected. We've been told that the Biellese (people from Biella) tend to be quite closed and don't open up to strangers that easily.  It could be the grey sky on our first few days, but I get that impression too. Walking into the centre changes my mind a bit - the old centre is beautiful, with stylish Italians doing their walk in their new Autumn clothes, it's the old cliche that I remember from when we were in Italy last time.

I'm feeling restless and a bit stressed and the only contributing factors might be that the apartment is dusty which brings on my hayfever, the kids are restless and have no warm clothes, water pressure in the shower is woeful (first world problem I know, but who doesn't love a good shower?! )my clothes are getting pretty damn tight from living the good life (vowing to avoid alcohol when we get back from France) so I'm feeling a bit yuck and I have no warm clothes either because they are still making their way over to Italy in a box (I must check on that box's progress to make sure it hasn't been lost). Regardless of my malaise, Shane is content and very excited about being in Biella (maybe a little bit anxy but not much). I am sure you all feel really sorry for me, so I'll stop complaining :)

Shane's idea of happiness, bloody mary, connectivity and chippies

Charlie's school is all organized and he is starting on Thursday the 13th Sept. We get Sam into the nearby kinder which was actually full, only because the last child on the list who's mother the director had tried to contact hadn't answered her phone (lucky for us, not so great for her). Sam starts on the Wednesday 12th and seems to like the vibe of the place when we knock on the door for information, so it all seems like it's coming together. I speak to the Steiner kinder as well who are lovely, and I'd really like Sam to go there, but at 3000 euro for the year compared to nothing, it's a hard deal to sell in, and once I see how happy Sam is at the local kinder running around and exploring the space, it's a done deal.

Apartment - Check
School - Check
Kinder - Check
Car - hmmmm.......Small obstacle - still no permesso di soggiorno - after our appointment at the Questura on 19th July, we were told I would receive an SMS in a month when the permesso was ready. The phone has been silent in that regard and so we are still unable to buy a car (need a permesso to buy a car). The one good thing about this is that I can ride the clutch as much as I like in the rental car and Shane doesn't mind at all :)


We decide to head off to France to stay at mum and dad's villa in Grasse without checking in at the Questura - best to leave this until we get back next week.

Leaving Umbria for Northern Italy

We find out on Friday morning that our departure of Sunday is actually Saturday, so we have a bit of packing to do. Mum, dad and nonna are heading to France on Saturday morning so Friday night is pretty busy getting everything organized, and packing up the last 2 months' sprawl in our house in Monte Castello di Vibio.

In all the packing, dad manages to find a surprise guest in his shorts... (ouch! fortunately Umbrian scorpions are not deadly, in fact they are harmless...however my father thought it best not to leave things to chance and this little guy had a nasty encounter with a shoe)

Helena's prized (read 'bloody hot') chills, that she generously gifts to my much appreciative dad

We manage to organise a quick, light breakfast of tiramisu and coffee with Helena and Danilo for Saturday morning before we leave. Despite Danilo's best efforts, he is unable to fix the light that Charlie has lassoed in his bedroom with a curtain rope and broken (hanging by one precarious wire), so we will be getting the bill for that one soon I'm sure.

Car is packed, full to the absolute brim, and not long before our departure we realize that one of our tyres is completely flat. Despite it staying up after we pump it up with the bike pump, Danilo gives us a good tip on where to get it fixed. 10 euro later, the offending drill bit is removed and the tyre repaired and we are on our way to Biella, for the next stage of our adventure. I have to admit I am ready to move on but am sad to leave as well, and saying goodbye to Helena, Danilo and Anthony brings a tear to the eye after they have become an extension of our family, and the boys absolutely love them.

Where are the kiddies?!!

A couple of hours out of Biella we decide to head to Ikea outside of Milan to stock up on doonas, pillows, sheets and towels. Unfortunately due to the lack of room in the car, the loot ends up on us for the rest of the trip and I start wondering about whether airbags coupled with vacuum packed doonas/pillows, etc would reduce or increase passenger protection in a car accident on the autostrada.

In what seems like no time, probably because the kids are sound asleep and finally quiet, we are in Biella, pick up our apartment keys and head to our new home.

Parents, parents everywhere!

I love my children, but after 8 days with the boys I couldn't wait for Shane to get back. I also missed him terribly of course, that much goes without saying. So as he is due to arrive back from Spain at 11.30pm at Roma Ciampino airport, I happily leave the boys with Helena and Danilo next door to watch copious amounts of TV and drink juice and eat lollies, jump in the car at 8pm and start the ignition for my 2 hour drive to Rome. Surely there will be shops or seats for me to sit on and read my book while I wait, I think to myself. Without GPS and with my newly honed manual driving skills, I print out the directions to Ciampino (which isn't just next door to Fiumicino), and head off. I wasn't ready for it to get dark so early, so looking at my printout wasn't really on the cards, especially driving 120km/hr on the autostrada. Luckily 'the force' and the roadsigns are enough for me to go by and I make it with time to spare. Unluckily for me, there are no seats, Ciampino looks like a local police station and Shane's plane is delayed. Luckily there is a Soul2Soul special on the radio and this keeps me amused for the 2 hours that I end up waiting.

We get back to Monte Castello di Vibio at 2am, and Shane heads of at 5am to pick up his parents who are coming in from Australia. It's great to see Lyn and Bas, and the boys are so excited to see them and tell them all about what they've been doing.

The next few days we head to Spoleto (winding roads, air-conditioning only goes so far on a 40 degree day when there are 4 people in the backseat and one of them is sitting on your lap), Orvieto (Etruscan wells, underground cities and amazing roast pork panini) and Todi (eyes bigger than your stomach Mr Heslop ordering what seemed like the entire menu and then stopping for gelati on the way home - how could I refuse?!)

ORVIETO

A few days later, my mum, dad and nanna arrive from Perth after a day in Rome. Despite detailed instructions, they got terribly lost and my mother with her amiable style befriended a very helpful lady who chaperoned them to Monte Castello Di Vibio. The next few days we hung around the house in Monte, went to Massimo's restaurant where I did cooking lessons with all the parents, headed out to Montefalco for wine tasting (famous for Sagrantino), and I got to reminisce by going with mum, dad and nonna by going to Siena for the afternoon, where I ended up running into the lovely Chiara who used to run the internet cafe that I went to when I was studying there 13 years ago...you wouldn't read about it :)

DINNER AT MASSIMO'S

Aperitifs in the piazza

Ok, Sam's had enough 

Charlie taking photos of the grandparents

BBQ AT HELENA AND DANILO'S

My one contribution to the meal with much help from my mother in law...special mention also goes to my mum's amazing red wine pears with marscapone, amazing.

SIENA

MONTEFALCO

How cute are these colored pots?

Running off lunch