Felice Anno Nuovo da Venezia!
You didn't think that I spoke Italian, did you? Well, to be honest, I don't. I've only learned a few words and phrases in the last couple of weeks in the province of Venezia. And in fact, I still default to Portuguese, and then quickly correct to Spanish, before getting totally flustered and blurt out my (very basic) Italian.
So ITALY! Yup, we're here in Italy and it's been....really unexpected. I know, I know, it seems that everyone is absolutely enamored with this country. And we are thoroughly enjoying it, so please don't get us wrong! It's just taken us a bit of time to adjust to Italy...with the overlap of the Christmas and New Year holidays during our stay here.
Here, Christmas and New Years are very private and family oriented. And it made us reflect on all of you that are back home who we would be celebrating with! So...it made us a little extra sad.
But then Italy opened its arms and gave us love! And we were suddenly surrounded by the most amazing people, and we laughed and ate, and ate, and drank and ate and laughed! (did I mention that we ate?!)
Now, not only have I gone and already had to go and buy a new pair of jeans (#EatPrayLove) but we've made some wonderful new friends, experienced some new cool customs (#WeAtePigsFoot) but have also seen some really beautiful things that are very much off the tourist track.
Like, the GROCERY STORE! OMG. You walk into a grocery store and/or a proper market, and your confronted with food that is the equivalent to a work of art. And not just any art, we're talking the greats here! They have the best vegetables, fruits, nuts, fish, and meat IN ITALY! We've been to 14 countries in Europe now, and Italy just has THE BEST. And it's not a criticism of any of the other places we've been - it's just that here, food is everything, and it shows. It shows to 11!!!
Okay, so for example, the first place we went to here was FICO Eataly World. Kelly likes to describe it as " a foodie mall that just has everything Italian that you could possibly want". I, on the other hand, describe it as the DisneyWorld of Food - with interactive 360 movies, cooking classes, a theme park with rides, gardens, farmers, livestock, AND a Mortadela Bar. (Below is the best video to convey it's enormity. Note: it's from 2017, but what it describes is EXACTLY what the concept came to be in real life!)
And we've since explored quite a bit more: Modena, Maranello, Padova, Montegrotto Terme, Bologna, Chioggia, and (of course) Venice! And we still have 2 more weeks to go, so who know's where we'll end up!
Here's a bit of a photo collage of all these fantastic places, but the most fantastic (and we're being serious here) is the comfort and kindness of Il Gatto Nero. Without the warmth and hospitality of our incredible hosts, our holidays would not have had as many laughs, smiles, full bellies, or new friends! This guesthouse has certainly been our little home away from home for the past few weeks, and we are so very grateful for that.
Oh, by the way, did I mention that the Christmas holidays last until January 6th here in Italy? So...we can keep our little Christmas Tree up for just a little bit longer this year...
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