For our first family “overnight” trip, we decided to go to Rome. We made it through Christmas and “most” of our presents arrived in the mail in-time. Yeah! We were within days of the big day and had no packages yet, but the postal system came through! Since the boys and Mike had some time off school and work, we booked a dog/house sitter and headed to Rome for a night. After looking at train prices, we decided to drive. Continue reading
Santa Maria Capua Anfiteatro
Ok, I’m still trying to catch up on our recent adventures, and am a bit behind. We are finally settled into our home and have somewhat reliable Internet (although the speed varies dramatically), we’ve past the holidays and now I no longer have an excuse for lagging on the blog. Continue reading
Mt. Vesuvius hike
We have had so many experiences in Italy since my last post, I’m not even sure where to begin. Let’s just say we’ve had Internet challenges along the way that have kept me preoccupied and not able to post. We are living in our house (no more hotels!) and finally have Internet AND power in the house, so I hope to keep updates coming more frequently. Continue reading
In Celebration of Columbus Day…
In celebration of Columbus Day, Mike got a 4 day weekend. I was literally jumping up and down with joy. You see, the kids attend an Int’l School that does not celebrate Columbus Day. So, with this news, Mike and I had two 8 hour days to ourselves and we fully took advantage of this time together! Continue reading
The extra benefits of international schooling
If we were going to live abroad in Italy, I wanted my kids to learn Italian. The International School is definitely doing that. They teach for most of the day in English, but 2 hours a day in Italian. Slowly, but surely my kids are going to be speaking the language! Continue reading
Pot holes, narrow roads, highway hookers and gypsies
My first impression of road conditions in Italy was eye-opening and somewhat scary. Aside from the craziness of drivers who do not stop at stop signs, the road conditions are all shapes and sizes, but mostly small. The highways are fairly normal, although the widest freeway I’ve seen is 4 lanes wide, with 2 lanes going in each direction. I should say “2 painted” lanes, Continue reading
Schooling and grade levels
Back in the States, the big thing is to hold young children back a grade. With cutoffs like September 1st and previously it was December 1st, young kids aren’t typically ready for today’s rigorous kindergarten where expectations are writing stories and reading chapter books by year-end. Both our boys have fall birthdays and we saw huge benefits in holding them back to start elementary school. Continue reading
Stray dogs everywhere!
I’m not sure why there are dogs everywhere, but it is clearly a problem in Naples. You may see only one, but likely their pack is close by. And when I say everywhere, I mean on every street corner, in every Parco, under the bus, on the freeway, etc. This can be quite a challenge when you have two dogs who do not particularly do well with other dogs. hmmm Continue reading
First Trip to Downtown Naples and Vomero
It has been a while since I traveled abroad by subway, train, metro or bus. So after our week long class of cultural/info briefing, I excitedly headed out with the class guide on a day trip to Naples. Continue reading
Crazy driving little manual cars
Living in a hotel 25 minutes from base with 2 shuttles a day really cramps our style. After some finagling, we were able to get the last car at the base by the airport to rent for a week (we’re hoping to buy a car in that week). Mike was given the keys and told to find the littlest car in the parking lot, no joke. ha Continue reading
Team Merrill - Living Abroad in Italy 