Siamo Arrivati!

(quickly...we could start this whole blog thing with stories of how we got to where we are. But that process was months long and culminated in one amazing farewell party in New York that has procured only hazy memories from both of us. So to save us all some aggravation, lets start with when Joann and I landed in Italy...just a few brief days ago...here goes)

...7 hours, 1 US weekly, 2 Unisom pills, 2 mediocre meals and 1 horrific romantic comedy later our flight landed in Rome from its origin in New York City. We are ecstatic. Finally after literally months of planning this trip we are here. Neither of us knew exactly what to expect, but the excitement inside both of us was impossible to ignore. Our first hurdle; the passport check in. After an easy check-in in New York, we were hoping for no problems and were pleased to both slide through the customs gates with relative ease. Pick up our bags (close to 300 lbs in all) and we were on our way. This is where Joann takes over. I will become a spectator, rendered helpless by my linguistic handicap for the next few days. As I push around our airport issued luggage cart layered with humongous bags, it occurs to me that perhaps I should have kept going to the gym a few months back. We scrambled to find the train to the outskirts of Rome that would take us to a bus station. Found the train and hopped on a minute before it left the station. I am like a deer in headlights at this point, I am finding the most blah things in Rome beautiful...take a deep breath; we have a long way to go. Anyways the ride to the station is a long one and as Joann is asking other passengers just when we will arrive, I am marveling at the Graffiti in Rome. It is some of the best I have ever seen. Gigantic, clean, legible pieces and some with hilarious names (my favorite being Lohan1). I am loving it. We arrive at our stop and once again are scrambling to find our bus to Siena which is slated to leave in 9 minutes. We luck out again and find it and are sitting down as the autobus pulls away. Perfect timing and a good chance to catch a 3 hour nap on the way to Siena.

When we arrive, a bit haggard but happy, our landlord meets us at the bus stop and walks us to our new home for the next 7 months. It is almost remarkably foggy in Siena today. And though he promises they are there, the views are blocked by the low slung clouds. It's fitting because we are so exhausted it seems like the perfect day to just stay in and rest up. The walk home through the heavy mist did give glimpses of beauty to be reckoned with however...my excitement level is trumping my tiredness and I am giddy.

Our apartment is great. A quaint one bedroom in what amounts to a suburb of Siena , certainly walking distance, but by no means amongst the hubbub of the city (think Soho to Times Square; or DuPont Circle to the Mall). We see our landlord off and are so happy to be home and warm. We start to unpack and I try to plug in our iPod speakers when...POOF...no more lights. The electricity in our place just vanished. Our landlord lives in Milan (about 4 hours away) and was well on his way home when we called him. "Play with the circuit breakers and if that doesn't work ask a neighbor. Good Luck." Thanks man. We try everything we can think of and eventually get to know our upstairs neighbors by asking for some help. They are impossibly sweet but not so helpful. We resign ourselves to a night in the dark by purchasing a bunch of red Jesus candles and forget about packing for the rest of the night when our doorbell rings. We open the door and the most adorable little Japanese-Italian toddler you have ever seen (assuming you have ever seen one) rolls in with a enormous smile on his face followed closely by a petite Italian woman and tall Japanese man. OK, well at this point this is seeming normal. They explain that they were the previous tenants here and our landlord called them to swing by and take a look for us (Nice one, Nicolo!!). They, of course, switch one switch and we are back in lighted business. My manhood and everything I thought I knew about fixing things is bruised, but none the worse for wear. At least we can see what we are doing. We head to the market for some fresh meat and cheese for sandwiches, grab some bottles of wine and call it a night. Exhausted and in bed by 9 pm. A decidedly eventful start to what is promising to be an amazing trip. I dont think either of us have ever slept as well as we did that night.