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Newsletter January 2007 14 UNFORGETTABLE DAYS Buon anno a tutti! This will surely become a year we will never forget. Not that the last two years were not exiting, but 2007 will remain in our memories the rest of our lives. Our last visit to Monsampolo del Tronto, end of December, has been
an intensive and exciting experience. The things we were able to
accomplish in this week before Xmas, won't fit in this newsletter.
That's why we will only describe the most important things!
We arrived on Sunday and still fully packed, we drove directly to our house. What a wonderful sight: a clean and ordered closed building-site where we could see that there has been worked hard: through an open door at the ex stable we could cast a glance at the new wooden ceiling and with big open eyes we looked at the olive trees that had been moved... all that did make us glow inside with pride. It is becoming beautiful! We saw a sign in the village square mentioning a Festa di Natale
(Xmas feast), so we decided to go and take a look before the sun
would go down. Unfortunately the festivity counted 5 stands with
sweets, salami & cheese, toys and homemade Xmas decorations…
we were either too early or too late and the atmosphere didn’t
really invite us to stay and wait any longer. We went to our friend’s
B&B "Mamma Gina" to move into our already familiar
room. Later that evening we had our cena (dinner) at the nearby
pizzeria. We always visit this place when we’re here. The
owner and pizza maker comes from Napoli and makes the best pizzas
in the district. But he also likes… karaoke! His pizza’s
are delicious, but his singing talent would immediately be slashed
by the jury of Idols! Lucky us, we have witnessed his hobby only
once… and we hope to keep it that way! Though it’s quite
an experience: the pizzeria interior is worthless, the service even
worse (it doesn’t matter which pizza you choose, you get the
ingredients they have in house at that moment!), the toilets are
not so clean, but your taste buds get gently caressed when tasting
the best pizza ever!
On Monday we had to get up early, because Shaila had
to go to school! We were right on time and the kids in the village
and at the bar recognized us immediately. Shaila was a bit shy,
but she didn’t cry. As soon as we left, she went playing with
her Italian girlfriends in the playing kitchen (we could see that
through the windows walking around the corner!). With peace in our
heart we could drive to the village nearby, where we had an appointment
with the bank. They helped us kindly and professionally and one
hour later we were standing outside again.
We chatted a bit with our neighbour and his son and before we knew it, it was already h11:45, time to pick up Shaila from school. She was happy and told us that she would like to stay longer the next day! Tuesday's it's gym for kids at school, so we had to buy sport clothes. Fortunately there was market at the village. We quickly found what we like and took the chance to buy some fruit and vegetables and a little bag with those typical and delicious big olives. Shaila and Vanessa are fond of them! Another couple of minutes at the tabaccheria (cigar shop), the supermarket and the bar, just to greet the owners and then we went home to have lunch. Vanessa went jogging for an hour and after that we made some telephone calls. In the afternoon we went to San Benedetto del Tronto, because we didn't have had the chance yet to see the sea... It was quite cold (5 degrees), but without wind. Shaila collected a couple of shells and Peter had taken passport photos. While he and the photographer were chatting, Vanessa went for some shopping. The next day we had to arrange a carta di soggiorno
(stay permit) for Peter. For this purpose we had to go to the questura
(police office). Quite an experience... it started with looking
for a parking space in San Benedetto. It was market day and the
nearest parking space we could find was 15 minutes walking from
the police office. Arrived at the questura it was fast our turn,
but we had to realize that to get this permit it isn't as easy as
many people let us believe. The fact is that the company we are
starting is on Vanessa's name and we are not married, Peter doesn't
work in Italy and he also doesn't come for study. There was only
one valid reason left for a permit: a family reason. Thanks to our
daughter, who was born from an Italian mother and received automatically
the Italian nationality, Peter has the right to get the carta di
soggiorno! We did need an international certificate of her birth
(translated and validated by the Italian Consulate in Amsterdam!)
and, believe it or not, by chance we had it in our car! We had to
take a half an hour walk and call school to inform them that we
would be late for picking up Shaila, but at the end Peter had his
permit within half a day!
After picking up Shaila from school, we walked to the anagrafe (municipal register) in order to register Peter as a resident of Monsampolo. This went very smoothly. The vigili (police) were called in and they gave us a lot of advises about international driving licenses. At h.13:30 we were ready to drive home. We had to hurry during our lunch, because we had an appointment with our geometra and the builder who were waiting for us at our house. We had to make a final check of the divisions for the rooms. Maurizio had already put a row of bricks on the floor, so we could have an idea where the walls would come. We walked through al rooms and decided to move some a bit. What a nice feeling that was! Time had come to choose paving tiles, bathroom tiles, sanitary goods, etc.. Maurizio had a good address... so we drove to this shop. Only 1,5 hours later we managed to find it! The shop owner knew that we were comming and the shop assistant helped us very kindly. A lot of beautiful things... but we really cannot afford it! Fortunately they had a very varied collection and we found very nice paving and bathroom tiles. It was already h19:30 and the shop had to close the doors and we weren't ready yet. We made a new appointment for the morning after. Finally at home we had a salad for dinner and at h22:00 we went sleeping!
Wednesday Shaila would stay for lunch at school for the first time. We decided to pick her up at h14/14.30. Shaila liked the idea. We needed some copies and had to make some telephone calls in the village. After that we went to the shop, where we stayed the entire morning choosing sanitary goods, taps, showers, etc.. We were just on time to have a quite lunch together at home and to chat with our friend, who told us that she would need some help in the future with her B&B and asked us to think about a possible future co-operation! We picked up Shaila from school and called one of the ex owners of our house to ask for the last electricity bill, because we were told it was needed for a contract take-over. We had an appointment in the afternoon in Acquaviva Picena. We bought a good bottle of wine and went home to change clothes, because we were invited for dinner at our builder's home. It was a very nice evening where Shaila showed how lively she can be... Maurizio's nice wife had her hands full, but she convinced us that she really enjoyed our daughter! Thursday Shaila stayed at school all day! We searched
for the ASL (National Health Service) in a village close by, where
we heard that we had to go to San Benedetto del Tronto. When we
arrived there was a que of 4 persons, it was already h11:20 and
a sign on the wall informed us that the counter would close at h12.
Another big "vietato fumare" (no smoking) sign
was on the wall, but the man behind the counter smoked like a chimney!!!
This can only happen in Italy! When it finally was our turn, it
was h12 and the chainsmoking man told us to walk around the back,
where we could enter the office and he would help us. Ten minutes
later we were walking outside, still laughing about the comments
the complaining chainsmoker had, filling in our papers! Peter is now also insured and since the questura had asked for this registration, we decided to walk and bring it. In spite of the cold temperature, it was a nice walk (it was dry). We had lunch among the yuppies in a little self service lunchroom. After that we went to our bank (we had to pay the first bills!) and we searched for a kitchen shop, but couldn't find one.
Then we decided to go to Maurizio, he had some samples
of doors and windows from his carpenter and the electrician called
to let us know that he would pass by. Besides today the hoisting
crane had arrived and had been set up! We went home to change clothes, because we had an appointment with Bionda, Alwin and the kids to have dinner in a pizzeria. It was very nice to have the chance to talk freely in Dutch. Hans and his girlfriend Lisa were also present. It became a very cosy evening where Shaila and the kids were free to enjoy themselves making a bit of an earthquake in the pizzeria!
And then it was already Friday again. Shaila had a Xmas party at school and all parents were invited at h10.00. It was quite a happening and the teachers were all dressed up and pretty nervous. First we went to our house, to greet Maurizio, later on we went to the bank where we had been on Monday, to bring some documents. After that it was time again to appear at school. We already know a lot of parents and Shaila loved to walk in a row with the children and later to go on stage... She even sang a couple of songs along and we were so proud of her! Our neighbour and her two children were also present. Nice! The theme of the Xmas party was Gesú bambino (baby Jesus) and the hidden message was: "wherever you are in the world, don't forget where you come from". Very appropriate! Many poems were in regional dialect (even Vanessa understood nothing!). After the 'show' there was a rinfresco (simple buffet with pizza bread, ciabatta bread, raw ham and soft drinks). Shaila had a nice time with her friends and a couple of parents told us how much they liked our daughter. The children seem to like Shaila very much! The teachers introduced us to the school director, who spoke a few words in Dutch! He told us that he spent a couple of months in Maastricht 30 years ago! And for charity we bought a home made Xmas decoration (the Xmas feast we went to on Sunday turned out to be organized by the parents to collect some money for this school party!) and at h11.30 we said good-bye to the school.
Quickly we drove off, because we had to go to another village a couple of kms farther west, where we had to arrange the gas installation. That went very easly. We will receive an e-mail with an offer for the costs of the ground works and after receiving the payment they will start! That sounds very modern, for Italian conceptions! Since we had got a tip about a store where we could find affordable kitchens, we went there. We had 30 minutes time, because the store would close from h13.30 till h15.30! We looked around a bit, asked for the catalogue and drove home, to pack our bags, and with a satisfied feeling we left Le Marche to go to Verona, where we had some holiday!
What a crazy week in Le Marche... we enjoyed every minute of it. Hopefully the whether will stay nice in order to let Maurizio do his work, then we are convinced Peter and Shaila can move into the apartment in February to prepare all that's necessary for the opening of Villa Bussola first season! We are looking forward to it! The reservations don't lie; we will give a 100% of ourselves and will accept all help from friends and family. This year will surely be unforgettable! Ciao e alla prossima. Peter, Vanessa en Shaila
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