Trieste

It is really sad, but it took us almost three years to drive the approximately hour and a half to Trieste, Italy, on the border of Slovenia. On Saturday, we drove to the beautiful city with our friends Erryn and Matt, who just moved here from Oklahoma.

Trieste is really interesting. First of all, it's beautiful and looks so different from other cities in the area. It is on the water, and is a port city for sure. But, it also is built up onto sloping hills and cliffs, and because of that is just breathtaking, especially on the drive down.

I had stopped in Trieste for lunch on a pouring rain March Sunday with some friends on the way back from Slovenia. But this was the first time either of us had gone to be tourists. We really just walked around the central downtown area, had lunch in the gorgeous Piazza della Unita, and then went to Miramare Castle.


Miramare Castle was the one really touristy thing I wanted to do, and it didn't disappoint. It was built in the nineteenth century, and has such an interesting history. The inside of the castle is really interesting, and the grounds are beautiful. You can wander the parks to see all the trees and flowers, swans, and amazing views of the water.

Like I said, Trieste is just interesting. It is a major coffee company hub for Italy (which is important, considering how important coffee is to Italians). It has been passed around to various nations for centuries. In fact, Trieste, belonging to the Austro-Hungarian empire was where the Austrian Navy was based for years. I had always wondered where Capt. Von Trapp from The Sound of Music had actually served in the Navy, since Austria is pretty landlocked.

Anyways, apparently Trieste, without any real beaches, is also a big summer getaway for people to come sun themselves. The city was packed with people walking around in bathing suits and just set up on sidewalks and things out by the water to get tans, I guess. It was actually kind of strange, but the city seems set up for this.

It's hard to believe, but we're starting to wind down our time in Italy! It's sad, really. We're starting to try to cram in little trips to places for the last time. We have a fun trip coming up to Croatia for Labor Day weekend, which should be awesome.

Then, we will hopefully start packing up and moving out! Our estimated departure date is October 8. We're going to take a few days to get to Geilenkirchen, stopping in Garmisch for a few nights. I'm so looking forward to it! In the meantime, there is a lot of work to do to get out of here.

Maniago Knives

There is a town about fifteen minutes from us called Maniago. They are world-reknowned for their knife production. There are several Maniago knife companies that are typically represented at the Aviano bazaars, and because of this, I have gotten to know some of the vendors pretty well.

There is one such vendor, Martinuzzo Emilio & Co., that sells the most beautiful wooden items, such as cutting boards and kitchen islands, and all the corresponding stainless steel knives and kitchen utensils. One of the executives, Matteo, told me that I could come by the factory in Maniago to browse.

So, we took him up on that yesterday. It was particularly nice of Matteo to let us swing by the factory, because the entire company of workers is on vacation (except, apparently, for Matteo). He showed us around the factory, and was patient while we looked.

We have a knife block and knives that we registered for a few years ago for our wedding. We have been happy with them, but wanted an upgrade.

I had my eye on a cutting board that my friend Julie has, and ended up purchasing that. It has a pull-out drawer on the bottom and included some beautiful stainless steel knives. We also purchased a round wooden knife block, which also included stainless steel knives. Matteo gave me a nice deal, and threw in a knife sharpener. He also graciously gave my in-laws a stainless steel apple corer and can opener that they wanted.

Our purchases:



I'm so happy that I am leaving Italy with some beautiful quality knives! Chris and I would both love to purchase one of their islands, but we already have a marble/wrought iron one, and we just don't know what our next kitchen is going to be like. I highly recommend this company, though, for your knife needs!

Padova

Our first day trip with Jackson was a success. We drove to Padova, which is about a half hour past Venice for us.

Chris and I were there over a year ago with our friend Rebecca. We thought it would be a great place to take Chris' parents.

Padova is a great day trip, because it has some fantastic sights and the city is very compact and walkable.

We started out at the Basilica of St. Anthony, who is one of the most famous saints in the Catholic Church (and probably the reason why there are so many Tonys out there). The church is a must-see, and has an important Donatello bronze statue out front in the piazza.

We walked up to Piazza Erbe where there was a market going on. We had a quick lunch, and then made it up to the Scrovegni Chapel, where we had a reservation to view the famous Giotto frescoes.

This was a really interesting process. We made reservations online to view the frescoes, and then we had to be at the museum one hour ahead of time to pick up our tickets. We then had to be outside the Chapel five minutes before our scheduled time, because the doors are automatic and will shut you out if you are not there on time.

Then, you wait and watch a quick movie about the frescoes while the room checks the humidity levels. You then get to walk into the Chapel, and have exactly fifteen minutes to view the gorgeous frescoes (about the lives of Joachim, Mary, and Jesus).

My favorite part was actually the ceiling, which was still a vibrant blue with stars. Incredible! The history is really fascinating, too. The Chapel was built by a man named Scrovegni who was basically trying to purchase salvation for his father who was a notorious usurer and was immortalized in Dante's Inferno.

We saw some other great sights, and then drove back home!

Here is our exhausted day tripper:

This Is Your Life On ObamaCare

I've said time and time again that to see what your life would be like under a socialized healthcare system, just check out military healthcare. Now, I've lived with this my whole life (except for five glorious years with various civilian employee health plans), and there are times I've received fabulous care. I had wonderful care during my labor and delivery, for instance.

However, there are more times that you just want to scream in frustration. Case in point: our upcoming move.

We got our first step of paperwork to move to Germany. In order to receive the next step (our orders), Jackson and I must have medical clearance paperwork done to establish that we don't need any specialist care once we move to Germany (if we did, we would not be allowed to move there). I had to have this done to move to Italy too.

It would behoove us to get this done as soon as possible. Our orders are needed so that we can do things like schedule our movers and a whole host of other things. So, yesterday I called to schedule the appointments. While I was at it, I thought, "Hey, I can also just schedule Jackson's two-month well baby appointment."

I was greeted on the phone by a totally incompetent woman who took about five minutes to finally ask for my name. It took her about that long to also finally establish that the military hospital we go to is not taking appointments right now. She said there are only so many doctors available and they just are not scheduling anything except for same-day appointments.

"What do you mean, just in pediatrics for my son?" I asked incredulously.

"Oh, no, for the whole hospital," she replied.

"So, what am I supposed to do to get in for these appointments?"

"You can call back some other time to see if we're taking appointments."

THIS, my friends, is what you will see under our country's new exciting healthcare system (which we would be spending trillions of dollars to achieve). Nice.