A Day in the Life

I've been looking forward to writing this post for a few weeks, so I hope you guys enjoy it! This week I spent a day taking photos and documenting what a normal day of life in Italy is like for us. Every day is a little different, but here is a peek into our life!

7am -- alarm goes off. We've been having trouble sleeping because of the heat, and for some reason between 5-8am has been the easiest time to sleep....so SNOOZE

8:30am -- hop in the shower

9:00am -- breakfast of apple tart and caffe latte

9:30am -- get dressed, ready for the day

10:10am -- tackle the breakfast dishes. Living in a small space we have to do these dishes after every meal...

10:30am -- I get a lot of satisfaction out of cleaning this area. Feels so much better when its sparkling! (The pastor's wife gave me a hint to cleaning the stainless steel - vinegar!)

10:35am -- take OOTD (Outfit of the Day) photos for Latte Loves Style on the patio. Usually I have to tie the camera to the fence and use the timer, as not to bug E (who is in the study all morning)

10:40am -- head to the weekly outdoor market in Bollate for the first time

10:55am -- this place is crazy! I've never seen so many different kinds of vendors -- clothing, shoes, rugs, curtains - in addition to the cheeses, cures meats, fish, produce, and breads.

I would estimate there were around 200 vendors. huge!

I find a doppelganger of my ex-bf's dad. Which I guess isn't SO odd, because he is Italian-American...but funny, because he's also a police officer!

11:14am -- Totally overwhelmed with trying to order cheeses and meats in Italian (and not knowing what to get), I decide to purchase some pesche noci (nectarines), 1€ for 1 kg This is about $.65 per pound!

11:40am -- I also stop by a clothing vendor and get a couple of tops for my sisters at €3.5 each, and one for myself.

11:52am -- arrive back at our flat, and it's time to start working. I sit at the kitchen table, plug in our internet pin drive and get started.

1:00pm -- It's already 26 C in the flat (about 78 degrees) so I change into my new top to keep cool.

2:30pm -- I take a short break for a light lunch of caprese with E. Fresh mozarella is cheap here and tomatoes came from a neighbor's garden. The pastor's wife prepares it with dried oregano and basil and salt -- so that's what I did.

2:48pm -- back to work....and on it goes.

3:00pm -- i snack on these amazing cookies called Macine. must be dipped in milk!

4:16pm -- take my real lunch break, and go for a walk with E to stop by some friends' to find out when we'll leave for Cinque Terre tomorrow. They are not home (this turns out to be a bad sign), and it is beastly hot. We pop into a grocery store to cool off and pick up jam.

4:39pm -- arrive home with croissants and jam, and I log back into the computer.

7:04pm -- Vittorio picks us up for haircuts at his brother-in-law's salon.

7:20pm -- I realized I have no way to bring a photo of the Katie Holmes pixie cut I wanted to try, and some difficulty communicating. I show the stylist approximately how much I want cut (a lot) and hope it turns out!

7:55pm -- tada! it's much shorter. and I have straight bangs! Not exactly what I was thinking, but I like it.

8:10pm -- we head to Vittorios for dinner with his brother-in-law and his BIL's gf.

8:25pm -- antipasti. Lox on bread, as well as red pepper spread and this incredible shredded cured meat that I can't remember the name of. YUM

8:45pm -- Daniela brings out parsley-tossed cold potatoes, bread and tuna stuffed olives

9:00pm -- the main course -- swordfish filets! baked with olives, tomatoes, and shredded bread. they were SO tender.

9:30pm -- fresh fruit is brought out after every meal. I forgot to snag a photos of the grapes, apricots and nectarines we ate

9:52pm -- ice cream comes out! Chocolate and creme brulee mini ice cream loafs. The creme brulee had this amazing sugary crust.

10:30pm -- the boys smoke while we all chat. Vittorio is the only one who knows English and Italian, so he spends most of the time translating.

11:10pm -- Vittorio and Daniela drive us home.

11:30pm -- sleepy computer research. We found out earlier in the evening that the couple who were going to take us to Cinque Terre have a sick daughter so we can't go. It's technically our 'day off' so we spend time trying to figure out an alternative plan that won't require 2 + hours on the train or too much money.

12:12am -- we give up, and decide to go to bed and see what tomorrow brings. Zzzzz