Hotel living - not for the faint-of-heart

By this point we have been living for 5 weeks out of our suitcases. We hadn't been in Italy that long, but before heading to Europe, we spent time visiting family in the States. Knowing that we would have to carry our gear from one place to another for the 2 weeks between when we landed and until we arrived at the base, we packed very conservatively. I have learned to be practical when it comes to packing for trips, especially if there is no valet to handle my luggage. However, there were definitely some disadvantages to traveling lightly.

Our boys are good on long rides, IF they have something to watch. The DVD player was a must-have for the journey, and my biggest recommendation to airlines is that they provide them for anyone traveling with small children. We chose a small selection of their DVD's to take along, worried about packing too much extra stuff. This turned out to be a mistake. By the 999th time Kung-Fu Panda played, I was about to karate kick Jack Black out onto the Autostrada. Hotel for Dogs was cute the first couple times, but not when you can repeat it line-for-line. Headphones would have been great, but our oldest son has a habit of chewing the cord. We couldn't afford to have him get electrocuted while in a foreign country. I would have NO clue how to explain that to an Italian doctor. Electrocution was not covered in Rosetta Stone.

The other thing we noticed that we truly missed were normal American breakfasts. Most Italians enjoy a cup of coffee and cigarette, and sometimes a pastry item for their first meal of the day. At the hotels where we stayed, some offered a Continental breakfast, which usually consisted of pastries and sometimes sliced deli-type meats and cheeses. Chocolate croissant with some Asiago cheese and salami, anyone? What I wouldn't have given for a bowl of Frosted Flakes and a tall glass of milk. Milk....the fresh stuff that can't live on a shelf for 3 years; the kind that comes out of a cow. The only place we found "real" milk was on the military base. Italian stores only carry the fake stuff that tastes like glue water. But we'd have to wait for our cereal with milk, as refrigerators are not readily available in European hotel rooms; remember I said how cold is a commodity?

The last hotel that was stayed in before heading to Vicenza was in Turin. Because Turin was a last-minute trip, we didn't have hotel reservations, but we figured we would find a hote somewhere. We pulled up to this large, 3 star hotel. It looked nice-enough from the outside. I thought we had it made when the receptionist spoke Enlgish, and said they had a room available that fit our budget. She said that she would show me the room before I signed the paperwork. I thought this was a little odd, but then I wondered if maybe there was something wrong with the room, and it was easier to show me first versus dealing with complaints and refunds later. Along we went. I have stayed in some interesting places before. DH and I stayed in a B&B in Texas that turned out to be a converted barn loft. It was cozy, although it had a faint smell of manure, and the donkey woke us up with it's braying in the morning. But this place was even odder. We rode the elevator to the third floor, exited the main building onto the rooftop of another building, then walked/crawled through another door that led us into another hallway. There, she opened a door that led to this huge room. It was larger than our first house at Fort Hood. It ended up being perfect, as the boys had a huge indoor area to run around, and we were so secluded from the rest of the guests that I wasn't worried the boys would disturb anyone. The bathroom was the largest we've seen yet, with a shower big enough for two Americans! Hello, smooth legs! And the breakfast? I guess because Turin is close to France, and the French know how to eat, they had a HUGE spread in the morning. The boys and I thought we were in Paradise.

Ciao' for now!