Kilowatt

Now there is a word I never thought would be in my (almost) daily vocabulary! It wasn't until winter hit us that it even entered my mouth! I had to look up the definition just so I could post it and tell you my story about the kilowatt..so straight from Wikipedia-

Kilowatt

The kilowatt (symbol: kW), equal to one thousand watts, is typically used to state the power output of engines and the power consumption of tools and machines. A kilowatt is approximately equivalent to 1.34 horsepower. An electric heater with one heating element might use 1 kilowatt.

Right so apparently houses in the UK are set up for at minimum of 12 kilowatts which means you can run pretty much everything in your house all a the same time if you so desired. Not that anybody would but you can. So in Italy the houses are set up for either 3 or 6 kilowatts which means you can only run one major appliance at a time. Thank goodness we have 6 kilowatts because I think I would have killed someone by now if we only had 3! A little explaining about how our nightly routine usually goes would probably explain why I am writing this. So during the day I have one light on and the TV and probably something of electric origins for our daughter and at the moment a two bar electric heater because we have no heating in the house...but that's another story...so if I decide I want a cuppa I have to turn the heater off so I can boil the kettle or I can only wash a load of clothes but not dry a load at the same time because doing this makes the power trips out. (Laundry takes ages needless to say) Well the evening is so much more fun because at night you are obviously running more things at once. With trying to cook dinner, give the kids a bath, etc we end up having to reset the power at least 5 times EVERY night! It is driving me insane at this point! At least I know it's not like this during the summer.

Our baby boy

Our new baby boy joined the family on 29 September! He had to be delivered via cesarian a week early but was a healthy 8lbs 6oz and came out showing what great lungs he has! He has been a great baby so far! He only fuses when he is hungry and we have been lucky enough to be getting our sleep at night.(touch wood!!!) There have admittedly been a couple of rough nights but only a few! His big sister helps as much as she can..or we allow her too...and seems to enjoy having him here. She does have her jealous moments though. I put a couple of photos on the blog but will add some more to our link at the right when I get the chance, I don't get much time near the computer these days!

Always carry a crisp.....

20 Euro note with you in the car! We found out the hard way that if you need fuel after 8 o clock in the evening you are basically up the creek. All the petrol stations close by 8 ,which we knew but we wrongly assumed we could use a bank card or credit card at the pumps. Oh but that would be too easy!

So here we are traveling back from Naples with a new born and a three year old, it's around half eight at night, and we need fuel but are nearly home. Hubby decides to stop to put a few Euros in just in case...our truck is 14 years old so R doesn't really trust the fuel gauge...so we pull into the first station we come to and there is this little box in between the pumps that takes cash or cards. All you do is enter the amount you want to put in the tank and which pump you are using. That's perfect we'll throw 20 in to get us by until we can fill up right...WRONG! The machine won't take the card, not as in it was rejected, it wouldn't actually go into the card slot. We had no cash on us except for coins which the machine doesn't take. Great so now what?? We drive down the road about 5 more Km and it's the same thing with this petrol station as the last one. So I think I remember an ATM at the last place we were so R turns around and heads back finds the ATM and comes back with a 20 euro note...that the machine won't take because it is wrinkled! All this has taken about 20 minutes and I could just scream now!! My 2 week old son is in the back fussing with hunger and my 3 year old is bored and tired...just wonderful. R tries several times to get the note to go into the machine with no luck then gets help from a man who pulled in to fill up too. He stank of alcohol and speech was slurred so it was a bit hard trying to talk to him in what little Italian we know and understand but after a few minutes of trying to straighten out the note the machine finally took it. So after a 30 minute fiasco to get fuel we can finally go home to sit and relax! So always carry a crisp note in your car, purse or wallet...we do now!

So at the meat counter...

We found a small grocery store less than a mile away from the house that we really like. The people that work there are very very friendly and remember you when you walk in which is actually really nice. Now shopping took some getting used to here... a perfect example would be picking fresh veg and fruit. You have to put on a pair of plastic gloves before you touch any produce..it's considered rude and unhygienic not to...you then pick what you want, note the number on the sign and weigh it, then a little sticker is printed out for scanning at the checkout or at the store we frequent there is someone to weigh and tag it for you all you do is hand them the bag/s.

Anyway,the meat counter is situated smack in the middle of the store so most times we go in the butcher talks to our daughter (Italians adore children) when we walk past him or slices off some meat and brings it to us where ever we are in the store so we can try it. He literally walks up with a single slice of something and hands it to us to try...I swear he sees us coming in the door because we can be in the milk isle and he will be there bearing meat before we can blink! The meat counter is actually pretty amazing, I have never seen one like it, all the fresh meat, smoked meat, deli meat etc you could possibly want. We have always passed by and looked but never bought anything...So the last time we went in the butcher comes up to us with a small piece of pork and hands it to me to try...it was REALLY good so R and I decide to go over to get some to take home, we tell him how much we want, he weighs it out then puts a little extra in before wrapping it up...cool thanks!...Then he starts slicing off various pieces of meat and handing them to us to try...we weren't even asking but he was obviously trying to get us to buy more... I tried a couple of things until it got to where I wasn't sure what it was he was cutting off, then I point to the fresh sausages and say to R those look good do you want some for breakfast in the morning? (I think he was getting tired of trying things at this point..judging by the look on his face) The butcher then actually pinches off a piece of the RAW sausage meat and hands it to R to try..pointing to me saying I couldn't taste it because I am pregnant...I must admit it took everything I had not to show my repulsion and R kindly declined to taste it at which point the butcher put it into his mouth and eats it..exclaiming at how delicious it was!! I was actually shocked by this, I mean I was always told never NEVER eat uncooked meat due to the bacteria and whatnot, and if I can't have it due to being pregnant that should tell you something..right?? I think that was it for us at that point so with the end of our tasting adventures over we thanked the man for allowing us to try so many different things and went off giggling in disbelief over the whole thing...I suppose this is another cultural difference we are simply not used to since it's not something you "do" in the US or UK.

Just an update really

Wow! I hadn't realized I had not posted here for awhile! Not much interesting has happened I'm afraid. We did discover that the whole place shuts down on bank holidays though.R got a Friday off from work a couple of weeks ago because it was an Italian bank holiday so we thought we would take another trip up to IKEA. We get there and the parking lot is empty with the exception of a few cars...nice one, it's quiet today!! Well guess what..it was closed! Yeah so it was REALLY quiet.. So we drive all the way back home and discover that everything else is shut too! I actually felt like we were in that movie 28 days later...you know the part when the guy walks out of the hospital and there is no one to be found but rubbish blowing across the road...yeah well that was us that day! NOTHING was open,I couldn't believe it! We found out later it was the The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin that day so living in a predominantly Catholic country may have something to do with the whole town closing? Oh well live and learn yet again:)

Beyond that we are still enjoying ourselves here, the weather is still nice and fairly hot. It's still in the 30's anyway and still haven't seen much rain. We have also been busy getting ready for our new bundle. He will make his appearance on the 29th via cesarean and I can tell you I am more than ready for this to be over now! I have so many more aches and pains this time around so I am just plain miserable! "20 days and counting!! I just hope he doesn't decide to make an earlier debut since we live so far from the hospital! That's it for now I guess...like I said not much interesting this time. Take care until the next post:)

Getting fuel on a Sunday...with vouchers.....

So we wanted to go to Rome on Sunday to shop around IKEA but needed to put gas in the truck. Ok simple we stop do that and then hit the road...right? No. I guess I should explain how these fuel vouchers work before I go on. We get fuel at a discounted rate since we are posted/assigned overseas so R buys the tokens we need from work a hundred at a time then we fill them out with the relevant information and hand them to the person who fills up the truck. They are only taken in Latina and only at two petrol/gas stations. But as we found out yesterday...NOT on a Sunday! The main part of the gas station is closed on a Sunday...you know the bit where you go inside and pay get snacks etc.... so there are these guys who sit on little plastic chairs and fill your car up when you pull in but on a cash only basis...hmmm?? Sometimes there is a whole plastic table and a few guys sitting around playing cards! What a way to spend the day!
Anyway we pull into the first station and the guy there (who speaks pretty good English) tells us he can't take them because the store itself is closed but directs us to the next one a little way down the road. They take them there he says. Ok great! Grazia...Arrevaderchi! So the next stop is about a mile down the road and we get a guy who doesn't speak a lick of English but asks if we speak French...WTF? So we get the just of "the store is closed we can't take your fuel tokens" okay no problem so just fill her up and I will pay you cash. NO the guy goes and sits back down again...HUH?? R gestures for him to come back over and actually shows him a 50 Euro note and says full and diesel, per favore, but he doesn't seem to understand and is pointing at something down the road??? At this point...which is a full twenty minutes later... we assess our fuel level and say oh stuff it we can probably make it there but will need to find a station in Rome.
So we make it up to Rome and decide to go ahead and get fuel before we shop in case all the men in their little plastic chairs close up for the day and we are unable to get any fuel at all. The man spoke English and understood cash...yeah!! Finally get what we are after and make it to IKEA of course after our GPS kept telling us to turn where there wasn't a turn at all, but thats a story for another day! So in short if you are using fuel tokens in Latina don't try it on a Sunday!

Furniture shopping...not as straight forward as it seems!

R and I decided to get a few more things for our living room and some new furniture for our daughter since her stuff was getting handed down to the baby so ventured out to do some furniture shopping thinking it would be easy and we could have everything we wanted then and there...ha ha...ha ha ha!! Sooo...went down to the local Mondo Convenienza store which is huge and has everything you can imagine with great prices..so it seemed on most things. It's actually pretty simple you walk into the store and at various points along the walk way there are these little cubes with slips of paper, pencils and measuring tapes. All you do is take along a slip of paper and pencil and write down the item number you want to take to the cashier later. Sort of like IKEA but better.

Okay sounds great so far...well, we found a bed we really liked for H. It was a black iron four poster bed and a double size to boot. Oh that will last her for a few years I hear myself saying! So look at the price tag and it's on saldi (sale) for only 149.00 bargain! Here we were deciding on weather to get the curtains that go on it...sure why not?...then I go and lift the sheet up to make sure it's a good sturdy bed frame and find this insert set into the frame that actually holds the mattress. No slats or anything. Ok, so wait do we need one of those too, or is it for display...hmmm let me go try to talk to someone and find out. It turns out that yes you do need one of those as Italians keep that part of their bed but change only the bedstead itself. Hmmm...how much is that then? Can't be that much surely, it's a square of aluminum on legs with springs running across it. It was 220!! So now we are running 149 for the bed, 80 for the curtains, and now 220 for this frame and hadn't even looked at mattresses yet!

We round the corner and stand trying to find a reasonably priced yet comfy double mattress..Italian sizes by the way are different from UK which are again different from US...which would also mean new sheets...another 230 for a mattress! So this bed that started out as a bargain at 149 was now going to cost us...hang on I need to calculate...679 big ones!!! (that's still without the sheets mind?) We still needed a dresser, etc for her room not to mention the "few more things" for our living room. Needless to say we left it where it was and decided to "look around" for something else.

We spent a further two hours looking for other bits and pieces and fully satisfied with our decision...including our little ones input...we march up to the cashier only to be told they had one item in stock that day...and two of the other things would be in in two weeks time! Then also told us they didn't have nor would be getting any of the other furniture items we wanted in stock...WHAT??!! Oh, ok, calm down..it's not her fault. I just felt at that point that I had wasted a beautiful Saturday afternoon when we could have been outside enjoying the weather. Oh well, lots of sunny days to be had here!

In the end we made a trip up to IKEA on Sunday and found another bed we like just as much that was exactly what it seemed and priced like it said so bought that and a few other bits and bobs... but man I didn't realize furniture shopping could be so draining...this coming from a woman who loves to shop! Oh well live and learn....getting used to a new culture and way of life:)
TTFN

Links to the photos of our trip and new house

The first link is of our trip to Italy:

s511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/hwiggins_2008/trip%20to%20Italy/

The second link is our new house:

s511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/hwiggins_2008/New%20house/

The photos didn't upload in the order that I wanted so they are all out of sequence!

Apparently a few people have had trouble using the links to view the photos. They aren't hyper links so you have to highlight one then right click to copy then paste into your browser...if not click on the link to the right labeled "Quick links to our photos".

We finally made it to Italy! After months of planning, some unbelievable stress and one hell of a long drive we arrived on the 3rd of July. The dogs had to go with us rather than be shipped over so we were traveling with 2 German Shepherd dogs in the back of our truck, a 3 year old, me nearly into my third trimester of pregnancy and of course R driving. We had a roof box stuffed to the hilt on the top as well as the back passenger seat as full to bursting as possible! It's amazing all the stuff you need to bring along. It wouldn't have actually been that bad but we were going without our furniture for a month and having to live in a hotel most of that time so needed to make sure we had at least some of our creature comforts, especially for our daughter...we used everything we brought too! We departed England on the night ferry(23:45) to Cherbourg which arrived in France at 04:30 the next morning and 3 very tired people walk down to the loading deck to find our dogs had broken through the dog guard and were sitting in the front seat...funny now but not then! Got them situated and finally drove off the ferry to the customs section where the poor guy had no idea what to do with my passport...long story ... anyway finally let us through and weehee off we go tired but excited about the journey ahead! Driving through France was interesting to say the least, we encountered some very rude people and some very interesting bathrooms at the rest stops...I will have to post a photo, words just won't do any justice! Put it this way for now I actually had to walk back out of the bathroom and look at the door sign to make sure I was in the ladies! Most of the people seemed nice enough but I never once thought to learn a little French because you know we are going to drive through France...right? Well it would have come in handy! No parla vous frances came into play an awful lot! I wish someone here would have warned us about the toll roads too! My friend S had told me there were a few but I had no idea they would last the duration of our trip! I think we ended up spending £140($275) in tolls! We got to claim it back after we got here but when it's an unexpected expense it can throw your travel budget off. We drove through the longest tunnel system I have ever seen in my life just outside Firenze Italy, it was literally tunnel after tunnel for almost 100 miles! We also got to drive right through the Swiss Alps which was pretty cool!
So two hotel stops and three days later we find ourselves in Latina. The driving here is insane! I knew it would be a little more aggressive but OMG!! If there is not a lane they make one, you can be sitting at a traffic light with two lanes and they will edge up the side of you to make a third and even a fourth just to get further up in the cue. The kids here are very rarely in a carseat, I have often seen them standing in between the front seats or all squished together in the back seat! Also people will be riding their mopeds and motorcycles and texting at the same time and thats not to mention the kids standing on the foot rail of a motorcycles holding the side of the handle bars while Dad's leg is wrapped around their body to "keep " them from falling off!! I could go on about the jaw dropping driving experience here but I will spare the boredom. It is unimaginably hot here and has taken some serious getting used to but we seem to be acclimating quickly. The first two days were miserable though because our hotel room was supposed to be air conditioned but wasn't so poor H actually got sick from the heat. Kept her full of plenty of water, juice and fruit and she was fine but it was still scary! After 4 days of this we were moved to another room which was great for 5 days and then the AC went in that room too! That just figures! We did get the keys to our house on the 14th of July but still couldn't move in because we had no furniture and I couldn't hack an air mattress that long being as pregnant as I am so spent the duration of the week in the hotel and moved in here on the 19th used an air bed for the weekend and our furniture arrived in the 21st. Everything came in one piece with a few minor flaws and the movers actually unpacked every box onto the floor so we were left with one very big mess. This house is amazing! I will post lots of pictures! It is a converted barn so it's all on one level aside from a huge study upstairs, the yard is massive and surrounded by a security fence so our dogs don't bark at everything that moves...nice for a change! Plus H loves being able to run around in the space and does it all day if you let her! We have a 3 car garage and two covered porches so it's great to be able to sit outside and not worry about getting sunburned. The inside is big too, you walk in through an old barn style door which itself is almost 6 inches thick, all the floors are stone tile and the study is hard wood, the doorways are all exposed brick work and there are some exposed wood beams in the living room and entry way too. The kitchen a pretty big too it's twice the size of our last place and has a 5 burner cooker top with a built in microwave and stove and one of those old fashioned wood burning cookers..I have never used one so will have to figure it out! The bathrooms are nice one has a shower come sauna and the other has a jacuzzi bathtub in it, H already loves having baths in there and I will get to try it out someday. All the bedrooms are a nice size and in all honesty we are having trouble filling the place with our furniture because there is so much more room than we are used to. Oh and we have a listed building in the yard too from Mussolini's day. Listed just means it's a historical building which can not be knocked down or changed in any way, kinda neat to have a bit of history right out the front window!
We are surrounded by mountains on all sides and the beach is only four miles away. There are three 11/12 century villages set into the side of the mountains that we know of and it's really pretty to see the lights at night. We have been up to one called Sermoneta and it is absolutely beautiful! I will take my camera next time but the streets are all lined with slate and stone and old stone houses and there is an old castle still standing in the center of town. The local town of Latina is not at all what I imagined when I thought small Italian village but it's still pretty. I suppose if you consider that the city used to be swamp land and has only been here since the 40's it's not that old so no stone streets or buildings but lots of greenery and very friendly people! I can't get over how nice the Italians are and how much they adore children! Everywhere we go people oh and ah over our daughter and talk and play with her. She makes friends easily though so chats away right back to them even though neither one can understand the other. R and I learned a small amount of Italian before we moved over but I wish we had actually taken a course of some sort since it seems more needed than people lead us on to be. The locals do try to help you along though if you at least attempt to speak to them in Italian. The food is amazing too it's all so fresh and tastes so good! The vegetables are all so big and smell wonderful and the meat has virtually no fat on it. Going to the deli counter is an experience, they have a side of cow, pig, etc hanging and you tell them how much you want then they cut it off for you. The fish counter is the same, I don't like going up to order my fish though because there is always a center display of this enormous fish head just sitting there staring at me...it's just to much! If you want to get your shopping in it either has to be early morning or late afternoon because all of the stores and shops close between 1 and 4. That took a little getting used to but it's the hottest part of the day so everyone apparently goes home to rest!?
I am able to use the Naval hospital in Naples to deliver our baby which was a relief for me the only downside is that it's 2 1/2 hours away! I will be scheduled for a c section though so will know when I am going down, I really didn't to go that route but I had no choice in the matter since I had an emergency c/s with our daughter and the doctors there don't allow VBAC. The hospital is fairly new so it's all sparkly and clean and everyone there seems nice enough. My midwife travels up to see me every couple of weeks and I have local doctor care in case anything happens. There are 3 hospitals in Latina in the event I go early and can't make it to Naples though! So in about 8 weeks we will have our new bundle with us. I won't find out the exact date until next week. My Mom is coming over to give us a hand and look after H while I am in hospital so I am really looking forward to seeing her since it has been almost 3 years!
Overall life here is good and I think we will enjoy our time here. R is already talking about extending which I am all for! I love the area and the people and of course the house and everyone I have met from the military side of things are all very friendly. It's a breath of fresh after after our last posting! Anyway, I guess that's it for now but will try to post something new every week so please stay tuned in!
Lots of love to all from the Wiggins!!!