The first Visitor at the BRS Europe

Pretty much all settled in and now reservations are pouring in at the Barrington Resort & Spa Europe.
Everyday I am getting better and better acquainted with the neighborhood and the surrounding areas.
My little garden is starting to sprout up and I am looking forward to the harvest. I still need to do a lot more planting but for the time-being that is on hold.
Our Italian lessons are going well - slow but sure - I get along better with my day-to-day Italian (still not getting everything but getting by).
February and March are the rainy months in Rome. We have had a fair amount of rain but it is not annoying, it just seems to make everything greener. The other day we had a nasty rain storm that moved through quickly and then the sun came out - yielding an amazing rainbow! Here is a picture of that taken from our bedroom terrace.

Our first visitor, Stuart, has arrived and has been here for a littler over a week. We have been hitting some of the sites and enjoying the good weather. Spring has sprung here in Italy and the days keep getting nicer and nicer. Wonderful visits to the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and the Galleria Borghese.  We have been fortunate to be able to see some amazing art exhibits. Among them an exhibit of Tamara de Lempicka - La Regina del Moderno (the Queen of Modern). 

Stuart & Tom - Our lunch at

The Hotel Eden

  



Stuart in the

Galleria Borghese





    

Stuart & Tom atop

The Spanish Steps



 

 





The Pantheon





View from our Balcony

at the Hotel Royal



Stuart at the

Trevi Fountain

This weekend we decided to get out of Rome and head down to Sorrento and Positano. It's about a 3 hour drive and Tom was amazing. The twisting, winding roads, and general lunatics would make any normal man/women crazy but Tom did great. We stayed at a lovely hotel in Sorrento called the Grand Hotel Royal. Had a wonderful time shopping, eating, drinking, more eating, more drinking and more shopping. The local hand-crafted woodwork and pottery is simply gorgeous. A great stroll through town and then a leisurely walk on the the beach of Positano. We love Sorrento because it is where Tom's Grandfather was from and get a kick out of the number of times we see his last name on shops and products...



Our Luggage at Checkout...



We left most of the items in the shop but a select few trinkets traveled home with us. Come visit and see them...

Tom in front of
his namesake store




About to wrap up this installment of the blog but thought I would share more interesting tidbits about Italy...

Below are two of the most common type of produce you will find in any store, market or restuarant... We find that rarely a day goes by when we do not have these items...

 

Lemons
(or Limoni)

  

Artichokes
(or Carciofi)

 

  

In continuation of my last post I am still fascinated with the 'tiny car' obsession the Romans have...but they still have no clue how to drive. Everyday and everywhere I feel like I am walking on the track of the Indie 500.

The smallest on yet...
It was barely 5 feet long

We that is all for now -
Looking forward to the upcoming visit by James and Greg...can't wait to see them!
Until the next installment - Tom & I send our love and best wishes to everybody!
Hopefully, Spring will spring soon in the states!
Be well - Love to all
Ron & Tom





Settling in and roaming around...

Well everybody, everything is here, and now we are settling in. I thought I would show everybody the progress we have made. All the boxes are unpacked, garbage is gone and we stopped eating out every night.  Life is finally going back to normal (of sorts)...
Tom & I have both started with an Italian tutor - I must say it is an interesting language. Some things are coming easy to me...others are not. I have only had 2 lessons so I expect - I am expecting too much. I am sure it will all be buona (good) in time. Don't worry, I don't see me writing the blog in Italian anytime soon...

Other good news is that Tom has received his work visa.
I have been fingerprinted by the police for my residency permit.
The wheels of progress in Italy move very slowly...and they stop between 12 and 2.

On to fun visual things - here are few pics of our new digs all spiffied up:

The Dining Room

The Living Room



The Sun Room



The Terrace with our

new Outdoor sitting area



One of our Guest Bedrooms



Our Master Bedroom





The Herb Garden -
Just the beginning



Our Pride & Joy:
The New Washer & Dryer



As promised, I wanted to share a few 'oddities' of Italy...

• It's funny, I always thought that the worst drivers lived in Boston but I was very wrong. They live right here in Roma! They drive stick-shift cars, talking on their phone, while smoking a cigarette, and ignore most traffic signals.  The lines in the road do not mean a thing to a Roman driver - nor do sidewalks when they park. I will say that the only thing worse than the drivers of the cars are the moped drivers. They also are talking on their phones, smoking their cigarettes, and bobbing/weaving between the cars. Driving or walking in Roma is not for the faint of heart.
• Tom & I have had the pleasure of visiting the Roma version of a 'Mall'. It is pretty standard with all the regular types of shops (the European versions of them). The mall is anchored by Ikea and Leroy-Merlin (Italy's version of Home Depot). That is not the odd part... the odd part is that the Roman parents dress their children up in costumes and parade them around. There is everything from Spiderman to Princesses and Pirates (and much much more). The kids walk around and through confetti all over the place. At first I thought this only happened on weekends but I was wrong. I was there on a Tuesday/Wednesday and there they were...masses of kids in costumes, throwing confetti all over. Sorry, I just find the whole thing 'odd'! (Sorry - no pictures, I did feel like getting arested)
• Lastly, I said I would share some pictures of the the Italian 'Little Car' fetish. It amazes me seeing these tiny little things all over the place. In one of the pictures you can get an idea of their size because Tom posed next to it. Being from America, we think the Smart car is small - you can fit these cars in the Smart car! I hope you enjoy:

I do not wish you to think that they are just parked all over - they are actually driven.

Here is a small video clip I took:

On another note: I did get to go out and visit the National Museum of Rome. It is just breath taking the amazing sculpture and mosaics created by the artists of time past. I will try and post some of those works in my next blog. I would whole-heartedly suggest visiting it when you are in Rome.

Lastly, I will end by wishing Love and Health to all our family and friends.

Special love to Aunt Helen, Tabitha, Angi, Stuart, and Stephen Sondheim - who all are celebrating Birthdays this month.

I look forward to our upcoming visitors and can't wait to share their time with us!

Be well, with Love always and Miss you all -

Ron & Tom

PS - I reupholstered the dining room chairs and we had our first fresh lemon in a cocktail...take a look...

Fresh Lemon from the tree...
Yum!

Just like new!
New (left), Old (right)