...and it's falling down!

Yesterday it snowed something like 24 hours no stop in all the north of Italy. Also here in Trento we had a 20-cm snowfall and it's so beautiful to have all this snow covering everything... And especially now that all the city has been lighted up with Christmas decorations and the Christmas market has been opened, the atmosphere is unique.

Obviously Ely couldn't wait to go out today and walk into the snow...and play.

They came to clean the main roads and streets to make possible all the people to move their cars and go around. The system here in Trento is very efficient and the city is always ready to face an heavy snowfall...even though it was something like 20 years that we didn't have so much snow in November.

Forecasts say it will snow again tomorrow and even on Monday. We'll see.

Tomorrow early morning Ely and I are going to Milan to visit a very big craft fair. Jenny and Katie (of Frontporch Handmade) would find the perfect place to show their beautiful creations to a worldwide public there...but now they are for sure much busier with their newborn little ones. We'll think of you tomorrow...and we'll take pictures to publish on our next post.

Have a good Sunday everybody!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Yesterday we had the first snow...and with it the first real cold of this season. Ely and I woke up in the morning and all was covered by white, soft snow. The night before we started to listen to Christmas songs in great advance and we intend to decorate the house as soon as possible, probably the first weekend of December, because the next one we'll be in Milan. We have a whole Advent calendar to fill with chocolate sweets to eat every day until Christmas.

We won't celebrate Thanksgiving, but we had some nice dinners and nice guests last week. We love to spend time with friends and cook for them...Ely and I always find a new recipe to try and lately Martha's book helps a lot. Ely also could find the new Martha's Living magazine, and she is enjoying the reading.


Even here in Italy "Twilight"(the movie) was released last weekend. We really wanted to go to the cinema, but we still haven't finished to read the book...and we want to end the reading and then watch the movie. Maybe by the time we will finish the book, the movie won't be out anymore, but not too bad...we'll rent it.

We also want to congratulate our dear cousins Jenny and Jeff on the birth of their little son Wes. We are following all your steps into parenthood and your tender first experiences with the baby. We really feel close, even if far away and fortunately we can keep in touch with this powerful mean that's the blog. Thank you for keeping us updated and we really think of you and we hope that you can go back home soon with Wes and enjoy being parents in the intimity of your nice house.

Good week everybody.

10 on 10 November.... & 100th Posts!!!!

1 - News in the morning...(but we know the results!!!!)

2 - Getting ready to go out

3 - We have something to take at the post office

4 - In the city centre. Decorations and flags for the military parade in front of the City Hall.

5 - Visiting the local plea market

6 - A decoration to sew on Mario's sweater...

7 - Back home (this is our autumn interior decoration...)

8 - Preparing a light dinner

9 - Watching a movie

10 - Bedtime

Good 10 on 10 everybody! Here we are with our 10th installment (we started in February), that coincides with our 100th post! WOW!
Mario and I worked 2 days at the polls for the local administrative elections. So we couldn't take photos right today, but we made all the picture on Saturday. Hope you will enjoy them.
Can't wait to see all the other 10 on 10s.

Rainy days

It has passed quite some days since it started raining here in Trento and it doesn't seem to stop. Temperatures have dropped and outside it's chilly. In the mountains around the city it has snowed on the highest peaks and you can feel it in the air because it's much colder than the previous weeks. Moreover every day it's dark sooner and sooner and we have started to light candles around the house to make the atmosphere warmer...

Ely has started to bake seasonal sweets thanks to his uncle who is a farmer and every autumn give us lots of apples. So she just baked incredible sweet apple nests with apricot jam inside. They are soooo yummy! Ely always spoils me like this! Thank you, honey! I love you.
What I also like about this baking thing is that in the house you can smell the flavour of this sweets when they are cooked into the oven. I love that smell. (^_^)

Halloween...Italian way!

Today is Halloween. In Italy Halloween has become more and more popular in these last few years. We were pioneers, when 10 years ago we did dressed-up parties, like it was Carnival, but with an eye on the frightening and scary theme. I remember I asked my relatives in the USA to please send me some Halloween decorations and stuff, because here it was impossible to find any. I remember they sent me fake spiderwebs, beautiful paper decorations, plastic spiders, scary candles and much more. My friends were all so impressed and the 1st Halloween party (it was 1997) was a success. We did it again next year, and we dare even more, with a bigger party with a theme.

Now Halloween is widely celebrated by most of the people. There isn't the "culture" for children to go door by door with the well known "Trick or treat", but there are plenty of things to do anyway. Shops and some houses are decorated with carved pumpkins, scary things and Halloween is in the air.

Since we have been living together, Ely and I have replaced crowded Halloween parties with nice Halloween dinners with a few good friends. Unfortunately this year we were so busy with work and stuff that we didn't have time to think about Halloween. We didn't carve any pumpkin, we didn't decorate the house, and - despite the idea to plan it - we didn't organize the dinner with friends, because tonight we had to go to a dinner with some clients.

The only little thing we did to be in the mood of the celebration was to buy Ely's favourite Martha's magazine: Living. Even useless to say that this month theme for the magazine was Halloween! Incredibly we found it here in Trento, obviously paying it like 4 times more. But Ely was soooo happy that it worthed the cost! And after all...Martha is always Martha! (^_^)

Tomorrow here in Italy we celebrate "Ognissanti", and we will attend Mass in Churchyard in memory of all our beloved relatives and friends who passed away, but that we still have in our hearts.

Happy Halloween!

Photo Contest

My participating photos

Mario's participating photos

Last month Mario and I decided to participate to a photo contest organized by the tourist office of our city.The subject of the contest was "Trento and its neighbourhoods: inedited pictures", and every contestant could participate with a maximum of 3 photos. So with pleasure, Mario and I found the time to be tourists in our city and go around with our cameras taking pictures of whatever we liked... it was also a nice occasion to practice and improve our skills with the camera. We couldn't post our pictures before the winner was officially announced... and unfortunately was none of us!!! But it was fun to participate anyway.

Yesterday we attended the prize-giving cerimony and now all the participating pictures (something like more than 1000!!) are now displayed in an exhibition in Castel del Buonconsiglio, the castle of our city.

The exhibition will last until November, 2nd and it worths the pain to visit it because some pictures are very nice.

HAPPY B-Day Valeeeeee!!!!!

The nice birthday card I personally prepared for the occasion... and in the background the Gift...

Our friends...

It was a wonderful evening... full of good friends... tasty and home-made food and funny card games...We used chips to play, because it was a game based on the selling, buying and exchanging cards and I (Ely) won a lot... but at the end all the winning won't be converted in real money becuse we played just for fun...No real gambling!! However it was nice to be the luckyest player...

We also had the chance to celebrate my (Ely) bestfriend Valeria's Birthday. She turned 25 and she kindly hosted us at her place. It was so nice to stay together! We should do it again soon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Valuzza!

-Ely