Ciao!The toes have been dipped in the Med and it is quite warm. We are hoping to dip more of ourselves later today. So, we have arrived safely! The flights over and the ferry from Rome went quite smoothly, though we did have to lug all of our bags up the escalator to the passenger cabin on the ferry. They let Manny ride with us rather than putting him in the onboard ferry kennel, which was a treat. Although, we're not sure whether we just got away with it because no one noticed, as he was curled up beneath our feet and happily sleeping the whole time. Chad's sponsor and one of the office's legal assistants met us in Golfo Aranci in Sardegna, rescued us from our many baggagli (bags) and whisked us off on a wonderful tour along the winding roads of Sardegna, including a stop for a delightful lunch of caprese salad and focaccia, and a bit of vino, and at the legal assistant's house in the countryside where Manny got to play with his two dogs and burn off some of the excess energy built up during his travels. Then, we made our way to the ferry port in Palau and were off to La Maddalena, our final destination. It is hard to describe how beautiful it is here - we can't believe that we are here to stay and not just on vacation, although reality might set in when Chad has to start working. The vegetation and rocky landscape are enough similar to San Diego that we are a bit confused as to where we are and haven't yet fully comprehended that we are now living in another country.
Once on the island of La Maddalena, we set out on another sight-seeing tour, which included a drive around Isola Caprera, the island and natural reserve connected to La Maddalena by a causeway. We also drove the panoramic loop road around La Maddalena, which included a dip of the toes in the Med and many sightings of beautiful secluded beaches which we hope to grace with the presence of our kayaks as soon as they arrive. By then, it was about 7:30, or 1930 (military time), and we were pretty beat. We were dropped off at our TLA (temporary lodging, for those of you who are not familiar with Navy-lish). It is a great apartment just down the street from one of the local fruit and vegetable stands. It has a little patio out back with a lemon tree and fresh basil. By that hour, we had worked up an appetite for dinner, which we enjoyed with Chad's sponsor, John, who seemed to know everyone we passed in town. We had delicious risotto, grilled calamari, more Sardegnan wine, and, sometime around midnight, some gelato. Somehow, either the adrenaline, or the morning's cappuccino, kept us going, so that we unpacked nearly all of our things once we returned to our apartment.
That brings us to today. This morning, we were invited to coffee at the Italian officer's club with the ward room (all the officers) from the base. Then, the welcome team (a group of people on the base) whisked us off on yet another tour of town and the base, with a few stops for paperwork, photographs, a trip to the housing office to set up appointments for house hunting, and time for a quick panini before Chad's 1pm meeting at the legal office. And, now I am free for the day. I am heading home from the base, where I am writing this, to unload the many booklets and things I've picked up today and to soak up all that is new. There is so much more to write that I am sure I am forgetting, but I wanted to get as much down while it was still fresh.It is so incredibly beautiful here and everyone has been accomodating and patient with our still-shaky Italian. We hope to have many guests while here in order to share this wonderful place.
All for now and please write when you can. We miss you all and will write and send more pictures soon.
Much love,
S, C, & M
