The Sad Time of Year

The grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it? Being in the military has it's ups and downs. We're in our 30s and have never bought a house. But we're traveling Europe! Goods and bads. Right now, it's one of the downs. One of the worst things to happen when in the military is deployment. We all hate it, but all know it has to happen.

The second worst thing in the military? PCS season-summer. PCS means Permanent Change of Station. In other words, people are moving, as often happens in the military. This is very good at times, and very hard as well. People come and people go. Where we are, because it's such a transient community, all our friends are military. When I lived in CO, most of my friends were non-military and are still living in CO. It's very different here. Every summer since getting here, we have had friends move. Last summer, I had my first close friend move back to the states. That was hard, but I still had my other close friends.

This week, one of my two closest friends, my wonderful neighbor, got her house packed up. Movers were in and out of her house all day, and we just sat next door watching. I walked in to her house last night and the empty rooms and cheap military furniture on loan, made it all sink in. She's about to leave. In a few weeks, they will be moving on to a new place, a new house, new school, new friends, new everything. This time is so exciting for them. They are sad of course, but excited about what the future holds.

In a very few short months, our absolutely dearest friends will be leaving. We are so close to this family. My husband is good friends with their husband. The wife and I are best friends. We've even had people confuse us many times or call us twins because we look very similar. And our kids, our kids all love each other. They are definitely our "Germany family". We've watched their kids many times, and they've watched ours more times than we can count. Almost weekly dinners together is common. Park dates or afternoon playdates are usually a weekly thing as well. We both homeschool and have very similar parenting styles. They are the one family where I feel absolutely 100% comfortable. I don't have to guard myself, guard my children. My kids can be kids, and I can be me. I can say what I think without worrying about hurting or offending them or getting in a disagreement and vice versa. I never walk away replaying a conversation and wondering if I said it wrong. They get us and we get them. And yet, like my neighbor, they are about to get their house packed up and move on to bigger and new and exciting things.

I am so happy and excited for both of these families. But, at the same time, I'm so incredibly sad. It's been said before, and now I get it. PCS is harder on those left behind than those who leave. And I'm really feeling it. I know that I need to keep a box of tissues on hand for the next several months, as I'll probably tear up at very unexpected times.

We went to my husband's work picnic today, and before, we use to know so many people and really enjoy it. This time, I didn't know a soul, until the end when the husband mentioned above came out and we talked for a few. My husband said he barely knew anyone there anymore either, as he'd been gone for a long time deployed, and major turnover had happened. It felt very weird. And for a moment, I wondered if this is what the next year would look like. Even at church, I'm looking around and realizing I'm knowing less and less people. I'm not sure if this is because I haven't made many new friends in the last year (I was really in survival mode, not make friends mode this year with my husband gone), or it's just a sign of the major turnover. Which brings a whole new struggle. Do we as a family "date" new families, to grow close to them for one year? Or maybe longer, since we're not sure how much longer we're here? Or do we just stay content where we're at?

I thought that maybe I'd find some spiritual wisdom while typing this, but none came. While I'm sad and I tear up almost every time I think about it, I know this. No matter what the future holds for my dear friends leaving, or what the future holds for us, I am so thankful for these ladies (and their dear families) being in my life and that I am a better person (and decorator lol!) thanks to them. They have fed me, served me, listened to me, hugged me, watched kids for me, prayed for me, encouraged me, walked with me, and most of all, loved me and my family. For this, I'm eternally grateful to call them my dear friends and sad to see them move on.

Turin and Cinque Terre, Italy

We just got back from a 5 day driving trip to Italy. Our trip started off Monday morning leaving at 9am. We arrived in Antagnod, Italy at about 7pm. We stayed here. This was about an hour from Turin, where we would head on Tuesday. All of the apartments in Turin were super expensive, so I decided to stay an hour away, and found this great place for €80 for the night. I thought it was a place Jon would love. Well, in hindsight, considering the price of gas and the amount of time it took to get way up the huge mountain, and the throwing up by the youngest getting car sick, it wasn't necessarily worth saving the money on the apartment lol. However, it was absolutely beautiful and Jon did love the place we stayed. Our only complaint was we had to wait for the woman that spoke English to come check us out, and it took over 20 minutes waiting for her. However, watching the moon rise from behind the mountain after the kids went to bed was amazing.

Tuesday morning, our plan was to leave at 8am. Because of kids, we went to check out at 8:15 and didn't get to check out until after 8:35. We headed back down the mountain, this time having two girls get car sick from the crazy roads. Then we headed to Turin, Italy. We learned earlier in the year that the Shroud of Turin was going to be on display. If you don't know what this is, it is the cloth they believe Jesus was wrapped in when he was buried in the tomb. I'm not positive if it is or not, but either way, going to it made me consider what Jesus did, and imagine the Crucifixion in a way I had not previously done. The Shroud rarely gets put on display, but Pope Francis asked that it be displayed this year, and well, if the Pope asks... So we got to go see it! 

Our appointment was for 1:30 pm. We arrived and walked first to the Basilica of St. Don Bosco (Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians). When we walked in, Mass was taking place. It was during the Gospel reading, so we decided to stay for the Mass instead of looking around during Mass. At the end, we headed in to the Reliquary. I have never seen so many relics in all my life. According to wikipedia there are 6,000 relics! A relic is something that belonged to a Saint. They also had several of St. John Bosco's relics- His prayer book, his rosary, scapular, etc. We also got to see a wax statue that after later research I believe held his incorrupt remains. 

The sideways relics of St. John Bosco because I can't figure out flipping pictures again...

The wax body

Then we headed for the Basilica where the Shroud was on display. We arrived a bit early, and there was a food area, so we went to use the bathrooms and grab a bite to eat. After waiting in line with the kids for 20 min for the bathroom, we got in to discover they were the lovely hole-in-the-ground toilet, and we all decided we didnt have to go that bad. I just can't. Jon was grabbing food for us, which was this fried pastry ball thing with rice, cheese and ham in it. It was weird at first, but by the end, we all really liked it.

We headed in to the Shroud exhibit. A friend had recommended taking our stroller, as there was a stroller/wheelchair lane. If you know me, I NEVER travel with a stroller in Europe. In fact, I was frustrated walking through Turin with it. I just throw the toddler in a baby carrier. But this time, I listened to my friend and was SO THANKFUL! Right after we got in line, a man came up and asked if it was just the 6 of us. He pulled us and sent us down the side and we passed hundreds of people that were in groups of about 50, and just passed and passed and passed them. It was amazing, especially having 4 little ones with us. We were so grateful for the stroller line and to be alone! 

After all the lines, we went in to a room where a video was shown to us. It was very well done, with an image of the shroud and they would show one part of it, and explain what it was in 6 different languages ("the head", "blood from the crown of thorns", etc). When we got inside the church itself to see the Shroud, they also let us go to the very front because of the little kids, so they could see. We had about 2 minutes in front of the Shroud, where they said a prayer before the Shroud in Italian, and we had the chance to look at it and think about what Jesus had done for us. It was not this huge, glorious, hear-the-angels-sing moment, but it was still very surreal and I'm glad we went. I hope the older three remember it for ages to come.

After this, we headed back to the car and began our three hour drive to Levanto, Italy. The toddler had fallen asleep, so we refused to stop extra and were able to make it with just one quick stop. We parked our car at the beach, walked to where we were suppose to pick up the key, then he walked us through the small village to the apartment. It was an amazing apartment and very large for what I was expecting! I loved that it had a washing machine, to wash the clothes that had gotten thrown up on, and to wash beach clothes! The shower didn't drain very well, probably due to the beach sand and rocks, but that was the only thing even slightly wrong with it. I promised the kids that after grabbing a bite to eat, we'd walk down and check out the beach, but not swim. What was I thinking??

"You can step in it but dont get all wet"

What was I thinking lol??

We headed to bed, and got up early the next morning. We were here to see the 5 villages of Cinque Terre. As tripadvisor says, this area is named for the 5 towns of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore on the Mediterranean Sea, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (We keep adding these to our list of things we've seen!) We went and paid for our apartment and bought our train tickets while there. We headed out for Riomaggiore, the village the furthest away, with plans to hit all but Monterosso on the first day. The villages are all very small, and about a 2-5 minute ride between each. We got to Riomaggiore, walked up above the train station and took in the amazing views. We were going to walk the trail around to the next village, a 30 min walk along a trail on the mountain above the sea, but it was closed because of a rock slide. This proved to be a huge problem later in the day. Then we took an elevator to the top of the village, saw the village church, and walked back down through the village. Jon and I got some fried calimari to snack on and the kids begged for a nutella crepe. Instead, I got them a nutella formaggi (sort of like a pizza crust I guess) They loved it. Score for making them try 2 new foods on vacation! 

On the train to Riomaggiore

Looking down at the marina while near the top of the village of Riomaggiore

The village of Riomaggiore

Then we got on the train to head to the next village, Manarola. Unfortunately, the train passed it and didn't stop! We ended up in Monterosso. Frustrated, we looked to see when the next train going back was. We had to buy new tickets to head back. Waited for about 30-45 minutes, and got on a train to head back. And for some reason, again, it passed the village and we were back in Riomaggiore again!!! I was so mad and frustrated, and so were so many other people on the train. This time, instead of trusting the train schedule, we went and asked the Ticket Information counter. Next train in 45 min. So we had time to kill again. I went and bought my husband some lemoncello (liquor popular in the area) as a peace offering. He laughed. And we finally made it to Manarola after spending way too many hours on the trains. 

This was the town I absolutely did not want to miss. I had seen pictures, and they were beautiful, but I knew seeing it would be even more beautiful, and it was. We walked down the steep hill from the train station to the water. I bought everyone gellato to make up for all the train rides, and we decided to take the trail along the coast to the next village while eating gellato. We saw several people walking back and realized that that trail must really be open. As we walk around away from the village, there is a beautiful cove where people are diving off the rocks and swimming. I wanted to swim there so desperately, but we didn't bring our suits that day. Unfortunately, as we walked part of the way, the trail was indeed closed, but we were able to see the next village from the trail. We then found a small park, and took a 30 minute rest to let the kids play and have some kid time. By this time, we were all done, and ended up skipping Vernazza and Corniglia, There is no way I could convince anyone else, and I realized it's just part of traveling. :)

Manarola

Eating Gelato. Just behind my husband's head, you can see the trail that we started to take to walk to the
next village. Above his head is the playground where we let the kids play for a while.

Such a cool and beautiful village!

The gorgeous cove where people were swimming.

We headed back to the apartment, ate dinner, and went to the beach to swim for an hour or two. That helped make up for the day. Our apartment was across the street and down the sidewalk to the beach. The first night we went, we took back so much sand and rocks. The second night, I suggested going up to the restarant and bar areas, and seeing if there was a shower. I was so glad we did! Going home was much better after everyone rinsed off haha.

After the 2nd night at the beach, I changed my Thursday plans. We were going to go to Monterosso and spend the day on the beach there. However, I realized the beach by our apartment was just as great, without having to take the train back all dirty. So we took the ferry in to Monterosso and spent the morning there. 

It was Corpus Christi, the Feast of the Holy Eucharist and a Holy Day of Obligation in Italy (celebrated on Thursday in Italy and Sunday in US parishes), so we had found out in advance that there was a Mass at 11am. We arrived in plenty of time to the village. Unfortunately, we didn't look to see where the Church was on a map. We figured the village was suppose to be pretty small that it'd be easy to find a church. We found one, which wasn't the one we planned to go to, but the sign on the door said Mass at 11. Unfortunately, by 11:10, there still was not Mass. We guessed that there was only daily Mass at one of the Catholic Churches, and we were at the wrong one. So we found another playground, and let the kids play while we grabbed some Italian croissants to snack on. Then we headed to the beach part of Monterosso, and ate lunch at the train station. Funny, I would normally never eat at a train station, but this wasn't what I expected at all. It was on the second floor, open and breezy, right near the water, and the best fried cod and calamari I've had since living in Europe. We were very happy with the meal we ate out. We took the train back, changed in to our beach gear, and spent the afternoon hanging out on the beach.

Beaches of Monterosso

train station lunch

Train station lunch with my Sangria and a sleeping baby and Jon's latte.

On Friday morning, we got up and made the 12 hour drive home. It's an 8 hour drive per google, but when you add in an hour stau and kids, potty breaks, food breaks, etc. it adds up. As do the tolls, gas, etc. For anyone curious to make a similar trip, between the €40 vignette in Switzerland, the €50 tunnel toll*, and the Italian/Swiss gas prices, we spent approximately €280 on those things. If we were going to just Cinque Terre, we could have flown Ryan Air to Pisa for less. But since we were going to see the Shroud, driving worked for our large family. 

Overall, we had an absolutely wonderful time. I think I did a decent job of planning something for each of us to make us all happy on this vacation, which is somewhat difficult at times for 6 people. 

*This was round trip tunnel fee on the way to Turin. I think it was €30 something for one way. Unfortunately, we didn't use it round trip, and came back through Lake Como since we came from Levanto instead of Turin and there was no tunnel. 

**I put links, prices, complaints, etc because I often share these posts with other people in the area.