Buon Giorno Italia!

Mallory at the Dentist!

OK, so maybe it is not the picture you were expecting when we say "Hello, Italy," but I had to share this. It was Mallory's first Dentist appointment before we left the states and she just looked so cool in her yellow shades, I couldn't resist adding this!

So onto our adventurous trip to Milan! It went smoothly for the most part. We all enjoyed our cushy business class seats, gourmet meals, and Josh had enough free champagne and wine for the both of us! (just kidding...sort of) The flight from DC to paris was about 7 1/2 hours long and we all did get to sleep some. Mallory was very amused by the movie in her seat. She watched bits and pieces of Rapunzel and Kung Fu Panda which kept her occupied until she passed out (too much champagne I guess).  We arrived in Paris on time, but due to lots of air traffic at the airport we were delayed getting to our arriving gate by about 15-20 mins. If you have ever been to the Charles DeGaul Airport, you know it is CRAP and makes no sense. If you haven't been, AVOID it as a stop ANYWHERE in your travels. We literally made it to our connecting flight with 1 minute to spare. A guy came to the counter 1 minute after we did and he was not allowed to board the plane because he was too late. I accredit our being able to get on that plane to God and a little bit of Mallory's adorableness. The trip to Milan from Paris was thankfully only about 75 minutes long which was just enough time for Mallory to eat even more cheese, color, and play with stickers.

Our arrival in Milan was quite comical. We had more luggage than I think anyone had ever seen before and got wide eyed looks at every turn!  We tried for awhile to do with one luggage cart, but after our luggage stack toppled over on lets just say, more than one occasion, we opted for two luggage carts which requied 3 hands to push. I needed one hand to push Mallory's stroller. We were quite a sight, and I wish I had taken a picture of that fiasco! We took multiple rides up and down the WRONG elevator (with all of our luggage) to find the rental car place. We got a regualar sized Volvo which could hold the world record for the most amount of luggage squeezed into a small space!

Where is Mallory?

 Thank goodness we didn't have another child or a dog! Josh fit right in with the Italian drivers, he never used his turn signal in the states anyway! Why even bother making them right? LOL. We made it to our hotel without incident. Yesterday, after the maid woke us up around noon, we got out and about in the city investigating other hotels to stay at and I think in about a week we will be switching hotels to a great place with 2 bedrooms and a kitchen. Josh told me just because we have a kitchen doesn't mean I have to cook as much as I do when we are at home. YAY! I fully intend on taking advantage of fine Italian cuisine! We have wandered into 2 different grocery stores. I think my first full grocery shopping trip might be an adventure I need to take by myself. No Super Target here. Mallory's major request...Goldfish! We ran out of our travel stash and I have yet to find them. We may need to find a substitute and FAST! Today we head out to look at some permanent places to live with the local realtor here.
Now that Josh and I are a bit more rested we can get back to parenting and get Mallory on a schedule of some sort. A tired baby is no fun...for anyone! So Milan time it is! Back to naps and bedtime at 8....ish. :) A shocking tidbit of info for you: We ate lunch at the hotel and I needed a little caffeine so I had a soda which was 4 Euros. That is about the equivalent of $6 US, for ONE CAN OF SODA. I kept thinking, I could have bought a 12 pack for $6....OR LESS! YIKES.
The weather here is a little colder than what I expected, and lucky me being pregnant, I have a whopping 2 pairs of long pants to wear and limited access to washing machines. Are pajama pants an acceptible fashion in Milan? I guess I'll find out and let you know. Well, I am off to feed Mallory lunch even though she isn't hungry and get her down for a nap even though she isn't tired...wish us luck! Ciao!
PS. Thanks for all of the Facebook Love and the growing number of followers on our Blog! Love to All!