Today started out early for me. The thunderstorms from last nights rain were still in force this morning at 5am and woke me up. I guess with the added acoustics of the mountains it really booms here. I was surprised the kids slept through it. So it has been a long day for me.
I woke the kids up around 07h30 and we ate breakfast here at the hotel. Then I thought it'd be a good idea to go stock up the apartment with some games for the kids. We headed out in the rain, with umbrellas courtesy of the hotel. It wasn't long before I realized the kids shoes were not going to be good enough for the rain out here. We were coming across some large puddles and before we got to the bus stop, their shoes were soaked through. So before we hit the apartment we stopped off at a small mall called Bren Centre, next door to the Sodalia offices. I had noticed a sporting goods store there earlier selling hiking boots like mine. We were helped by a nice Italian kid. It is amazing how many people speak English here. I think it is going to be hard to learn Italian when no one will deal with me in it. This kid helped us pick out the right sized hiking boots for both the kids. The prices were real reasonable too, I don't think I could've got them for much less in the states. We also got some new socks since the ones they had on were useless. The weather also cools off significantly when it rains here. The clouds come down in from the sky and completely obliterate the mountains. All you see is clouds. The kids changed into their new shoes and socks at the mall before we left. Kristie also got herself a stuffed dog she has been pining for ever since she saw it a few days ago. Stephen got a soccer ball.
From the Bren center we headed back toward our apartment. We took a bus even though we could've walked the distance. Somehow I get the feeling I'm the only one buying bus tickets here. I almost never see anyone validating a bus ticket, and that many people can not be transferring busses.
We stopped off at the magazinne above the super mercati near our apartment. There we picked up some small mats for the floor to put our wet shoes on and some games for the kids. Stephen got a chess/checkers/morris game. I have no idea what Morris is and I'll decipher the Italian to figure it out this week. Kristie got a baby doll.
We headed back to the apartment. It is a good thing we didn't move today. Without any hot water to feed the radiators the place was fairly cold due to the weather. We hung out there for a little bit and headed back into Trento and the sun had come out now. We did find a super mercati open here in Trento. It was difficult but we found one. We bought some supplies for Sunday since none of the super markets will be open then. I'm going to have to leave a shopping list for the baby-sitter and some extra money so she can stock up on some food for the week. This is going to be a little rough with the short store hours. Even Paris wasn't this bad. I guess that is one thing I will miss about the states, 24 hour shopping.
Tomorrow's weather looks like it will be windy here. I don't know what that means in terms of temperature. I doubt we even hit 15C today. Our magazzine above the local supermarket does have some more long sleeve shirts. I bought Kristie a nice blue jean one. It was expensive (relative to clothing prices around here) but it has really cute flowery embroidery on it.
We had dinner at the hotel. I strongly suggest that if you stay here you hit the ristorante across the street. The quality of the food here was not as good. Neither was the service or ambiance, and it was slightly more expensive than the ristorante across the strada.
We saw some of the Mars pictures on CNN and Sky news here. We'll miss not having satellite tv at the apartment. I hope I can get the internet connection working from the laptop. I'm sure I will but it is a hassle.
Another interesting thing to point out. There are some tropical plants growing in this area. In front of one of the government buildings are some tall 50 foot palm trees that are healthy too. And one of our neighbors near the apartment complex has a large kiwi plantation. I never realized kiwi grew like grapes on a vine. I was always under the impression it was on trees. They are even strung out like grapes. I wonder if they'll notice one or two missing [-grin].
Stephen fell asleep before Kristie today. That is a first. So far Kristie has been the first to get to sleep. Well, I'm going to hit the hay myself.
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