Updates!

Early in November a chocolate market set up for the weekend in Piazza Libertad. Ada and DaddyQuique checked it out, tried lots of freebies and bought some chocolate and licorice. 

The Italian government has been putting out new decrees every week. Masked were made mandatory outdoors a month ago, Christmas markets are cancelled and all local festivals, gyms are closed (including the twins' gymnastics classes), malls closed on weekends and worst of all restaurants must close at 6pm - no more dinners, not even outdoors. There's more to the new rules as well as a national curfew from 10pm-5am. And, like California, regions are now classified by a color according to the severity of covid. The Veneto, the region the Lopezjoneses are living in, is in the lowest tier yellow.

Lunches, one can still have lunch. On this occasion the dads and Navi lunched just below their apartment, seen in the background. The days are sunny, but the temperatures have been dropping.

Most weekend the Lopezjoneses head to the mountains for hiking, or on this weekend to an outdoor museum with their covid bubble relatives.

Lunch was of course outside, a little too cold for Ada and Navi, they are in dire need of warmer clothing.

One weekend the dads and Navi escaped to the beach in Sotomariana, south of Venice on the Adriatic Sea. Their hope was that they can take in some sun, Navi's was to play in the water, but it was much too cold. Sunny, but cold.

After lunch they walked across a connecting bridge to the island of Choggia.

Also known as "Little Venice."

School update: The twins are still attending school in person, with masks of course. They recently started attending an after school program to help with their homework. Their school is challenging and in some subjects their Italian language isn't sufficient enough. So 5 days a week they walk to Dopo Scuola for a few hours to receive help.

Covid Halloween 2020

Halloween this year, as the world knows, was different than years past and future. For the Lopezjoneses not only because of covid, but also because they're in Italy. It's not like it is in the US. Navi celebrated at home with a bag of candy. The past few years he's had little interest in dressing up, so this was a good night for him.

Ada on the other hand, had a birthday sleepover with her cousin Margherita (she and her family are part of our covid-bubble). DaddyQuique helped her gather articles of clothing and thanks to the outdoor markets made a costume for under €12! It was a coincidence that Ada and her cousin both chose to be corpse brides.

Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italia

On Sunday the Lopezjoneses headed north into the mountains to Trento.

They were visiting Papa's cousin Ermanno and his girlfriend Lisa. They got to walk around the city of Trento, famous for it's university and arts.

Their first stop was to go underground. The Spazio Archeologico Soterraneo SASS.

Roman Ruins. It is an underground museum, right in the center of town, recreating a roman city complete with squares, a street, homes, and gardens.

It was a very special thing to see.

Next, after gelato, Museo Castello di Buonconsiglio. They visited the city's spectacular castle built in the 13th century.

Lots of galleries to walk through, but the views of Trento from the top were spectacular.

This is where everyone (almost everyone) took a brief moment to remove their masks for a picture.

They even got to see a special tour of the castle towers, which in itself was neat because they literally walked through the castle walls from one end to the other.

One had to pay close attention to things. Like this imagery of a person being beheaded.

Afterwards they walked through the city once more, with a stop at a local drinking fountain.

The twins had the chance to run around a little in a local park. Before heading back home they stopped once more for a drink at Ermanno and Lisa's place - because all eateries close at 6pm in all of Italy, before saying goodbye.
 

Keeping Busy Weekdays & Weekends

Both Ada and Navi are doing gymnastics twice a week. But because of covid, parents are not allowed inside the gym and DaddyQuique does not have a picture for the blog.

Last week the Lopezjoneses headed over to Luca and Cate's house to help harvest olives. Everyone thought it was a fun activity which required raking off the olives from the trees, or by hand and gathering them all into baskets/crates. Navi enjoyed being up in the tree helping out.

Last aturday morning the twins played hooky from school and went on a hike with their cousins in Marostica. It was a beautiful day and everything was green with beautiful vistas of the inland valleys and mountains.

And then they made friends with a donkey! Much time was spent with it. And the donkey enjoyed the group so much it followed them all on this particular leg of the hike until a gate kept him in his place.

This of course was a highlight of the hike for all the kids and the adults.

Sunday the Lopezjoneses made their way to Treviso for lunch with Renata, a cousin of PapaJason. They had a great lunch at her home.

Later, with masks on, they went out for a passegiata within the walls of the old town. There were some very beautiful canals, old buildings on quaint cobbled roads.

They got a special treat, a nutria (Europe's beaver) was out enjoying the day too. A local was feeding the water fowl and the nutria.

On Wednesday the Giro d'Italy began its 17th stage in Bassano. The route passed in front of the Lopezjoneses' apartment in Piazza.
 

Sports

Last week Navi tried out for a local calcio, soccer, team. He did well, but was definitely out of shape. He decided the next day that he did not want to play for the team. He said the other kids were really good and provided a challenging workout, but ultimately practice ending at 7:30pm was the deciding factor for him.

Ada this week tried out gymnastics, at the location her cousin Angese goes to. She liked it so much! She gets two free days and then she can join the team, after clearance from a doctor that she is healthy to do the sport. (Getting that physical may be a challenge - it is Italy)

Navi explored the local rock climbing gym, held at a warehouse turned skateboard park. He was not impressed with the set-up (it was no Mission Cliffs). He did very well, but he did not find it challenging enough. The instructor said he was so good she would recommend he join the higher age group. But, when Navi accompanied PapaJason to pick up Ada from gymnastics he saw the boys team and decided he wanted to try that instead.

The Food

First, DaddyQuique has enjoyed the many restaurants/cafes located on the way to the twins' school. They are now walking on their own to school, one day DaddyQuique decided to wait for them after school while having a beer. Lucky for them he saved them all his bar snacks.

On the Lopezjoneses second dinner out in town they found themselves at a sushi restaurant. AND it was all you can eat, Navi was super excited. Everyone ate quite a bit, a little too much actually. There was some regret as to how much everyone ate the next morning.

La pizza italiana. The twins have been out for pizza several times. Navi's go to is the diavola, pepperoni. Ada's is the classic margherita.

Hopefully by the end of their year in Italy they will try different pizzas, like this escargot pizza DaddyQuique ordered last week.

There have been several family dinners, all delicious and fun. Ada and Navi really enjoy going over to their cousins houses any time.

The gelato. When the Lopezjoneses first arrived and the weather was warm, Ada and Navi would go out on their own in the afternoons for gelato. This privilege quickly came to a pause and needed some fine tuning. They were ordering two scoops and may have attributed to their lack of appetite at dinner. The final straw was when DaddyQuique surprised Ada by meeting her at the ponte vecchio (old bridge) after school and he saw Navi, who enjoys walking home on his own, running down the street with gelato in his hand - this was right before lunch! So now when they go out for gelato, with permission, they are only to order one scoop and absolutely no gelato after school before lunch.

La Famiglia Italiana

With so many family around the area the Lopezjoneses enjoyed spending time with everyone. One evening they had a great dinner with Caterina and her brother at a favorite restaurant in the hills of Marostica. Gaia and Liza were very excited to have Ada there, especially Liza.

Over the weekend Caterina and her brother Luca (and his wife Olga) hosted a family gathering of about 60 people. Not the most covid smart, but the numbers in Italy are so low the risk is very minimal. Some family members practiced social distancing (in Italy that means no kisses upon greeting or hand shaking). Ada and Navi had a great time with their many cousins. GianMarco even made an appearance, he flew in from Dublin for the weekend. As did their Canadian cousin MariaAngela and her girlfriend Nav who live in London.

On Sunday they took a hike on the hills above Bassano. They saw a beautiful waterfall and Navi decided to jump in. Followed by Ada, then Margherita, then Eduardo and many other cousins.

It was a great hike, ending with spritz and wine of course.

This weekend happens to be a particularly long one. Because of the Italian elections the twins had no school Saturday, Monday nor Tuesday. The twins took advantage and had aperitivo and pizza with Vanessa and her family.
 

Scuola Secondaria Primo grado di Bellavitis

On Monday the twins started their first day of school. It was a rough start as the dads drove to the wrong school. Who knew that a city would name two middle schools with the exact same name, except to add a "2.0" to the newer one.

Driving to the right school and arriving right on time, Ada began first at 9:30am.

Navi began at 10:00am. All students entered the school ground through their designated gate, with a mask, and joined their class on the school ground and waited for their teacher to arrive. They are to wear a mask until they are seated at their desk.

The twins saw their cousins many times from the time they arrived and through out the week. Pictured here is Margherita and Agnese, holding their dog Ninna.

The weather has been very pleasant and warm. Navi jumped at the opportunity swim at his cousin's Alberto's pool.
 

Bassano Del Grappa, Italia

HOME AT LAST! Friday, after a five hour drive from Munich (in our purchased car) with no border checks the Lopezjoneses arrived in Bassano Del Grappa.

They arrived in the afternoon, tried their best to unpack and settle in. That evening, not very hungry, they went out for a late dinner. Luckily they are living right on the Piazza Garibaldi, with many restaurants, shops and cafes at their door step - literally!

 Lucy doesn't know it, but this is her final stop for the next year. She warming up to the house, but has to be patient as we figure out all the comforts to make it out home. Lucky for her, the dads did find the brad of food she likes, exactly like at home, and she's now eating well again.

Everyone is very please with their new apartment, which happens to built in the 1600's, but inside it's new and very spacious. Everyone has heir own bedroom and the kitchen has natural light.