Jessica – a U.S. Air Force spouse, new mom and blogger – is one lucky lady. Her husband is stationed at Aviano Air Base in northeastern Italy,
and living there has given her opportunities to sip on cheap, yet fantastic
wine (a hard combo to find in the U.S.!) and dine on meals made from fresh,
locally-grown ingredients. Oh, and she can hop on a train at a moment's notice to explore the romantic canals of Venice – which is just an hour away – or any other European city that she fancies.
I know it's hard to believe, but there are
drawbacks to living in Italy too. Thankfully, Jessica – who normally blogs at Jessica Lynn Writes – is here today to help us
imagine what it's like living and traveling around the country.
Take it away, Jessica!
Tell us about you and your blog.
Ciao! I'm Jessica from Jessica Lynn Writes and we're currently stationed at Aviano Air Base in Italy. (Please don't hate me for living here!) I started blogging eight years ago while doing a study abroad stint in England. It started as an online personal journal with zero readers and has evolved to something much more in the last few years. Now I write about my new baby (I'm pretty smitten with her), life as an Air Force wife, food, everyday happenings, and our travels around Europe!
Living in Italy comes with its challenges (I'll talk about that next), but the great experiences definitely outweigh the bad. First and foremost, the food is simply delicious. Italians absolutely know their way around a kitchen. I can honestly say that we haven't had a bad meal since we've been out here. The food is fresh, usually locally grown, and everything on the menu is seasonal; you rarely find "chain" restaurants serving the same thing every time you visit. Even if they have a regular menu, a restaurant will almost always have a long list of daily specials. I love visiting Italy's different regions and tasting the differences in cuisine depending where in the boot I'm traveling. And the pizza! Oh, the pizza is just divine — topped with the most interesting combinations you can think of. My favorite at the moment is a pizza with asparagus, onion, and an egg on top. So good!
I can't talk about Italy without mentioning the wine: not only is it plentiful and everywhere, but it's cheap and really, really good. When I say it's inexpensive I mean that sipping on water with your meal will set you back more than ordering a liter of wine. If we buy an "expensive" wine we're usually paying around $9 for a bottle. A glass of wine averages around $1.25 ... for a full GLASS! We're going to have sticker shock when we move back to America.
My other absolute favorite thing about living here is the travel. Visiting another country from here is a matter of hopping in the car and driving for an hour or two. Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, France, and Switzerland, just to name a few, are all a day-trip away. Crazy, right?! I've really enjoyed adding stamps to my passport and experiencing what this beautiful continent has to offer.
What do you hate about living there?
It's honestly hard to talk bad about Italy, because I know so many people would love to swap places with us in a heartbeat, but there are some downsides. For one, Italy seems to be a few decades behind America in terms of just about everything. They live in a "domani" (tomorrow) state-of-mind, so everything is done at a snails pace. It's also a little difficult not having the convenience of fast food, or just restaurants that are open all the time. I have to make sure I have snacks in my car in case I need something quick. About half the time we go to a restaurant it will be closed (Italy has the craziest hours I've ever experienced). "Riposo" is Italy's version of a siesta and basically the whole country (except for major cities like Rome, Venice, and Milan), shuts down their business for about four hours during the day. It's hard to get errands done when it's like a ghost town outside!
Other interesting hardships include not having any space — storage is non-existent, so there aren't any closets or pantries out here. Also, since the voltage and appliances are different here, you typically can't run everything at once. For example, I can run my washer and microwave at the same time, but I blow the electricity for my house if I have the oven and the dryer on at the same time. It's confusing and you have to be systematic when planning out daily chores!
Name three local attractions or events you recommend people visit.
1. Venice is only an hour away from Aviano by train! Venice is an hour away (I have to say it twice, because I still don't believe it.) It's very surreal every time I hop on a train and go to Venice for the day. If you do go to Venice I highly suggest checking out the nearby islands Murano and Burano. Murano specializes in hand-blown gorgeous glass, and Burano is an island with vibrantly-colored homes and exquisite lace.
2. Situated two hours away from Aviano is a town called Nove. Make sure you have some money in the bank, because you'll spend a lot of it here. The town is known for creating ceramic dishware that you see at Williams Sonoma, Tiffany & Co., Home Goods, and other well-known companies. The ceramics are ridiculously inexpensive (we're talking 5-15 euro for a large serving platter), and gorgeous. I always leave with way more than I planned on buying.
3. Carnevale in Italy is SO much fun! If you can, definitely check out Venice during Carnevale, but if you can't make it there, each town has its own parade. These parades are outstanding — imagine Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade meets Halloween with cheesy American music. Experiencing Carnevale in my town are some of my favorite memories.
What are your favorite local restaurants?
It took me way too long to check it out, but my favorite restaurant is actually a bar (cafe) next door called La Dolce Vita. It's about two minutes from my house and they have the best bruschetta I've ever tasted. It's basically another form of pizza — a large piece of toast with a simple marinara sauce and fresh toppings — but it's just divine. I love their iced tea (ice isn't something you can find in Italy, so I love getting their tea in the summer) and their coffee is my favorite.
Tell us about some favorite weekend getaways or trips you have taken.
I'm still amazed at how easy it is to travel here. From where we are, you can easily drive to about a dozen countries in a day (not all in one day, of course). Slovenia, Croatia, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany are just a few to mention! Plus, you can fly out of Venice or a couple other airports for fairly inexpensive fares.
Honestly, every trip I've been on has been wonderful!
Plitvice Lakes (Croatia), Paris (France), Sound of music Tour in Salzburg (Austria), Neuwachstein Castle (Germany), London (England), and in Italy: Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, and Cinque Terre have been my some of my favorite trips. We have a trip to Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Czech Republic coming up soon, so I'm sure I'll ad that to my list.
What is housing like?
There is no housing on base, which was perfectly fine for us. Everyone (except the younger airmen) live "on the economy," which basically means you literally live "in Italy." The base community is scattered around the area; we have Italian landlords and live among the Italians. We live bout half an hour from base in a town called Maniago and I absolutely love everything about where we live. When you arrive you have 10 very short days to find a house and claim it as your own. Having a good and informative sponsor help you out is the key to a successful house hunt.
If you could give any moving advice, what would it be?
Be flexible, especially when moving overseas. So many things will change that you have to go with the flow. After talking to other friends, and experiencing this myself, it takes a solid six months before you start feeling comfortable living overseas. I'm an experienced traveler and lived overseas before, but living in Italy was a huge adjustment and I really didn't feel at home until right around the six month mark. Also remember that even though you're technically residents in another country, you're also a guest, so be courteous to the locals. You may be their only impression of an American, so it's important to make that experience positive. Learn the language, shop on the economy, get out and travel, make friends — experience the country you're living in!
* Tune in each Monday for tips and stories aimed at helping your next move or deployment go more smoothly. If you have questions, tips or stories you would like to share, send a brief email to mytravelingtroop@gmail.com for consideration.
* Tune in each Monday for tips and stories aimed at helping your next move or deployment go more smoothly. If you have questions, tips or stories you would like to share, send a brief email to mytravelingtroop@gmail.com for consideration.
