August in Italy!

Ciao, Come stai?

We have been running around Florence enjoying ever.single.minute. It's the most perfect city with one main problem. The heat. I mean the heat is getting to us. This humidity is something wild and awful. We are not getting used to it either. We see locals walking around in pants and sitting outside. OUTSIDE! I will pay money to not have to walk outside. Can I go in the underground tunnels from bar to bar? Can I swim in a pool of ice cold beer? Would it be inappropriate to poor a vodka tonic on my face? I want to sit in the gelato machine. naked...Our two fans and our AC are not cooling our place down either. Our cats hate us and I would too. If I had a fur coat on I would just cry until I passed out. Actually, I think that's what they do...We are not sleeping well because...well because I feel like I'm laying on a damp towel. I've been thinking about shaving my head. just to stay cool. I envy Brandon and his shaved head. The thought of wearing my hair down makes me nauseous. The heat is getting to us. Guys...It's so hot. How do people survive this? I know, I know...go to the sea side. But what are other tips? Cali doesn't know what humidity is. Sure we are used to the dry heat...but not this wet, hard to breathe stuff. oh dio!

just keep swimming...just keep swimming...

August is FINALLY here which means I have 3 whole weeks off (((paid))) to enjoy the Summer. Is that not insane?!?!?!?! I never thought in a million years I would get a summer break from work. WEEEEEE! It's the best feeling ever. Italian's sure know how to live and I am loving this new Italian life. And Husband does not travel until September so it's really nice having this time together. oh ya...but the heat. B and I are going to Greece in TEN days and we can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!! We are going to Mykonos and we are dying to be there already. I can't wait to kiss this humidity goodbye!

For now we will enjoy cocktails, naps and public pools!! and any suggestions you may have to stay sane... ;)

arrivederci!

xx
b

T E N

Ciao lovies!
I am so behind in blogging about this life of mine but here we are. Thursday/ Giovedi and I have the world to share with you. The bad/ the ugly and the most beautiful experiences. BUT...today is all about my best friend. My favorite person on this planet. My favorite human in the world.

His name is Brandon. I call him Scarpelli. Ten years ago we rekindled our love. And ten years later I love him so much more. I wake up sometimes and ask myself how. How are we still in love? How does he want me? Why did I get so lucky? It scares me sometimes. But we are B'Squared and we'll make it work. We always do...

For our ten year anniversary we went to Paris. Paris muthafuggin France! It was a magical trip that I am excited to share bits and pieces with you. I have been to Paris 12 years ago and Scarpelli has never been. I promised myself when I was 18 that I would be back with my Husband one day. le sigh. We arrived on Friday night and our hotel was perfect. We checked in and left to explore. We walked straight to the eiffel tower and it was the best. Scarpelli and I had a moment in the park when all the lights turned off and the twinkles started going on the tower. We were off to the side and there are no words to explain the feeling I had. We walked around in the freezing cold and enjoyed the fresh air and romance of being in Paris! :)

Saturday we had a busy day. We went to pick up our Paris passes and went to the Louvre, Notre Dame, Holy Chapel, Love Bridge and rode a double decker bus! Crazy busy touristy day including escaping the rain in between cappuccino and crepe breaks. It was so great! Day 1 was amazing and wore us out.

 c u p i d

arch de triuuuuuuuuuum ph

This is day 1.5...

Stay tuned for more.

Baci!
b

La Bella Vita- Walking to Biking

The normal way to get around Florence is by walking. You literally walk around for hours from monument to bridge to museum to garden to look out points to pizzerias. The amount of walking we do in one afternoon is so nice. And the amount of dodging cars, vespas and buses is also pretty impressive.  Back in LA we rarely walked. I mean walking around the mall for 2 hours was a big deal and it would make us so tired. Brandon and I would make it a point to walk to the store a few times a week but this was nothing. Not even 1 mile to and from. (or 1.6 km for you Italians). :]

So it's fair to say the first few weeks here in Florence we walked everywhere and anywhere and our legs at the end of the day/week/month were jelly. We are still researching massage places here...Two weeks ago Brandon got us both bikes and I feel like we live in a new city! Although I love walking and exploring Florence the amount we can cover in one bike ride is amazing! We bike ride every chance we get. It's so fun to explore outside of the city center and get lost in Italy! 

Saturday we rode up to Piazza Michelangelo and then made it to San Miniato al Monte. It was a hard ride that I didn't think I would make but the church and views were breath taking and so worth it. If you're in Florence look up towards the hills and you will see the most beautiful church. That's where we went. all the way up there!  The church was so big and beautiful. I swear we are not religious people but there is something so powerful about walking in to a church that started being built in 1013. <---did your mouth drop!? The history here is just so so so amazing and we feel so blessed to call this place home.We walked around and enjoyed the incredible views of Florence, the old cemetery and the quaint neighborhoods around. Such a perfect day! 

Sunday Brandon and I rode to the Parko delle Cascine. We were riding along the river and then after the 2nd bridge past the Ponte Vecchio the roads got wider, the tourists disappeared and I literally felt like we were in a movie. The gorgeous buildings looked like backdrops to movie sets. We were all alone riding in and out of these wide streets and it was just perfect. We stopped at a small kiosk in the middle of the park and shared a beer and pringles on a small wall.  Pure heaven. We got lost in a residential area and just enjoyed the Italian heat. and each other. I swear ten years later and I just adore this man so much. Love you Scarpelli!

It was a perfect weekend.

S a t u r d a y

S u n d a y 

I hope you all had a nice weekend!!
xx
b

Cali girl living in an Italian world!

Hi hi hi!

I am so excited to share my interview with you for Expats Blog! It went live this morning and I am so excited about it! 

It's fun to be a part of the community with other fabulous expat bloggers from all around the world.  I love to read other peoples stories and experiences who are in and have been in the same situations as us! 

Click HERE!!!!

A big thank you to ExpatsBlog for including me and my blog on your amazing site. 

I hope you all enjoy! 

Ciao tutti!

Xx

b

La Bella Vita- dollar dollar bills ya'll

Ciaoooooo!
My Husband is back home and I'm just so happy. Livin' La Bella Vita. :)

Since we are currently waiting for all of our visa paperwork to be finalized and we are in Italy as "long term tourists", the money issue is a little strange and we are getting hit hard with this fee and that exchange rate. Let me explain...

We haven't/ can't/ not sure if we can open a bank account yet without a visa. So we are waiting and in the mean time we are pulling out the max each day/ week and it's the usual ATM limit. But after the currency exchange which changes by the minute plus the fee our US bank charges we get hit hard and the amount we actually see is way less. By no means is this a complaint because the cost of living is different and we factor this "issue" in as a bill but I wanted you 'expat 's to be' to know what's up. I know parents wire money to students and they go through the same issue and it's just insane that there are no sister banks here for US banks. I think there is one in London but that doesn't help us.

Our main bank Wells Fargo does not do International wire transfers online. You have to go in to a branch. umm not possible. So on one of Husband's US trips he opened another account with Chase that allows wire transfers. We need this to pay our rent each month since the owner has an Italian bank account. obvi. Well Chase allows it sure, but it's like pulling teeth to get the money to actually transfer. They kept canceling the transfer since the account was new. And and and...not telling us! My poor husband spent days on the phone with them and thankfully the owner was more than understanding since our rent was so late. Hopefully this month there are no issues. :)

Not knowing Italian is really getting to me. Maybe we would be able to open an account but the moment you speak english or say "ummmm" they are over you. I want/ need to learn. Want because I hate when others can do things I can't and need because my boss said I needed to know Italian in two weeks. EEK! The main questions below are pretty much the most important Italian we know aside from Ciao, Grazie, Grazie Mille and Non lo so.

1. How much does this cost?
2. Where is the bank?
3. For me...
4. Where is the ATM?

It's hard with Florence being such a tourist city and everyone speaking english. I will learn Italian. I will.
:}

xx
b

La Bella Vita- Heater in Florence

'Baby it's cold outside'
no Baby, it's freezing inside!

I know we missed the winter in Florence. The dreadful long weeks/ months where Florentines stay inside and pray for sunlight. But since we have been here it's been freezing in our house at night. The weather is so moody. It's beautiful during the day--hot/ sunny/ dreamy and every afternoon it rains. When husband is cold, you know it's freezing! The floors in our flat are brick and the walls are concrete and exposed brick. It's beautiful but holy hell it's so cold. Brandon and I had no choice but to invest in this fancy heater below. We.had.too. The building controls the heating in our flat and let's just say it never turns on. And unlike LA where you call your maintenance guy and he comes to fix it within a day... Italians don't care. They just don't. Our building manager doesn't care and the agency we rented this place through doesn't care. And when we complain and they hear english...it's a lose lose. game over Scarpelli's. So we are left alone for survival.

This heater is magical when you are sitting right in front of it and don't move. Our place is a loft and very open and there is just no way it's warming up. We were told the power here can be pricey and since we haven't received a bill yet we are nervous and try to not use it. uuufff. Another lose lose.

So our nights consist of sweat pants, hoodies, onesies (for me only), socks, slippers and sometimes gloves. no joke. There is no streaking going on in this casa. You would have to be so brave or in the middle of a drinking game. After shower time at night it's so dreadful and I swear you turn in to a power dryer and clothes putter onner so you don't freeze to death.

You can only imagine sexy time is filled with laughs and....ok ok, enough said. We don't even know each other. You have to buy me a drink first... ;) but I'm sure you get it...

I need my bear blanket also known as husband to get his butt home so I can stay warm. :)



xx
b

t h r e e

It's been 3 days since husband has been gone. t h r e e . He doesn't come home until Monday and I literally hate it. Is there a "how to deal when your husband leaves when you don't want him leave since you love his company and you hate when he travels" book I can read? Most people say you'll love being apart one day and I hope that day never comes. In t h r e e weeks we will be celebrating 10 years together and I hate being apart for 5 days. and not just because I'm a loner in Italy. I hated the traveling when we lived in LA. We just hate being apart. Call us gross and lame or weird or babies or whatever, but it's the truth.
Truth-We work better together. If he came to work with me I'd probably become CEO (and maybe we would want to kill each other) but still. 30...CEO...sounds great. ;)
False-I love having him around every second of every day. No offense love, but it's nice to have ME time. It's nice to enjoy a glass of wine and blog and paint my nails (maybe I've painted them 3 times so far this trip, maybe not...). It's nice to eat what I "make" for dinner and smile at what I accomplished. Sometimes it's just nice to be alone. I'm all for it. But one night, two night, DONZO! I can't sleep...I'm not eating meals and lord knows how cold it is in our bed without him. If you know me and us you know I'm not the chef in our house. He cooks/ cleans/ smiles/ hugs/ kisses and is just perfect. I don't cook/ clean when he's home if he didn't already get to it/ complain/ eat/ hug and kiss. match made in heaven. :)

Every little noise I hear I think it is a murderer trying to break in and find my passport or maybe they want my amazing potpourri. God it's amazing. Or maybe this place is haunted because it's Florence and it's old and...EEK.
Oh no...it's just the night club under.our.house. uuunce uuunce uuunce uuunce make it stop!


Scarpelli,
I miss you. More than words (although I hope this blog post makes you smile).
I can't wait for Monday and wouldn't be mad if you took an earlier flight.
COME HOME SCARPELLI! This Scarpelli needs you. k, thanks.
love,
scarpelli

Sappy sesh---complete.
thanks for tuning in.

xx
b

The Dali Universe

Being in Florence for over a month has really opened our eyes to art. Ancient art. Art filled with so much history, passion and creativity. I mean we are in Florence; the birthplace of the renaissance.
We decided our first art exhibit would be one that was only here short term. The Dali Universe. The exhibit is at the Palazzo Medici Riccadri (which was stunning enough itself) and is 10 euro to get in if you are in Florence from now until May 25th. There is also a Dali exhibit in Venice.

We were amazed with Dali's work! What I would give to have been in Dali's head for 5 minutes. His way of thinking is intriguing and his love for a woman's body was evident. He plays with your mind and makes you see what he saw. His persistence of memory piece and the dancing statues were my favorites. The Adam and Eve was also one I wanted to take home. We loved the exhibit and highly recommend to those in Firenze. :)

Happy Cinco de Mayo to our friends back home! :)
We miss you! and margaritas..
I've been sick all weekend which is awful. :( cin cin to getting better!

xx
b