Belme Family

Best beer in the world!

2009-12-01T16:17:00.003+01:00

Munchen, Munich, however you want to say it, it's a fabulous city. It's the TRUE beer town of Europe and really the whole world.

The Hofbrauhaus, while touristy, is just a classic Bavarian experience that shouldn't be missed. Don't listen to any tour guides who say to pass it up. The kitsch is what makes it perfect. You NEED an oompah band while you're drinking German beer and eating pretzels, sausage, and sauerkraut.

Germany, we'll miss you!!

2009-11-24T20:14:00.002+01:00

Before we left Italy, we knew we had to go to Germany one last time. It will always feel like our home away from home. It's comfortable, clean, happy, picturesque, and has the best beer on the planet. What else does one need?

So we left Italy on the 4th of September, prepared for our 4-hour drive, and to spend the long Labor Day weekend eating and drinking and siteseeing, and celebrating our 10th anniversary. Little did we know that we would mark this momentous occasion in our marriage by being stuck in a car for 10 hours due to torrential rains and landslides which took us on a 5-hour detour through the Austrian Alps. I actually didn't take pictures during this time because Jack was pretty hot under the collar. I didn't think asking him to slow down for a great shot was a good idea! Now I regret it. The scenery was breathtaking and it would have been nice to have a shot of the cows on the mountain road blocking our path which finally lightened the mood!!

After a good night's sleep at the Edelweiss Army resort in Garmisch, we left for a trip to Neuschwanstein. The kids really needed to see this castle at least once in their lives! We had been there in 2000 with the girls, but pre-Jack and Alex.

Enjoy these for now, tomorrow will be pics of Munich!

Fall in Kentucky

2009-11-22T01:04:00.002+01:00

One of the first things I noticed when we got here was the beautiful fall leaves. Growing up in the Mid West, I think I took this for granted. There is such variety in the color!! Italy has some, but mainly gold/yellow and lots of evergreens. So to come back to the U.S. and see red, orange, peach, yellow, gold, and every shade variation between them was a real treat for me.

Here are some trees on at Ft. Knox (they really had exquisite colors there!!) and some in the woods behind our house.

Home Sweet Home

2009-11-04T22:30:00.002+01:00

We're here and getting settled. The kids are in school, joining Scouts, and making friends in our neighborhood.

Pictures to come!!

Upstairs video and kitchen!!!

2009-10-21T14:54:00.002+02:00

We have video for the upstairs now too.

And my favorite room in the house is finished!! Here is the kitchen with the countertops and the appliances in place!!

And some extras of things that are finished now.

The next pictures that I will post will be the ones I take myself from inside the house!! We'll get to see in person on Saturday. What a great birthday present!!

House on video!

2009-10-13T15:01:00.003+02:00

Our lovely builder's assistant, Jeanne, took this video for us of the main floor and Buckeye basement!

It's coming together!

2009-10-11T12:09:00.002+02:00

The house is coming along fast now. The trim and doors are done. Painting is almost complete. Countertops go in on Tuesday. The appliances are ready for delivery. The deck is almost done. If the weather cooperates this week, the lawn will go in too!

As for Italy, we are definitely short-termers now. We move into the hotel in 3 days!! My car is shipped, Jack's goes tomorrow. The week will be busy with cleaning appliances, moving to the hotel, and closing out the house.

Here are some pictures of the new place:

Trim!

2009-09-29T13:36:00.002+02:00

Who would have thought that some pieces of white wood would be so exciting and make things really look like they are starting to come together!

Starting on the trim for one of the entrances to the dining room... and no, I have no idea who that strange man is in my house!

From house 3

Ahhh, much better!

From house 3

A door!!! With trim!!!

From house 3

And around a window too!! Yippee!!

From house 3

Flooring and cabinets!

2009-09-27T18:15:00.003+02:00

We got these photos from our builder this week. The upstairs flooring is almost done! On Thursday the kitchen cabinets were put in. It's so exciting to see how things are coming together!

Here in Italy, we made big strides towards moving! We had our household goods packed and shipped. We have Army loaner furniture, but very little of it, so the house is very empty right now. It makes the move seem much more real : )

The pictures show Alex's room, Jack's room, the spare bedroom and upstairs bathroom. Then shots of the kitchen. Now I can't wait to see what the countertops look like when they come in!!

COLOR!

2009-09-18T07:56:00.003+02:00

Here are some new pictures of the house, including painted rooms! Unfortunately you can't see the captions on the slideshow, so if you want to see what everything is, just click on the slideshow and it will take you to the album and you can read the captions there.

Our new Kentucky home...

2009-09-13T09:40:00.004+02:00

We are moving!! Jack has been applying for many jobs back in the U.S. for several months and we have finally settled on Ft. Knox, KY. Perhaps not as 'exotic' as Italy, but definitely more comfortable, closer to family, and easier to live in day to day. Italy is a great place to visit, but living here leaves a lot to be desired.

So now we are in full swing of moving preparations! First thing, find a house. Done!!
We have a contract already on a new construction in a great neighborhood, lots of families, good schools, perfect for us!

Here is our new home:

From house

The bulldozer is not included!!

More pictures to come!! The house is being painted with our color choices right now and so I'll have more of the inside soon!! Including the new Buckeye basement!!

Back to school!!!

2009-09-01T14:27:00.003+02:00

Ahhh, the first day of school!! The favorite day of the year for moms around the world!

From first day of school

Jack is entering 3rd grade. He's such a smart boy, especially if it has to do with science or astronomy, but he insists this is going to be a "very tricky year."

From first day of school

Alex is not super excited about the 1st grade. Her BFF is not in her class and she's going to miss all of her shows on TV. Such a hard life!

From first day of school

4th of July

2009-08-19T17:18:00.002+02:00

Well, it was really the 2nd of July, but we'll pretend.

Each year for the holiday, the Americans invite the local Italian hotshots over to the parade field for a ceremony. The Scouts get to help! Each of the 50 states is presented in order of their entrance into the Union. It was a long morning, but all the kids did great.

Finally, Pisa

2009-08-03T20:07:00.002+02:00

At last I have finally edited the rest of the pictures from Kyra and Kourtney's visit!

We had beautiful weather at the Marina di Pisa while waiting for a very late dinner! We ate at the first restaurant to open, which wasn't until 7:30. We were tired, starved, and cranky by the time we got to sit down. But at the least the sea didn't disappoint and neither did the magnificent sunset.

The next morning we went into downtown Pisa to see the sights. We had been here in October, but it's still beautiful to see the Piazza di Miracoli!

Under the Tuscan Sun

2009-07-21T16:25:00.002+02:00

These are from the countryside between Siena and Pisa. Backroads, the long way back to where we were staying, but as pretty as Italy gets. All of these are taken from a moving vehicle : ) Pretty cool, huh?!

As a side note, I see a lot of visitors, but no comments! Please let me know that you've stopped by, like what you see, or wish I'd take up a different hobby, something!

More of Siena

2009-07-21T13:45:00.004+02:00

Wrapping up Siena today!!

Like all Italian cities, one of the highlights that you just don't miss is the Duomo. Siena's is quite unlike anything we've ever seen before due to the stonework. It has stripes on the inside and out from the use of white alternating with greenish-black marble, the traditional colors of Siena. There's also a lot of pinkish marble on the outside too that is just exquisite.

It was built in the 1200's and a large addition was started in the 1330's, but was halted due to the Black Plague. A picture is included that shows the remaining wall from this attempt. At the top of the cathedral there are busts of 172 popes. But they are all the same four faces copied over and over. Pretty funny!

Inside there are 56 floor panel mosaics depicting scenes from the Bible and from Siena's history. Also inside are works of art by nearly every famous Italian master, including Michelangelo's statue of St. Peter, a gold lantern from Bernini and the pulpit by Pisano.

Also in the cathedral is the Piccolomini library which houses beautiful choir books and frescoes.

Walking around Siena's streets is just as interesting as the cathedrals. The colors, flags, flowers, tile work, hidden alleyways all make this a terrific city and unlike most we've seen.

One of our stops was to Basilica of San Domenico, which is the partial resting place of Saint Catherine, at least for her head and finger. The rest of her is in Rome. She was responsible for convincing the Pope to come back to Rome and leave Avignon. You aren't supposed to take pictures inside, but I had to get one of the finger. It was WAY too creepy to pass up!! And we had missed Galileo's finger in Florence, so it wasn't happening again! It didn't take one of her head, though.

No matter where we are in the world, there are always Buckeye fans to be found. This was a very amusing find on the back of our dirty car window in Siena. Good to know that my Alumni sticker in the window doesn't go unnoticed!

From Buckeyes

Siena -- like the crayon, only better!

2009-07-07T17:15:00.004+02:00

I've always wanted to see Siena. One of my favorite books of all time, The Winds of War, spends several hundred pages there. When I read it for the first time, I hoped that someday I would have a chance to go. Little did I know that 20+ years later, I would live in Italy!

Siena is Italy at its best.

The walled city is divided up into contrada, or neighborhoods, that are the real home of those from Siena. They are united to their contrada before being from Siena as a whole or Italian in general. Twice a summer, they compete in a crazy horse race called the Palio in the town square, Il Campo. Mattresses are placed around the square so riders and horses -- and the crowd -- are protected.

Here are some views around the city: **note the classic car driving on the usually pedestrian only streets, we were there during a rally **

Then the center of Siena, Il Campo. It's shaped like a scallop shell with a massive bell tower and beautiful fountain. Now imagine the entire place crammed with thousands of people watching a horse race!

On the road to Siena

2009-06-25T16:40:00.004+02:00

After Florence, we went on to the campground at Camp Darby, another Army post near Pisa. The next morning we went to Siena. Eve, our trusty yet faulty GPS, took us the 'shortest' route. Sometimes this is true and sometimes it's not!

Some pics of the countryside between Pisa and Siena. Clearly, Jack was loving the sites of Tuscany.

The Belme B&B is open again!

2009-06-23T16:50:00.003+02:00

In May we had more visitors! YAY! We love having family and friends come to visit; it gives us a chance to travel more! Kyra and Kortney, Jack's cousins from Kentucky, recently graduated from med school and college, so as a graduation gift, they came to Italy. Cool, huh?!

Their first few days they went to Rome. I wasn't there with them, so I don't have pics of that, unfortunately. But then we all left for Florence, Pisa, and Siena.

By the way, if anyone knows why the rest of the world -- particularly the United States and Great Britain -- insists on changing the names of cities in other countries, please let me know. This is a question we talk about quite a bit since most Italian cities are known by different names here. They are proper names, after all. I don't think that Americans would like it one bit if tourists came to town and suddenly renamed New York, Dallas, or Chicago!

First up, Firenze aka Florence:

These are from the Mercato Centrale. Lots of really wild food items!

Outside the Duomo and Baptistry:

Inside the Duomo:

The rest of Firenze:

The Santa Croce basillica, which contains the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Dante, and Machiavelli. Sadly, it had just closed when we got there. Also pictured is the Ponte Vecchio, which is full of jewelry stores. It's the only bridge in Firenze to have survived WWII intact. And finally, Santa Maria Novella, completed in 1470.

We also went to the Museum of the History of Science, mainly for Jack, who loves astronomy. We also really wanted to see Galileo's finger. But they are renovating the museum and apparently that section was closed. We were pretty disappointed!

Easter

2009-06-05T21:02:00.003+02:00

The last sets from my mom's visit!

Jack and Alex went to a very large event on post for kids that was all about the candy. After about three minutes of filling their buckets, they'd had enough and were ready to go. It was a mad house. But they did get to meet the Easter Bunny!

The next day, Easter Sunday, we hid eggs at our house and had a nice lunch for my mom's family on their last day in Italy.

Asiago

2009-06-05T17:11:00.005+02:00

I swear I need to edit faster or take less pictures. Hmm... Gotta edit faster!

Something I haven't shown from Asiago before, the World War I memorial where 60,000 Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers are buried inside. It overlooks the town and countryside quite proudly.

Bassano del Grappa

2009-05-30T09:31:00.003+02:00

When my mom and her family was visiting, we went to a little town at the foot of the mountains called Bassano del Grappa. Yes, it's where they make the GRAPPA!! Grappa is the liquor that comes the scraps of the wine-making process. Some of it is really rough, like moonshine, but the good stuff, like what is pictured here, is high quality and very unique! It comes in all sorts of fruity flavors and is quite smooth.

The town is beautiful with a wooden covered bridge, destroyed by many wars. Hemingway spent a lot of time here during WWI writing A Farewell to Arms.

Ahhh, Venice!

2009-04-23T10:50:00.002+02:00

I'm slowly working through all the pictures I took when our guests were here. I'm using a new photo editing program that takes longer, but let's me play around much more.

We had beautiful weather in Venice. You don't really want to visit Venice on any other type of day, unless you don't mind walking through the city on a raised platform because it floods so much. Personally, I much prefer dry feet and lots of sunshine. Dreary days just don't do the colors of Venice justice.

Our first stop was the island of Murano, famous for its glass-making. Unfortunately, we took the vaporetto going the long way around. But I did get to take more pictures!

Here's a map so you have an idea of what I'm talking about.

On the way to Murano...

On the island itself...

Leaving Murano...

And finally San Marco island, the center of Venice...

French Week

2009-04-16T19:48:00.004+02:00

My mom came to visit last week for Spring Break. At the same time, her two sisters came from France as well. My aunt Veronique had turned 50 and all her siblings pitched in to send her to Italy! My uncle and his wife camped nearby too!! As Jack said, "I'm going to France and not leaving Italy!"

It was a fun week, busy, exhausting, hectic, and full of food, wine, laughter, and a lot of translation. I was glad to know that my French skills are still decent. I understand a lot. My big downfall is I can only speak in the present tense! LOL

Here's pictures from the first day, visiting downtown Vicenza:

Cub Scout Commercial

2009-03-26T17:05:00.002+01:00

A few weeks ago, Jack's den made a commercial for AFN. One of the mothers works there and helped set it up. It turned out really good!!

Pinewood Derby

2009-03-24T10:09:00.003+01:00

Jack participated in his first Pinewood Derby with the Cub Scouts on Saturday. He made a Wii remote car! It turned out really cute and got a lot of compliments. It wasn't the fastest car, but it was in the top half of the pack. And he got a ribbon for "Best Non-Car." He learned a lot while making it and has a bunch of great ideas for next year.

The day was fun for all the kids and their parents, too. Some of the cars were VERY inventive! It's a great testiment to Scouts to see what the boys created and then watch them participate in a fun competition.

Peace

2009-03-19T17:29:00.004+01:00

Doesn't this just make you breathe a little slower?

From Stream

Spring is so beautiful.

Olive Oil

2009-03-19T17:15:00.002+01:00

Two weeks ago I went to a conference for women in celebration of the Italian festival Festa della Donna, Womens' Festival. There were several demonstrations to see during the day and one of them was about olive oil. Extra virgin Olive Oil is the nectar of the gods in Italy (and other places in the world) and rightly so! I learned all about olive oil production, some interesting tidbits about EVOO -- like the color of the oil has nothing to do with quality, it's only the type of olive.

The most important thing I learned was that I have found my favorite oil in the world, at least up to this point! Bonamini EVOO The family also makes my favorite pesto in the world -- we got to sample it at the conference.

So of course we had to make a trip to their store so we could buy some!! And I took pictures along the way.

Backyard

2009-03-12T13:38:00.001+01:00

We've had excellent weather this week. I took these pictures of the mountains in our backyard. Sometimes they totally disappear, even on sunny days. But right now, they are beautiful.

Family Sunday

2009-03-11T07:41:00.003+01:00

We had beautiful weather last weekend; sunny, warm, great sitting-outside weather. It was also a perfect time to take some pictures. The kids had a great time goofing off after a busy weekend of Cub Scout bake sale and bowling party and Girl Scout cookie selling. Spring has arrived in the Veneto and it's wonderful!

These two shots here deserve their own space. This is our depiction of Jack as a girl and Jack as an old man with a bad toupee. My hands were shaking from laughing so much!

And finally, some shots I took of flowers in our yard -- some are even weeds -- the neighbor's yard, and of the great sunset over our village church and bell tower. Enjoy : )

My goal

2009-02-28T11:28:00.001+01:00

My goal today is to order a new lens AND make this blog three columns. And to do 30 mins on the elliptical, but that's another story! LOL

Going to the market

2009-02-24T21:29:00.002+01:00

We finally made it to the market in Camisano Vicentino. We've been wanting to go here on a Sunday for months, but something has always come up. One long street, with a few side streets and squares thrown in, as well as some shops open on a Sunday. A Sunday! That, in itself, is a miracle. Every kind of produce, massive oranges from Sicily, cheese, portable panini vendors, shoes, sunglasses, purses, and tons of clothes (in this season's favorite color of purple) all for sale for a few hours in this little town. Locals get their groceries, meet the neighbors, show off their dogs, and fill their bags. Beggars kneel on the street, holding signs that tell their story, and pray for a few coins to make it into their box. Americans stroll, eating juicy apples fresh from the farm or a creamy pastry from the bakery, and wish that someone would come up with this in their hometown U.S.A.

The sky was so gray and dreary as a backdrop for the bell tower, I decided to play with it a bit and change the colors. Again, my camera gave me fits. But at least the thistle bouquet turned out perfectly.

Camera crap

2009-02-24T21:26:00.002+01:00

Notice there's not too many photos? My camera lens is broken inside, some doohickey is loose. Sadly, it's an important doohickey. Aren't they all? So until I can work enough to pay for the lens I REALLY want, which will be awesome because it's like two lenses in one, then I have to make do. Making do means I have to repeatedly take the lens off the camera, straighten the doohickey, put the lens back on and hope the doohickey stays put for a few shots. This equals MAJOR pain in the butt!!

Alex's very short stint as a cheerleader

2009-02-24T21:21:00.003+01:00

Alex loves gymnastics. She misses gymnastics. There's no instructor here. So in her six-year-old mind, cheerleading is the closest thing to gymnastics that there is, right? Except it's not, in her mind. She cheered for two games and was emphatic in her sadness and disappointment. Oh the tears she can shed!! So here is Alex as a cheerleader, short-lived as it was. Now she's just back to missing gymnastics.

Blue and Gold

2009-02-24T21:16:00.002+01:00

Jack had his Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet last week. He was supposed to get his Bobcat badge, but somehow, he was left off the list. : ( He was very very disappointed and so were we. But he did the skit with his den, How to Make an American Flag, and had a good time anyway. He will receive his Bobcat badge at the next pack meeting in a few weeks. Jack really enjoys being a Cub Scout, it's great for him to be just with boys and learning a lot. He knows his Pappy and Uncle Allan were Scouts too, and he wants to make them very proud.

New Years Eve 2008

2009-02-24T20:42:00.001+01:00

Yes, it's well past New Years, but just humor me.

Alex's 6th Birthday

2009-01-01T22:05:00.003+01:00

Still trying to catch up!!

Alex's 6th birthday was December 2nd. She had a party at our fancy new bowling alley on post. She had a ton of friends there and had a great time.

Winter Wonderland

2009-01-01T21:35:00.002+01:00

On New Years Eve we went to the mountains to visit some friends that have a little vacation apartment there. It was BEAUTIFUL! So much snow, clean crisp air, blue skies and sunshine!

Here are some scenic pics I took. The first ones are in the Asiago high plateau and the later ones with the mountains in the distance and clouds are coming back down the mountain.

The kids had a blast playing in the snow and sledding. This was the first time they've ever really had a chance to do this kind of thing! Jack and I had fun sledding too! LOL

Bowl-a-thon!

2008-12-30T12:10:00.002+01:00

Jack's Cub Scout pack had a Bowl-a-thon as a fundraiser (Thanks again to all who sponsored him!) Alex's Daisy troop was invited to participate. Then afterwards she had her Investiture ceremony where they receive their pins to become actual Girl Scouts.

Ahhh, Venice!

2008-12-30T12:04:00.002+01:00

Venice is always beautiful, but sunny days just make it more so. We had friends visiting from Belgium for Thanksgiving and had to show off Venice! All day, Jack stops and looks around and says, "Ahhh, Venice!" He's such a funny kid.

Snow Found Us!

2008-12-30T11:46:00.002+01:00

Little did we know that the snow would find us if we just waited a little longer. We had a very unexpected snowfall the following week that caught everyone off guard. It hadn't snowed here in three years and hit suddenly, so school closed, the Army post closed. As you can see, the kids were thrilled! It was their first real snowfall that they could play in for hours.

Search for snow

2008-12-29T22:26:00.004+01:00

I'm behind for the blog, sorry!! It's been a hectic month with work, school, scouts, and the holidays! I will catch us up, though!

First, our search for snow:

As we first moved into November, we could see the snow starting on the high peaks of the Dolomites. We were jealous! So one Saturday we decided to drive until we found snow. We drove up to the little town of Asiago (where they make the cheese), which is in a high plateau area. We could see the snow, but couldn't quite get to where we could touch it. But it was okay, we had a great day, nice drive, found a terrific pizzeria and Brutus got a serious workout on the switchbacks up and down the mountains. Jack had a blast testing the car out, so much fun to drive!

Cittadella

2008-11-09T11:09:00.004+01:00

Yesterday we went to a walled city that was built in 1220. The walls are in incredible shape and we were able to walk on the ramparts for 180 degrees of the circle. We also walked around the town and went to the small archeology museum. We had great weather, after a few weeks of rain, so this was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon in Italy.

BRUTUS!!

2008-11-08T19:21:00.002+01:00

We have a new addition to our family!! Jack's Cooper Clubman has finally arrived!
We nicknamed it Brutus because we designed it with OSU colors : ) It's terrific! Fast, fun, small (which is great here!), hugs corners like a dream, and Jack is totally in love.

Cioccolando!

2008-10-27T17:06:00.008+01:00

We had planned to go to Venice as a little birthday trip for me, but the marathon was this weekend, and then we happily found out that the gourmet chocolate festival was in Vicenza! YAY! Imagine booth after booth of chocolatiers offering their samples and selling chocolate. What more could you want?? There was also an organic market going on down a side street selling all sorts of stuff, fossils, funky cheese, sausage, jewelry, healing crystals, a very ecclectic mix.

I also took some pretty good shots around Vicenza too. There are so many churches in Italy. I could take pictures of them every single day and not ever capture them all, I don't think. Every one is unique and has great artistic value to offer.

Pisa

2008-10-20T17:53:00.002+02:00

We didn't get to do the tour of Pisa that we were supposed to do, but it's okay. I wouldn't have gotten to take these pictures if we had. Not a soul in the square and the morning sunshine was so pretty. Had we gone with the group, we would have ended up back at the square in the middle of a marathon with runners and bikers! Jack did get to earn a special badge that you can only get from going on this trip that has the leaning tower on it! The tower is really neat and doesn't just lean, it actually curves. The marble work on all the buildings is breathtaking.

Boy Scouting

2008-10-20T15:53:00.006+02:00

Last weekend we went to an American base near Pisa for a Boy Scout camping trip. Jack had a great time on his first scouting adventure! Here are some pics of him hanging on a rope harness, our camp site, and Alex getting to participate a little bit too. And while her brother was out shooting arrows and learning first aid, she got to have fun on the beach with mom and enjoy gelato by the sea shore!

Our weather was beautiful. The Mediterranean Sea is exquisite and clear blue. In the wintertime, the storms can cause fierce waves with sprays that go in for blocks, but this weekend, the sea looked more like a lake. There are sections of sandy beaches nearby, but this section has smooth and cool-to-the-touch stones, mostly white, with an occasional pink, orange, gray, or black one thrown in.

Lago di Fimon

2008-10-20T14:54:00.001+02:00

These pictures are from the end of September when we went on our second geocache hunt, and actual found our first cache!! This is the only lake in our region of Italy, Lago di Fimon. It was a cloudy day, but still nice for a walk.

First Day!!

2008-10-20T14:14:00.000+02:00

I figured it was about time to come up with a centralized place to let everyone know about our Italian adventures and our boring daily lives all in one spot. This will give us a chance to share our ever-growing photo collection, kid news, fun stories, future plans, etc. I hope you enjoy it!