News!!!!

Hey guys! (this is my first post, I am not sure what to say here in the beginning)
First of all I got a new job offer. You know that we won the EXPO, right?!? well, the mayor of Milan offered me to work for the International Relations Department of the new organizing committee for EXPO (this is still in VERY early stages of development). This means basically I do the same thing I did for the City of Milan but now I will be doing it specifically for EXPO. We are happy for a little change and will understand in the next few months just what this exactly means... in the meantime we are not closing doors to any other possibilities that may come our way. We are so thankful for so many of your comments and words of support and love!
Second of all we are headed to Rome this weekend for a wedding as well as for some work meetings for me early in the week!
I promise to try and be more present on the BLOG! Ciao belli!
(giovanni)

a lift

Today I decided to take the last 3 (more black then yellow) bananas in the fruit dish along with the fresh blueberries I bought last week and make banana-blueberry bread! Nothing can lift you like the sweet, savory trail of fresh cooking bread! Yum! Can't wait for Gio to get home and share a slice with me!
recipe:
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c butter or margarine, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c. mashed ripe bananas (abt 3)
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 teasp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 teasp. baking soda
1 teasp. salt
1 c. chopped nuts OR (fresh or frozen) blueberries
Cream together sugar and butter, add eggs, bananas,buttermilk and vanilla. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients. Pour batter into greased loaf pans bake at 350F° for about 1 hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool and ENJOY!

Pieces

Giovanni and I are back in Milan and trying desperatly to figure out what direction our life should take us now! Living in Europe from the outside can seem like a dream or something out of a film... and to tell you the truth there are times that it really is like that, but not everyday. We still have the same struggles as the rest of you and often I find small things take so long (post office, drycleaning, dinner.... we are talking 3 or so hours!) but it is better to embrace the differences instead of making them more of a problem.
This post is mostly me just blowing some steam and also to help you all know that our life is not PERFECT (its good, fun, but not perfect)!
I am not really sure what else to say! We are healthy and well, just not sure what to do next. Gio is going to send out his resume to see what other opportunities are out there! We could stay here with him working at the City of Milan till 2011, but we both feel change is in the air, just not sure where it is blowing us yet! If any of you know of any job openings in International PR have any ideas let us know! Half of our block is knowing exactly where to look for oportunities!
In the meantime we are just getting back to normal life here!

VICTORY MILANO!!!

Our adventures in Paris will end around 9pm tomorrow night. Our time here has been unpredictable, amusing, pleasing, stressful, crazy, tiring.... but in the end a pleasureful success! Yesterday while Giovanni was busy at work with meetings and the presentation of Milan's theme for Expo 2015 vs Izmir Turkey (and their presentation) I went to a flee market and the Père Lachaise cemetry to see some famous grave sites.... the whole while very anxious to hear from Gio, (at this point it would be fun to hear his version of the day, but he is currently taking a well deserved nap). He called about 6pm to tell me Milan won 86 votes to Izmir's 65!!!! YEA!!!! all his hard work and a little of my patience paid off! We are not really sure what this means for us as of yet, but happy to be returning to Milan with a victory! for more on Milano and EXPO 2015 see the link below! Today is full of packing and napping! Tomorrow a little sight seeing and then back home to relax! Pictures include: Mayor Letizia Morattia "dancing queen" to win votes, ad for EXPO 2015 IZMIR, Cemetry, Oscar Wilde tomb, Jim Morrison tomb, Fred Chopin, Molière.

Random PAris

Here are a few pictures from the past week or so. Quick pix recap: Napolean's tomb (he really is in there along with 5 other layers or so, why would one need so many caskets?), Gio and I in front of Invalides (the church where N. is at rest),A cook taking a quick break, jars full of sweet yummy toppings for crepes! Amalia with us- it was so great to have her here! Mulin Rouge, Another windmill (this area of Paris use to be full of them), Amalia eating a butter crossiant (the straight ones are made with butter, cresent ones with margarine- same amount of fat), our good friends Richard and Elaine Shurtleff, Creme Brulee, french fire hydrant, Me with some friends (Clarissa, Jonathan and little Julis Alva) at Fountin Blue hunting lodge, La Dèfence (Grande Arche), Silver pieces and buttons at flee market, shoes at flee market.

Easter

Happy Easter to you all! I know that our Savior, Jesus Christ Lives! What great happiness this gives me! Picture of the Garden Tomb and of the Resurrected Jesus Christ (both from www.lds.org).
Joyex Paqua! Bouna Pasqua! Happy Easter!

A "real" update

I am adding a bunch of pictures from a few other stops that I made with Amaila this week. We bought a museum pass... if any of you come to Paris this is a very good investment! They are avaliable 2,4 or 6 consecutive days. Basically allows you into TONS of museums here unlimited time (except your day limit). The price is very reasonable too! Amalia and I bought the 4 day pass, so pretty much crammed a bunch of visits into each day, by the end our legs were exhausted, and I have a little cold.... the windy, ice-cold, wacky weather here does not help, but this is a whole another story! So the slide has pictures from Rodin Museum, and a return to Orsay. On the way to Orsay we stopped in a pastry shop and I bought a mint-chocolate Elaire, thinking I needed to try at least one while I was here, well After two bites I chucked it! I am pretty postive that the mint was flavored by using Mint liquor, YUCK! Even drinking water to wash it down burnt!
A crepe stop, Picasso Museum, and Pompidou Center. We had fun and saw a VARIETY of things too!
As our time has gone by here in Paris I find myself understanding more and more of the language, and I now kick myself for not paying attention more in Mrs. Harts french class in 7th and 8th grade! I remember looking at those text books and thinking that people don't really live around things like Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, they don't really hang out at Cafe's and museums for fun.... but every time I have the opportuinity to experience a new city in the USA or abroad I love that I can learn from the locals and see what they see! Due to this I have many treasures from each place!
This is our last week here in Paris for now and Giovanni will be VERY busy with preparing for March 31st when the "vote" happens and Milan will know if they won EXPO 2015 or not. I feel a change blowing... not sure what that interprets for us yet... but we are open to where ever it will take us!
Maybe in the end this is less of a "real" update and more of my random thoughts... but here is an entry none the less!