Here is Rosemary's entry.
david
Today is Feb 8th (Happy Birthday Duane!). I haven't had access to the internet since last Saturday, so I have been writing e-mails offline. As soon as internet is available in our condo,
I will get on and the e-mails will be sent.
I have been in Italy for 9 days and in the condo complex for a 7 of those days now and I am loosing my sense of humor and getting "condo fever". There are 2 small towns nearby (Pragelato and Sestriere) which I could get to by bus, but David drove us through the 2 towns on Sunday when most everything was closed and there wasn't any parking available. There isn't enough at either one for me to be motivated enough to walk through the small, crowded street the complex is on, to get to one bus and then further, up a hill to wait on the side of another, small, busy road for the other bus.
The condo is very nice, the staff and food are amazing, but the days are long waiting for the men folk to come "home". They generally leave around 6:30am and don't get back till 7:30 or 8pm at which time we go to dinner. When we get back we watch a movie (Thank goodness Brian brought some DVDs!) and go to bed. Last night, we got back from dinner at 9:15 and the guys went right to bed. The TV just started working a few days ago and then yesterday they hooked up the cable or something so we got more channels...so now we have 3 news channels in English. CNN being one of them. I can't watch that too long, but it's good for a distraction now and then. The tv isn't working today. They brought a phone yesterday but it's not working yet. I did bring a lot to read so have been going through those things. The housekeepers' erractic times of coming in here have been bothering me and almost every time I walk on the only pathway to or from the condo, there is a construction vehicle obstructing my walking. The pathways to the condos and the "road" leading to the main building of the complex where the lobby, restaurant and bar are, are all gravel which is tiring to walk on and there are usually construction vehicles on them. The carpenters, etc, who work outside build small fires from scrap wood which is smelly. Again, the one road in and out of the "town" is small and full of traffic coming and going, I'm sure most of it is for the Olympics. There are no sidewalks so you often feel like you are jeopardizing your life to walk on the road. Brian did take a short break today to take me to the bank in Pragelato and when we got back we had to go through a security checkpoint. They checked everything and everyone in the car before us so we had to wait quite awhile. With Brian's NBC pass (and I have an NBC visitor's pass for the hotel area) they only checked the inside of the back of the car and under the hood. The road will be closed during the Olympics and I'm guessing spectators will be bussed in. I am wondering if I'll be allowed to walk on the road during the Olympics- if I could I might be able to see some of the skiing from a nearby hill = if I could stay clear of traffic on that road. We lose electricity in the condo at least once a day. I am able to start it up again at the fuse box. As exciting as it is to say I'm in Italy, I do feel quite isolated here. Today I am feeling like a spoiled American!
Now, with all the negative stuff I’ve been saying, you can see something new the workers here have done every time you go outside. And, of course, I am lucky to have housekeepers! :=)
The staff in the main building are already feeling like friends as they always greet you and ask how you are, even if you are just walking by them and they aren’t the one waiting on you, etc.
My tour starts in 9 days - that seems like a long ways a way right now! David's boss's wife is in an apartment in Turin and she and I had e-mailed each other before I left home but we haven't connected in person yet. I will probably take a bus from here to Turin a day or 2 before my flight to Rome, where the tour starts and I'm hoping she'll let me stay at her apartment so we can do some sightseeing together and maybe go see figure skating one night. There are very strict laws about having guests stay at your place so I would probably have to pay a fee, which would be ok.
Ciao! Mom/Rosemary
Feb. 9th
My Condo Fever has broken for today - yeah! Gaya (woman from Italy who is Runner in David's venue) drove me to Sestriere this morning so I could take our laundry to a "Fluff and Fold" place (they wash, dry and fold clothes for you). Gaya will pick it up tomorrow. Can't imagine how much it will cost with all I took in between the 3 of us here, but it will be worth it. The laundry service at the condos is ready but they aren't going to pick up clothes till Saturday and not bring them back till Tuesday. We can't wait that long. I told Gaya the things I wanted to shop for and she took me to just 2 places that had everything I wanted. While driving back I could see below us the whole start and finish area for David's event. Skiiers were doing trial runs and the big tv screen near the finish line was lit up. There isn't any place to pull over to take photos so I decided I would walk back there later. It is really nice out and a great day for a walk. I tried walking to a hill near an old church I like that overlooks the event area, but there a big mess with traffic and big vehicles having troubles, and I was afraid to try to walk up the hill, past them and possibly cause more problems, so I turned back. I will try again tomorrow.
Also, while traveling to Pragelato, you can see the venue for the Ski Jumping - the hill and jump are huge - quite impressive - you can't get the real feel for how long it is when you see it on TV. While traveling to Sestriere, you can see the downhill skiing hill...again, quite impressive! I saw a small blimp that will have a camera in it and will hover over David's and the ski jumping's venues.
I am looking forward to watching the Opening Ceremonies tomorrow night! Will be interesting with the commentary in Italian!
Ciao! Mom/Rosemary
posted by DaveandBrian @ 6:39 AM
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