Jet lagged and feeling good

Rarely does one couple the words "jet lagged" with "feeling good."  But, having arrived here in Florence one can't help but feel that they have been transported to a magical world.  One of the main things that has struck me is how seamlessly people transition from speaking on language to another - and I don't just mean between Italian and English.  Around every corner someone is speaking Spanish, French or German too.  I had someone ask me for the time in French, and if my brain would have been working faster I probably could have answered in French.  But, alas, I am JET LAGGED so I had to reply in English.  At least I knew what he said to me!

But, I digress.  Back to the jet lagged part of my post.  The kids did a great job traveling - staying close in busy places, being patient in the face of exhaustion, and even sleeping on the plane (though I do admit to slipping them some Benadryl).  My mother in law has always called them little gypsies because of their ability to travel long distances.  Minus the hot pants and the sequins, she is right!

Once we arrived in Florence, we went right to our flat. As we were driven through the city, I was reminded how all "big city" driving is the same - heavy on the gas AND the brake.  I am feeling relieved that we didn't rent a car for our trip and will be walking everywhere.  The city is so pedestrian friendly even though the sidewalks are minuscule.  Fortunately, the drivers tend to work navigation of pedestrians into the "braking" part of their driving.  But, I am a little nervous about one of the city buses tagging a kid.  We are working hard and fast on spacial awareness!

Once we got settled into our flat and took a few minutes to just collapse, I drug the kids out into the city to explore by foot.  The best way to fight jet lag is to just keep going and to try to acclimate to the time zone in which you have arrived.   I always admit to being geographically challenged which must be why I am married to a guy who majored in geography in college (it is nature's way of taking care of me).  Fortunately, Bella and Scarlett have both inherited their daddy's "map in the brain."  So, as we left the front door, I really contemplated taking a picture of the street with my iPhone (kind of like what you do in a parking garage so you can find your car at the end of a long day).  Instead I just dropped a pin in my mapping app to note our front door and told Bella to remember the church across the street as it is going to be our beacon for safe returns.  And off we went!

We zigged and zagged our way through the small cobblestone streets getting the lay of the land in our new neighborhood.  After stopping on the bank of the Arno River to take in the magesty of the arched bridges, we stopped to oogle at the intense game of pick up soccer happening in the local park.  The pitch was more similar to a clay tennis court than a soccer field.  The players were slip sliding all over the place but the shots on goal were no joke - I am really hoping that one of these guys will help Bella master a rollback because that seemed to be the offensive move of choice.  

Next we moved on to the neighborhood market to grab some breakfast food.  I am fascinated by the small, local stores every where we look.  I think it is interesting how people who live in a city seem to shop more often and get what they need on a daily basis.  Everything is always fre h, fresh, fresh.  Whereas, those of us who live further out of town and rely upon a car go for those "fill up the trunk" trips to supermarkets and mega stores.  Anyway, as we ventured into this neighborhood market, I was very consious of the fact that me and two tired, jet lagged kids were going to have to carry anything we purchased for a few blocks until we got back to our flat.  So, we settled on the standard Italian breakfast of fresh fruit and croissants!  

As we made our way back to the flat, we slipped into the small market a few doors down from our new home base.  The market had every crevice of space filled with amazing food - prepared and pre-packaged.  Things were literally hanging from the ceiling!  The refrigerated case was filled with prepared pasta delights that were making my mouth water - we settled on a HUGE hunk of eggplant parmesan, proscuitto tortellini, ragu, and a huge hunk of the chewiest bread.  Once I figured out how to operate the oven, we had ourselves a feast.  I loved that the kids were quick to suggest that we needed to find some olive oil in which to dip the bread.  A quick trip to the pantry, and we were set!  Once our bellies were full and we were punch drunk from the jet lag, I figured it was time to get those little ladies tucked into bed.  So, as I sit here reflecting on the day I too am feeling jet lagged, but also feeling really good and quite fortunate to be having this journey.