Toy's for Parker

A week has passed since we have arrived in Italy and I cannot believe how much we have learned about the Italian culture since we have arrived. I have tried to report on as much as I could but there really is so much that we have learned.

For instance, the language. Would you believe that I actually had a woman believe that I spoke Italian? I keep my Italian/Inglise dictionary wherever I go, so that whenever I am in conversation with someone I can do my best to accommodate their language. Today, when buying vegetables for dinner I was able to explain what was wrong with Parker and that we were going to be in Italy for six months. For those of you who want to know in Italian. I tell them that Parker has no immune system and that there is experimental treatment here in Italy(sistema immunitario, no. Cura sperimentale a Italia). It is definitely much easier learning Italian here in Italy then at home in front of a computer.

My wife went with Bruna to the mall (sort of like a Walmart) for a couple of hours today. It is too far to walk so Bruna had said that she would take Tracy there whenever she wanted. Bruna is a very nice woman who speaks both Italian and English. Parker and I walked for the two hours while they were gone. I tried to take as many pictures as I could to let my wife know of our journey. Of course we did our regular shopping at Unes, the bakery and the vegetable shops, but we also took a little bit of the scenery in. Mommy came home just in time to give the little monkey lunch. Trust me, my legs are starting to get a little bit tired.

Parker was a very lucky little monkey today because mommy bought him some new toys. Two to be exact. One is a table with a bunch of different things to play with. A phone, some blocks with a bunch of little extras. The other was from the Fisher Price, Little People series. It is actually kind of funny because there is a mat attached to the Little people toy that contains all the different letters of the alphabet with animals on each letter. The thing that makes it different is that everything is in Italian. I found myself pushing the letters and learning the alphabet while Parker took his nap today.

Dinner today was once again very tasty. It was of course pasta and salad. The pasta was the regular shallots, garlic, with canned tomatoes and pinot grigio, but today I added some pancetta that I bought from Unes (pronounces ewness). The salad was also very similar to what we normally have. It was lettuce, fresh tomatoes, with olive oil, salt and balsamic, but today I added tuna packed in oil and fresh mozzarella. Can you image buying a ball of fresh mozzarella for 0.52 cents? That is still less than a dollar Canadian. My wife thinks that she is gaining weight, although I do not think so. As for me, with alll of this walking, I can only lose weight.

Parker has really started enjoying reading his books lately. Well, who knows if he actually reads anything, but he does like taking them out of the drawer and flipping the pages. Especially the Brainy Baby book. Every time I turn around I see him looking at it.

My cousin Allesandra called me this evening. Well, actually, someone on her behalf called me as she does not speak English. I think she is going call back soon and arrange a visit here. By the time she does come, probably soon, I should have picked up a few more words in Italian. Believe it or not, my Italian is better than her English. But again, I did have that woman fooled. I have met my cousin Allesandra when she came to Canada when I was in grade nine or ten. That was quite some time ago, but I do remember her.

My wife says I have bored enough people for one day and that I should sign off. A domani!

I needed some more text after I inserted the images of Parker's toys so I including a little bit of filler.

Here is the Italian zoo that is not only helping Parker learn Italian but also his daddy.

I hope that this will keep him from calling the front desk at the hotel.