Michelle's Weekend Visit

Well it was another fun filled, site seeing, cappuccino drinking weekend!  My college roommate, teammate, and best friend Michelle came to visit.  She is currently visiting family friends in London, so she hopped on a plane and a couple hours later she was with us in Sassari :)  

Yay...Miche is here!

Tony actually headed out of town for his game basically right when she got here, so it was kind of a girl's weekend.  The first day Michelle got here we stayed close to home and explored Sassari, and watched some of Tony's practice.  Then we decided to just grab a pizza and relax at home.  I had been telling her about how good the pizza was here, and now she is a believer!

The next morning we headed off to Castelsardo ( I know...I have written about it before) but once again, it was an amazing city with it's quiet castle, churches, and views that make you want to stay awhile.  One of our favorite things about these little cities is that they have yet to start their tourist season, so they are so quiet!  It is so nice to walk the streets and see the lady (that is there every time) weaving her daily baskets that she sells in her little shop, then walking around the corner to see the men enjoying their morning caffe in the skinny little streets.  No one is in a hurry or on a schedule...a lifestyle that is so different then ours!

This view just never gets old

Then it was hot enough that we went back put on our swimsuits, crabbed some snacks, and headed to the beach!  It was the first day that has been hot enough to actually go to the beach...nice timing :)  We were the only ones there...but I promise it was hot...we even got a little sun burned!  

Platamona Beach

To finish off Saturday night we headed into one of our favorite restaurants, Tony's Pizzeria!  We had the best dinner, and time.  We were trying to go as slow as possible, to blend in with the Italians and their slow dinners, however the waiters kept trying to come over and clear out plates and move us on the next course.  I guess we have been there too many times when we eat fast, and leave fast...haha!  But we kept fending them off and actually got our dinner to last almost 2 hours, so we were happy :)

College Roomies :)

A little Lemon Sorbet to finish off our marathon dinner :)

The next morning we were up early again to head to Alghero where we toured the city and had some great stops!  We started off with a crepe, which we had been looking for...and while eating them in the sunny square, one of the waiters from a nearby restaurant showed up with two waters...we must have looked thirsty!  Then we hiked around the outside city wall and ended up at Kinds Pub (this is a bar that a player on Tony's team owns) so we took the lounge chairs in front and enjoyed a Sardegnian beer and snacks...not too bad!  We thought the class would be a good souvenir so we asked to buy them but they just gave them to us...so nice! Thanks Kings Pub and Alessandro :)

We heart ALGHERO!

Loungin'

Free Souvi's!

It was kind of windy so there were a ton of kite surfers out on the beach, so we pulled over to watch for a little bit.  I didn't realize what an amazing sport that is.  They were so good!  Then we headed off to Stintino, and even though we couldn't hang out on the beach it was still a place I wanted to show Michelle.  I just wish it would have been 15degrees warmer!  

Just a little windy...

Then back home to watch the game on the computer which Dinamo lost!  The were playing one of the top 4 teams and it was a great game till the very end, but we ended up losing by 2...bummer!!  They head out on the road again this week to play Veroli another top team in the league.  They seriously need a WIN!

Now it's back to just Tony and I, with no more visitors scheduled...sad :(  But I am so happy that we were blessed to have as many as we did!  There are three more regular season games in the season and then play offs will begin!

Have a great week...CIAO TUTTI!!

Mom and Dad's Trip!

Well it's hard to even know where to start...having my parents here was so much fun!!  So I guess I will just start from the beginning :)

We were supposed to meet in Rome on Friday evening around 5 or so, but with both of our flights being late and my parents having to re-schedule theirs, we actually didn't see each other until 9PM!  The hotel has a strict policy not to let me into the room since my name wasn't actually on the reservation.  SO I sat in the lobby for about 3 hours waiting for them to get there.  With no communication between me and my parents, I really had no choice but to sit there..ha!  But I eventually made friends with the staff and they were all so nice ( they were kind of treating me like a lost child) :)

The View from our room

Anyway...we finally were all there together and ended up staying close to the hotel and ate at a pizzeria.  But I have to say the hotel we stayed out was AMAZING!  It was up on the hill behind Rome and had a complete view of the city.  It was one of the most breath taking views...and we enjoyed it as much as we could!  So if you are looking for a fabulous hotel check out the Rome Cavalieri.

So Saturday we hit the ground running, or I should say driving, my parents rented a car and my Dad was our master driver for the trip!   Most people would NEVER even attempt to drive in Rome, but my Dad actually wanted to and in no time he was whipping around that place like he was a veteran taxi driver :)  We started off with tour of the Coliseum and Palatine Hill.  The tour guides were pretty good and we learned a lot!  The weather was beautiful and we really took it all in.

Coliseum

Palatine Hill

Then we were off for our real excursion!  We headed off to Scafati to see Tony's game.  Scafati is not known for being the nicest town (it is about 10mins from Pompeii) and we had heard so many people tell us to be careful and lock our doors...so we didn't know what to expect! Well when we arrived we went straight to Pompeii and realized it was closed.  We couldn't believe it...all that way, and it was closed.  SO we were driving along and my Dad happened to pull into a different entrance and we asked if we could take just one picture because we drove all the way from ROME!  And so then one of the guys guarding the gate took us on a private tour of the place!  It was awesome!  Pompeii was truly amazing, and even though we didn't see everything, what we did see gave us a real sense for what happened there almost 2000 years ago.  So sad to see the bodies that are still fully in tact that couldn't get away from the gas, and ash from Mt. Vesuvius.  When the ash and gas mixed it created a sort of seal on everything it covered.  SO the things you see have been preserved since the explosion!  

Pompeii

Our personal tour guide :)

SO SAD

Then it was off to the game...which took us about an hour and asking 5 different Italians to finally found the gym that was out in the middle of a long lost field.  :)  And not really too much to share on the game, except that we lost bad and it was a horrible game.  The highlight was seeing our friends Erica and Phil from a past team...they came down to the game, so it was great to see them :)

Scafati Game

After a late night driving back to Rome, we were up early and in line for the Vatican Museum, who offers free entry on the last Sunday every month.  So we made it in and sat in the Sistine Chapel for almost an hour, trying to see and take everything in.  Then we were off to St. Basilica to once again try to see everything!  And then we listened to some advice from Tony and climbed up to the very top of the church...such amazing views up there...and highly recommend it for people that are NOT claustrophobic or really like climbing stairs :) 

The view from the top of St. Peter's Basilica

Another amazing day was summed up with a walk to the Trevi Fountain and dinner in front of the Pantheon!  SO much fun :)

Trevi Fountain

The last day in Rome was Monday and we hit up the Spanish steps before heading to the airport to head to Sassari!  

Top of the Spanish Steps

Sassari was really a whirlwind with lots of stops and great dinners :)  We toured Sassari, went to Alghero, Castelsardo, Porto Cervo and Stintino!  Oh and we went to Tony's game on Thursday and saw another bad game...so we are now in 2nd place :(  I think one of our favorite things was a secret beach we found in Porto Cervo.  We all pretty much concluded it was the most beautiful beach we had ever seen.  But really every place we went was fun :)

Alghero

Castelsardo

The best view 

Porto Cervo

Porto Cervo

The Italian Countryside

MMMM....Gelato :)

It was so wonderful to have my parents here and show them around our island.  The weather was fabulous and we enjoyed every minute of their visit.  The time with them here flew by...I wish they were still here!

My Cute Parents :)

Well now it's back to normal life for a few days before my friend Michelle comes this Friday!  I am hoping that the weather gets nice and toasty so we can hit the beach!!

Till next time....CIAO TUTTI :)

P.S.  It looks like we won't be winning the league, as of now, so we will probably be here longer then we hoped.  But that's OK because we can still move up a league if we win the play-offs :)

Visitors!

I arrived home to six people visiting us in Italy!  Tony's grandparents, parents, and our good college friends Amy and Grant Ludwick.  It was so wonderful to see everyone and have them all here to enjoy this beautiful place with us.  

I have a lot to share, but not much time because The Ludwick's left today and then I fly to Rome tomorrow to meet my parents who I will be spending 8 days with!

We were all at the game on Sunday to watch Dinamo get another win, so it was great to share that experience as well.  Then we had a few days of sight seeing, airport runs, and a lot of yummy food :)

Here are a some pictures from this last week!

College Roomies

YAY Dinamo!

All the way from Bend, Oregon

Amy, baby Ludwick, and I enjoying Castelsardo!

Ludwick Farewell dinner...thanks for coming :)

We loved having all our visitors and looking forward to a couple more weeks of them.  Tony heads to Scafati this Saturday for a TV game, that my parents and I will be driving down to from Rome.  We are also meeting our friends Erica and Phil at the game...so excited to see them!

CIAO TUTTI :)

Arrivederci Umpa :)

It has been a crazy couple of weeks here for the Binetti's but I have to start with a farewell blog to my Grandpa, who we called Umpa.  He passed away March 14th at the age of 84.  He was such a good Grandpa to all of us and we were so blessed to have him in our lives.  

I flew home for 3 days last week to be at his burial and memorial service.  It was a nice time to be with family and honor our very special Umpa.  

Arrivederci!  ( He used to always say that as we pulled out of the driveway from his house) :)

BOO!

I just had to start that way because that is what I was feeling all weekend.  Last weekend was the Italian Cup, which doesn't really count for anything but pride.  However, we were playing Brindisi in the 1st round for the 3rd time this season.  We have already lost to them twice, so I was thinking there is NO way we could lose to them again!  I was kind of right, but ultimately wrong.  

Nice Steal!

The game was close all night and with about one second left we were up by 1pt.  Brindisi had the chance to go ahead by two, and they missed it, but then it seemed like in slow motion they got the offensive rebound and the guy just layed it in, with no one to be found to guard him, so now we were down by 1.  SO we called time-out and had 0.4 seconds with the ball at half court.  We threw it in to Marcelus Kemp he shot from outside the arc and it was GOOD!!!  Everyone went crazy!!!!  There was a dog pile, fans were on the court...and there were hugs all around!  Then all of sudden we look down and the refs (who didn't call it off at the time) were huddled together...and then turned, after about 3 mins, and called if OFF!  Wow...with no instant replay or anything, the refs just took it right out of our hands.  Nobody could believe it...except the Brindisi team.  So needless to say it was a disappointing first game to the Italian cup that we were hosting.  The only highlight was that Tony played really well and finished with 12 pts :)

But we went back and watched the Championship game on Sunday and Brindisi ended up losing, partly due to the fact that all of our fans showed up just to cheer against them...they were brutal!  And our own player Jason Rowe won the Dunk Contest during half time so that was exciting.  Having the Cup in Sassari felt like going to the State Tournament...there was a special buzz in the air, the gym was in tip top shape, and there was even a hospitality room for us!  We weren't the Champs this weekend...but at least we are still #1 in the league :)

It was a tough weekend to swallow, but we made the most of it and finished it off Monday night with a birthday party for a girlfriend and a little bowling.  Tony and I won the couple's game...and now they all want re-matches :)  

We're #1 :)

Even though we are having fun over here, sometimes being far from home is just not that easy.  There has been so much happening at home and I wish I could be there.  One of the biggest things is that my families house finally sold.  There are so many amazing memories in our blue house and it does make me sad to know we won't ever be going back there.  It was the best house to live in growing up and was perfect for a house with 4 super active kids.  Now my parents live on Lake Sawyer and it is our new place to make more memories! 

Bye Blue House :(

Hello Lake House :)

On a downer note, my sister Kristin tore her ACL and Meniscus during a basketball tournament she was playing in for the Washington Athletic Club.  I know there isn't much I can do for her, but it is just hard when things like that happen and you can't be there.  So she will be having another surgery on that knee.... :(


This weekend Tony heads to Casale to get a big W and our visitors are now less then two weeks away...whoo hoo!


Ciao Tutti!

YAY...Primavera!

Well Primavera (Spring) seems to be creeping up on us and I have been spying on our neighbor's tree  and little white flowers have started sprouting out!  It looks like a cherry blossom to me...but what do I know? I will have to wait for the expert gardener to get here to confirm.  But none the less it shows that Spring is COMING!  The weather has started to get really warm here and it is so nice.  The crazy part is the temp doesn't really drop at night so it will be 60 during the day and then about 53 during the night...no complaining here.

I am so looking forward to nice weather again so we can go to the beach everyday and soak up this island for a couple more months!  Actually I just hope that the weather is nice for our visitors...that makes being a tour guide a lot easier ;)  

OK OK I know...the only reason people read this blog...Tony's team WON!  :)  Another win for Dinamo keeps them #1 with a couple teams right on their rear.  Tony started and had an awesome game!  And now it is finally the Italian Cup...whoo hooo!  We are looking forward to a fun weekend with 2 wins :)  They play Saturday and WHEN they win they will play Sunday for the Cup Championship.  

  

Tony got voted MVP of the game by the fans and they gave him a special shirt they made for him.  On the back it says "The Sentence #5"  It was great...haha!

  

Other then that things are good in the land of cappuccino's and pasta!  We can't believe it's already March...but we are super excited for all the people we get to see this month!  Two weeks and counting.......

CIAO TUTTI :)

The view is nice from the TOP :)

SO we have officially been in Sassari for 6 months now (well I went home for a few weeks in there) but the time has really flown by.  I have a feeling that it has something to do with the fact that we are #1!!  Dinamo has done it again and beat Casalpusterlengo last night.  That means we are still sitting at the top.  We are only up by one game, but it still is the best place to be :)

I think that with all this winning, the season has gone by faster with less stress and a lot more happy Mondays.  We still have about 3 or so months here, but I have a feeling these will go by even quicker. 

Last week was quite eventful for me...I had my first ever oral surgery...not too mention in a foreign country...with a Doctor who didn't speak English.  Lucky for me the assistant did...haha.  On Thursday I went in and had my wisdom tooth out that has been bothering me forever.  The good thing was that it was already part way out, so that made for a less evasive procedure.  When I first got there and sat down in the chair the two girls started giving me the shots to numb the area (no they did not put me out, like in the US) and I started sweating so bad because I was nervous and didn't really know what to expect!  So finally I had to ask for a paper towel so I could wipe myself down...I was dripping.  The two assistants were so sweet and just kept smiling at me and telling me it was going to be OK, but they were probably thinking...man alive...this girl can sweat.  

Anyway...finally the real Dentist came over and took a look and settled in to get started.  His first comment to me was "BRUTO"!  Which in Italian means ugly..haha.  So it sounds like he was all for taking it out too.  So at that point I closed my eyes and tried not to open them again until I knew it was out.  From what I could tell and see it seemed to be pretty routine and I was done in less then an hour.  Well since Tony had practice, I had to have the car, so I decided I would just drive myself home.  I was supposed to call Tony and have him come and pick me up, but I felt OK so I just went on my way.  I probably should have called him, because I was in quite a bit of pain, but oh well...when in Rome :)

After I got home I was in a lot of pain for about 30 mins and then after that I really haven't had any!  And I thought I was doing really well because I wasn't really swollen either.  Boy was I WRONG!  The next day I looked like I had swallowed a tennis ball!  I have chubby cheeks to begin with so a swollen face doesn't help...I honestly looked like a Puffer fish. 

Right after Surgery

The next day...HAHA! ( I am trying not to laugh at myself)

Monday (I do have a yellow bruise right on my jaw)

 ( Please don't laugh at these self portraits...Tony was gone at his game...so I was left to document this myself).

Now it is Monday, a few days after my surgery, and I am pretty much back to normal and the swelling is almost gone.  I will go back Thursday to have my stitches out and see how things are healing up.  I have to say that my first surgery in Italy was a success and smooth sailing.

So this week it will be back to action with bball and teaching.  Dinamo takes on Udine on Sunday at home and then the Italian Cup the following week....whoo hooo!

Ciao Tutti!