March 17, 2023

A day in the life

Aviano, Italy

This morning was similar to most days. I woke up a bit later than normal because my husband is currently working nights and we stayed up late watching a romcom while sipping tea in bed. I love to set my intentions for the day by doing my morning routine. My very specific full morning routine video is on my YouTube channel.

Anyway, I got up around 8:00am grabbed my headphones and took Gunnar, my little Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, on our morning walk. I despise looking at my phone first thing in the morning but make an exception to listen to an audiobook or podcast while walking. Immediately after hitting play I put my phone away and don't check any notifications or social media accounts until the late morning or afternoon. I'm a little late to the game but have been listening to Ed Mylett's podcast, his solo episodes are my favorite and always leave me inspired.

After getting some steps in Gunnar and I arrived at

our local coffee shop where I get a macchiato each morning. I personally love a macchiatone which is a little bigger than a macchiato but slightly less milk than a cappuccino; however, I love being a regular at my cafe and the sweet Italian women who work there know a macchiato is my usual so I don't change my order.

Italian's love their coffee but the coffee culture is much different than the States or South Korea. A cafe (shot of espresso) is often drank at the counter and many places charge an additional fee when choosing to sit at a table. Cappuccinos should not be ordered after 11:00am although from time to time I've broken this rule. There is not a work/cafe culture here and there aren't many cafes that welcome laptop use outside of the larger cities but I am on a mission to find some nearby.

After I exchanged greetings with the local group of men who meet for coffee each morning, I sat down with my pup and I made some flashcards. One of my new goals is to get serious about learning Italian. It's been a year and I can barely get by in a very basic conversation. In order to learn Italian I am utilizing habit stacking and starting to incorporate practicing Italian each morning. This morning I looked up a list of adjectives, wrote flashcards, and reviewed them. It took about 15 minutes and I want to try to do this each day. After writing in my journal and finishing my macchiato Gunnar and I made our way back home.

I tried to make green pancakes for St. Patricks day but that was a bit of a flop. The Italian grocery store I go to doesn’t carry food coloring so I bought some pistachio sauce and added that to the batter, there was a light tint of green but not the fake bright green I was hoping for. A for effort I suppose.

Today was a spouse coffee which means the wives get together to connect and talk about any upcoming dates or events. Each month is hosted by a different spouse and is a different activity. For instance today was at the bowling alley but others have hosted at restaurants, cafes, or at their house. I really appreciated the coffees when first moving here so I could meet friends.

After the coffee I went to get our gas card renewed. The gas card gives you a discounted rate because we don’t have a gas station on base. Each year the gas card must be renewed which just means getting the car inspected, getting paperwork from Pass & Reg, and updating the card at the BX.

I decided to reward myself for all my hard work completing one task so I headed to Pordenone which the biggest town nearby. I stopped at the chocolate cafe Perantone which is known for their chocolate and has very distinct branding. I love the red booths and presentation when ordering food and drinks. I got a canella (cinnamon) coffee which I have had in the past but the drink kept burning my throat and not because of the heat. I tried multiple sips and think I will have to order something else next time, there is no shortage of delicious drinks there. There is a 30 minute limit on tables but since there were several empty tables I worked on my computer for about an hour. On my way out I bought a little chocolate bunny rabbit for Nolan since easter will be here soon.

On the walk back to my car I stopped in at Caffe Municipio and ordered a rooibos tea. I really like the environment and didn’t feel weird about being on my laptop which was really nice. There is a lot of outdoor seating as well as indoor seating. I think this might be my favorite cafe in Pordenone. I wrote most of this blog and was on my Mary way.

My husband had been working nights all week so I was excited to finally have dinner together. I made risotto for dinner the night before so we had leftovers, a glass of wine, and watched basketball. I created a March Madness bracket this year and although I am not really a basketball fan but I am competitive and love having a team to root for. We watched a couple games then I hit the hay because my final cheer game was the next morning.

Chat soon.