I have a lot of mixed feelings about our first weekend in Milan together.

W. went ahead and rented a car and found it a little expensive. I tried convincing him to get an automatic gear car instead of manual but he said manual was okay. My dad actually drove manual for YEARS into "old age" before he finally got an automatic... and was relieved. So I don't exactly get why anyone would voluntarily want to drive a manual car unless you were driving in the desert or on a mountain road or something where it actually makes a difference.

I tried to convince him to not go and waste our weekend shopping but no luck. He said he needed more shirts so off we went to this place called Serravelle. It was raining pretty heavily and it's a total drag to carry an umbrella around while you shop. In the UAE rain is a cause for celebration as it only happens a couple of times a year - if that - but here it ruins plans. But we took our two umbrellas we got from Scarpe & Scarpe (one of those umbrellas that don't form into tidy little handfuls) and off we went.

W. decided to ask the rental car guy if there was an automatic and lo and behold - there was. So I'm happy about that. We were both less happy with the fire-engine red colour of the car and the EUROPCAR and accompanying slogan emblazoned all over it. Might as well have added flashing neon lights to confirm we were tourists, too.

Anyway, so we reach Serravelle and the Italians do not seem bothered by the rain as they came in droves by the number of cars in the parking and the walking people about. They came to shop - as did we - and apparently falling water will not stop us.

Another thing I noticed that we met the first East Asian tourists in this area. I had only seen people from East Asian in the sushi place in Auchan this past week (I thought that was hysterical in a slightly offensive way. Like the food won't be ~authentic~ unless the staff were from East Asia).

Oh yeah! On our way back from the outlet it turns out the strange siren did indeed belong to an ambulance. On another less cheery note it's sobering how many times a day I hear it. Actually, it would be sobering for it to be the police too but it's not quite as bad as hearing an ambulance's sirens.

So W. begins his shopping. It's like we broke the laws of nature and I'm the begrudging husband who waits around while the wife gets to finish shopping but nope. Lucky for W. there are PLENTY of excellent Italian suit maker shops all over the outlet and he takes advantage of it. Apart from a brief Benetton visit in 2008 this is my "first" time shopping in Italy. There are long metal cylindrical bins by the entrances of all the shops where you dump your wet umbrellas while you shop. I mention this because in the course of said shopping I accidentally took another person's umbrella along with our own. :/

W. got really frustrated at this; me and the kids waited while he went back to look for our umbrella but no luck. Our umbrella had been taken, too. W. is convinced that the other umbrella owner had taken ours... But how would s/he know which one to take? I think the shop had more than three umbrellas in the bins.

Anyway so W. comes back with stranger-umbrella and proceeds to use it. I tell him we have no right to use it but he says that the other guy took ours and that we will use this one. We had bought ours for 10 euros so I say that it's not like it was a really expensive one but W. is stubborn. :/ I think we should donate it since the original owner never came back for it when we later went and checked again since it is not ours.

Anyway, so W. gets his suits and takes a LONG TIME. W. is a caffeine addict and is SO HAPPY at the quality coffee shops here in Milan. He's amused at the way Italians drink their coffee standing up like it's some sort of quick fix. Everywhere else I'd been you sit down and drink your coffee while reading or something. Here it's like you're at a bar and do your shot and then you're okay. I can't say I understand either option since I don't drink tea nor coffee myself. I know I'm a rare breed these days.

The rain in the meantime gives little respite. It only seems to increase in droplets and frequency. When it's near twilight there's this GREAT clap of thunder that is awe-inspiring.

I do get a new bag that is still sitting in its plastic case. It's honestly not my usual style but it's cute and elegant and one that I really would not have gotten had I not been there.

We dine at the restaurant there and I'm amused at one of the waiters' enthusiasm. There's a world of difference when you go to a restaurant where the waiters seem cheery and when they're treating you like you're at a funeral. I guess that's why customer service gets such a huge push in places like the US and for good reason.

W. had sent me a link to an Emirati report that said the UAE had stopped importing poultry from Italy as there had been cases of avian flu here so we skipped on anything chicken. The waiter raved about the frutti di mare pasta but W. had tried it before and said we should go for my original choice, the porcini pasta.

The pasta turned out to be pretty tasteless. :/ I don't even think it was salted properly. All you could taste was olive oil and that alone does not a good pasta dish make.

The kids were happier with their margarita pizza and W. dutifully ate the "pizza fried pieces" he'd ordered which were just ordinarily hollow fried dough (and yes, there was an English translation provided so it was not text lost in translation.)

Food wasn't a total disappointment that day. There was one thing that made me not regret going to the Sarravelle outlet that day and that was the incredible Lindt shop. What an enchanting place! I think I started drooling as soon as I entered the place. Being as it was so cold I opted for hot chocolate and it was so thick and rich.

When we first arrived at our apartment in Monza there was this small bowl of sweets called Horath. It was jelly-like and I hoped to God it did not contain gelatine because it was so damn tasty. Imagine my relief when I found these very sweets in the Lindt place and written by the ingredients were the blessed words: SENZA GELATIN. Thank you Google Translate.

I would have bought more but I'm trying to be ~weight conscious~ but resisting was so hard with THESE in sight.

We finally left and went by Auchan in Monza to pick up an ironing board and water and some other necessities. Speaking of, W. had asked our broker if the tap water in Italy was drinkable and he said it was but that he personally did not and bought bottled water. Everyone buys bottled water in the UAE but this was disappointing. After our first mistake buying sparkling water by mistake we now look meaningfully for the word AQUA NATURALE. I mean it's so widespread the word "natural" needs to be used on every bottle that isn't fizzy is kind of funny.

This was on Saturday.

On Sunday we decided to go on our first trek across the border to Laguno, Switzerland. The people there still spoke Italian as some regions near others across countries in Europe do.

When we got to the borders I told my husband that it's a good thing we brought our passports just in case - but it turns out we didn't need it.

I was very cynical when the border police decided to stop us "randomly" for an inspection but it turns out there was no need for worry. We simply did not have a highway permit decal for Switzerland. W. was pleasantly surprised when he learned it was valid for a year.

As we sped back onto the highway I kept checking the GPS on my phone on Google Maps to see if we were on the right track. W. had suggested going to Como but I insisted on Laguno. He'd already been to Como and I prefer that we go places where's it's the first time for us both.

We passed by an outlet called Foxtown on the way (and looking really masonic looking with its wink and, well, the numerical meaning of the name). W. enthused that he wasn't expecting to pass by it as he'd already been in the two weeks before we came and I warned him that I'd get another discounted designer bag if he wanted to go.

It was sunny yesterday and it illuminated the Alps magnificently. It was really beautiful.

The nearer to Laguno we drove the more snow appeared on the road and then it was suddenly everywhere. My son N. had always wished to play with the snow and now his dream was coming true. We finally got there and we were just amazed at how much snow was there - and how sunny it was, too!

Anyway... This has been saved as a draft for too long.

There is a very distinctive siren sound that I'm not sure belongs to the police. Our residence here is near a hospital so it might just belong to the ambulance. In my travels I've never heard a similar sound. I'm pretty sure that this particular sound will always remind me of my stay here since we've heard it pretty much every day this week and more than a few times per day.

L. came by with a Sri Lankan lady who works as a housekeeper part time. I don't have a maid back in the UAE as I do the cleaning myself back home but the husband mentioned the cleaner to me and I thought why not. Well, I am cleaning pretty much every day here and hoovered the place before they arrived so I couldn't really hire her today. You pay her 10 euros per hour which I think is a very reasonable price though the husband's eyes bulged at this. I think he's spoiled that I never demanded help with the cleaning before so he doesn't know what prices are actually out there for this kind of service!

After our introductions something really embarrassing happened. Ugh, I feel bad just thinking about it. I told W. that this 3gb sim card business isn't working out as we had consumed the entire bandwidth in just two days between myself and my sons so he stopped by Vodafone on his way back from work last night and the guy working there showed him the offers. There's a pretty good one like we have back in the UAE that is 30mbps but that is MUCH cheaper than our crook of a telecommunication company's. You pay 99 euros for the modem then after that, starting next week, it's 25 euros a month. It's 120 euros in the Emirates for the same internet plan monthly! Etisalat sucks.

Anyway... So I'm explaining to L. that this plan in the leaflet is what we want to go with and she sort of got a look on her face that wasn't exactly positive. Mr. P. doesn't know English so I couldn't contact him and explain and Mrs. C. I already felt bad for having her come over with the handyman only two days ago so L. was the choice. Honestly, as our broker, it shouldn't be her duty to contact our landlords FOR us but W. seemed to think it was okay. Well L. said she would phone Mr. P. no problem and then tell us the outcome.

After L. and the housekeeper left I immediately phoned W. and told him I felt bad about involving L. and that she had already been very kind and she's pretty busy brokering other places for people visiting Milan for this furniture exhibition taking place soon. SO W. phones L. and then immediately calls me back. IT TURNED OUT THAT L. THOUGHT WE WANTED MR. P AND MRS. C TO PAY FOR THE INTERNET OFFER.

No! I have terrible anxiety talking to people face to face and it's even more terrible on the phone when you don't have facial cues to give you clues as to how to steer a conversation (I know I'm overanalysing basic human communication but I can't help it!) but I got over it and called L.

I explained to her that WE ARE PAYING FOR IT. Not our landlords! She seemed pretty amused as W. had already explained the thing to her. After that I phone Mrs. C but I get the message "segreteria telefonica" and some more Italian after that. I google the aforementioned two words and it turns out it's an answering machine service. :/ I thought those things were only applicable in the movies (I never used an answering machine service in my life.)

Anyway I decide to get over it and bathe my son when Mrs. C. calls back. Turns out L. set her straight and that the misunderstanding was corrected.

I'm HUGELY relieved at this. She also wanted to know if she should bring my younger son's bed today instead of the cot we reserved for my baby daughter but I told her we were heading out today as it's the weekend and she seemed relieved too and mentioned some place she was going to and that she would be away all weekend which is perfectly fine. She said that she'd accompany me to Vodafone on Monday and have the bed sorted out that day, too. Well, my stomach feels a little twisted at the thought of accompanying a stranger that long but it's okay! I shall overcome my anxieties one at a time.

We also went to Auchan yesterday by foot. It's a ways away but it was really sunny yesterday and it was nice to just walk. Monza is really picturesque and it's just pleasant to observe the buildings and people walking their dogs by you and around you.

In the meantime the Vodafone guy gave W. a "free" 3gb sim card and I replaced the one whose gigabytes had been consumed. N. wants a "full version" of a game and I relent and buy it for him. Usually I am 100% against in-app purchases but I feel bad for the kid for dragging him with us to Italy away from his school and friends and extended family.

W. is renting a car for the weekend and he wants to pass by one of Milan's outlet malls to buy some work shirts. I don't really want to do any shopping but he says it needs to be done. I might buy a bag if the prices aren't exorbitant as mine is already worse for wear.

W. has been so swamped with work that I'm looking forward to seeing the sights with him and the kids. It would have been a perfect opportunity to go to Florence since the week long vacation is for Carnevale. I'll try to convince him to go to Venice but if not that's okay. It's just enough to be together. 

So this is my fifth day in Monza.

Was feeling a bit down yesterday. I have tried plugging in the Play Station 3 and the Wii U to the Samsung TV but we still get the message "modo non suppportato." :/

I brought a hard drive full of English-language kids' movies and TV shows but there was no USB plug in the Samsung TV, either.

The only kids' tv channel on cable is Boing TV which mostly shows Cartoon Network stuff in Italian. This will probably be for the best in the long run since N. said that at his orientation day at school the teachers mixed in some Italian along with English and the cartoon shows should probably help with him picking up basic Italian.

Our landlords have been very gracious and I don't really want to impose on them further.

It's enough that the dishwasher and built-in oven are new. Though is sucks completely that there is no dryer. The clothes I put out to dry in the laundry room take longer than a day to dry and some haven't completely dried even after that.

Also Mrs. C.'s son came by the other day and brought in a plug-in "modem" that I think would support a tourist's Italian sim card for a week and not a home's internet usage. (It lasted us literally TWO days between my normal browsing - no downloading - and my son's non-excessive downloading of iPad games.)

Problems aside (that I still hope that I will find a solution to) me and the kids went around the block, so to speak, and reached a Carrefour market. It's kind of funny that this European supermarket branch reminds us of "home."

The kids were amused with how many dogs they saw being walked. We saw this strange red ominous headless statue near the supermarket.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that inside the supermarket you weigh your vegetables/fruit yourself. It was easy enough to follow with the number code and it gives you the nifty sticker to put on your bag.

On the first day we arrived in Monza we went down to Auchan on L's recommendation and were surprised by all the kids dressing up in costume. L said that it's a carnival to celebrate joy. It was pretty joyous and I'm guessing these cookies I've found at C4 are somehow related.

One thing I've noticed is how many old people I encounter in this town. I stick out like a sore thumb (well with the hijab I stick out, anyway) this way and in many others. I've yet to meet any people walking with three children in tow. The most I've met is two kids and in a country known for its low childbirth rates I don't think I ought to be surprised.

When Mrs. C. came by later at 2pm with the handyman in tow she sat down to play with my baby and then told me a bit about her sons. It was really nice and she offered to stay longer seeing as she's somehow aware that as a Muslim woman I'm not supposed to be alone with foreign men but I told her it was okay and she left.

The handyman took a while and he had to leave and come back with a part. Because he worked so hard and actually left to get a part I tried to tip him 10 euros but he wouldn't have it. I actually think he looked offended. :/ I'm sorry, Mr. Handyman.

After the handyman left we went to the nearby park. Famed for being one of the biggest parks in Europe we were flabbergasted by the entrance near our home being an inlet for car traffic. I immediately turned to the side to encounter a long biking/walking/running track with markers on it for every traversed 100 meters.

We didn't stay long as it was late and was very cold even with it being sunny yesterday and I was nervous that it was going to turn dark while I was outside with my kids. I'm not in the UAE anymore.

I'm going to explore the park in-depth in the coming days, I hope. I plan to buy a ball for my two sons to play with while I gather ideas for my book that I hope to finish this year.