We have to admit that being in Italy for Christmas is very different than we're used to.  We were involved in a couple of choir concerts the week of Christmas--which we love to participate in but other than that it was very quiet.  We missed our family a lot but we are thrilled to be able to be on a mission for our Savior and celebrate Christmas in the way it should be celebrated.  There were no gifts for us (except one from Scott and Erin that arrived at the last minute) --just the gift of skyping family at the end of our day was present enough.

I neglected to take any pictures on Christmas Day.  We were kindly invited to the Santoro home for Christmas Day pranzo.  They also invited Sorella Santoro's brother and wife and their two children along with others.  We had a few wonderful courses and felt like we didn't need to eat again for a few days.  We started with sliced prosciuto (cooked and smoked) along with cheeses, lots of different olives, and breads.  After that was pasta--linguine with clam sauce.  Then came the broth --turkey and beef that had rice in it--a traditional Christmas course--it was delicious!  Managed to polish that off with no problem--then the meat dish--turkey and beef chunks that were so tender it just melted in our mouths.  Fruit was next--every type imaginable--and then Pandora or Panetone which is also a tradition!  EVERYONE has panetone or pandora for Christmas dessert.

It comes with a bag of icing sugar and you open up the bag that the pandora is in and cover it with the icing sugar.  It's pretty good.  (All panetone and pandora have expiry dates of 6 months or more...!....)

MERRY CHRISTMAS, FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!  We love you all