Italy

The Family Vacation Continues...into Italy we venture!

We arrive on Monday, August 29th at our "Italy Home".  Our friend, Marco, was AMAZING gracious and allowed us to stay at his Grandmother's home in Campi Bisenzio - just outside of Florence.  It may not have been some luxury resort, but it was sort of neat to be living among the locals...although we're not sure what they thought of us. Luckily, it's a neighborhood where everyone knows everyone and so once Marco and his Mom informed them about us I THINK we were ok:)  The only tough part...no air conditioning and it was HOT!  It made the evenings tough for sure! Our only saving grace was that we were so exhausted by that point that we all just collapsed.  Here's the highlights from Italy (much abbreviated for space and time considerations - and the site had problems uploaded more pictures!)...

1. First impressions....uh....where's the beauty??? Until we reached the hills of Florence, we were not too impressed. It's amazing how the "romantic hollywood" version corrupts our enjoyment of places at times! But...it got better

2. Day 1 - Kids Day - Pinnochio Park with great sculptures, mazes and playgrounds. Then, off to Lucca where we rented bikes and rode ON TOP of the old meideval wall that surrounds the city! Throw in some gelato (creamier then normal and more expensive) and you have a good day! Dinner that night with Marco and Antonella and a great local place along the river...introduction to Italy food and dining..



Pinocchio Park!





Art Time at Pinocchio Park!




Here's a part of the wall we rode on top of!




Lunch spot - first pizza in Italy





3. Food and Dining - yes, GREAT pasta and pizzas were pretty good.  The hardest thing was the timeline b/c dinner is not served until 8pm and lasts 2 hours or so.  It includes an antipasta, pasta course, meat course and dessert -and wine and espresso.  At least, this is my "dumb-downed version of it"  So, we had late nights and late mornings. The girls handled it very well - but we are all still a tad mixed up!!  Oh, and breakfasts are light and lunch is smaller and usually around 1 or so. AND...don't even try to find a place to shop or eat during "siesta" time---and do NOT think to have an early dinner---and Cappucino is only drunk in the am and then it's espresso time -  hee hee!!!



4. Day 2 - Florence - not our favorite day - cities and toddlers just do not go together - and Tim and I are not city fans either we have again confirmed!! So, we walked a lot, saw some neat things, took a bus tour (which ended up leaving us stranded so we had to walk MORE back to our car!)and then headed home. Dinner with Marco at another great local place with great fish...and yes, Linda tried it all and just didn't think about what she was eating.  Even had gnocchi with grouper that was actually quite good! Cool dinner that night at Marco's parents (Miriam and Roberto) home! What a cool time...they loved the kids and we all enjoyed an authentic Italian family and dinner.  Relaxing and enjoyable for sure!!!



Rylee lights another prayer candle in the Cathedral di Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence)



Finishing our ice cream and LONG day of walking



A cool sight on our bus tour

 

Marco's Family







The girls got their 1st purses and got money each day to spend how they wanted...reduced whining! But...not even Mom has an Italian handbag!!!!



5. Day 3&4 - Chianti Region/Countryside - now THIS is Italy!!!!  Just what we wanted..wandering through beautiful country, seeing many great little villages, stopping to meander around and ocassionally tasting a glass of wine.  Our favorite small spots: Greve in Chianti and Pienza (thanks Brian) and our favorite bigger place: Siena!!! I just loved this town! On our way home that night, we found a super cool restaurant (Walter Redaelli in Bettolle) and dined on an amazing dinner - while the kids ran freely in the green grass. We were early by Italian standards but they were more then willing to serve us and we had a tremendous time! Fancy names of food I can't even remember!



What Europe does to shoes...ruined and pitched along side the road!!!




Montalcino



Wine tasting at an Enoteca in Greve in Chianti






One of the communes we came across along the road





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one of many cool shots I have of the small streets characteristic of this area

6. Day 5 - Beach Day! We headed to the Masse area on the beach with Marco and Antonella. We enjoyed the day splashing in the water and resting.  The girls had a blast! Tim and I were a tad disappointed at the sandy water and lack of "service".  Not sure the spot we were at was all that keen of Americans??? We even got yelled at by the owner for eating in the wrong spot..this is when we decided we were ready to be in the USA again:)

At this point, the girls were fried and we were all tired of the heat. The things Tim and I would have enjoyed doing more of were not things the girls would tolerate any more....driving and seeing the countryside...so we decided to pack it up! After some shopping at the mall (1st one ever built in italy about 11 yrs ago - and very large), and receiving more presents for the girls then should be allowed from Maco and Antonella, we headed north!



Antonella, Marco and Mandila





Our "Italy home" - 2nd floor



Tim and I will return to Italy again....but maybe without kids?? :)







Switzerland!

Next to the Brienzersee

We began our long family vacation on Saturday, August 27th and our first stop was Wildserwill, Switzerland just outside of Interlaken.  Let's just saw WOW!!!  What a beautiful area.  We could have spent out entire time here, but our pocketbook would have been completely empty. Switzerland is NOT an inexpensive place to be.  However, I just kept Tim focused on the beauty while quietly paying the bills and we made it through our two days there ok:)  Our highlights of these days:

They love their cows...many statues like these around the area...and we saw and HEARD many of them with those great big cow bells!



Our Hotel



1. Tunnels!!! Switzerland is the country of tunnels apparently - the best way to get around the mountains is through them:)  We even drove through one that was over 5 Km long - super cool. And NO smell of exhaust or anything

2. Cleanliness - the Swiss know how to keep their environment beautiful

3. Glaciers - we stayed just below the Eiger and spent one day ON THE GLACIER! Yep, for a mere $400 we took the trains up the mountain and wandered around Jungfraujoch - the "top of Europe" - a great facility at the top of the mountain where one can wander through an ice palace, walk around on the glacier and climb to the top of the observation tower and view the sites - an amazing (and chilly) time! 

Inside the Ice Palace - sculptures and tunnels of fun!

Snowball Fight!



"On Top of Euope" - aahh!!!

4.Paragliders - EVERYWHERE!  We saw no less then 30 of them over the days - often in groups of 5-6 just catching the wind around the mountains. We also saw a handful of them land which was a highlight for the girls

5. Waterfalls - WOW WOW WOW....we saw too may to count! Our first night we drove up one of the valleys by our hotel and could not believe our eyes. HUGE waterfalls splashing down the mountains.  Then, all along our drive the next day we spotted one every few Km's - just too cool to see - especially when paired with not only mountains but bright green pastures as well!

DOWNER...now, I must tell that that our time there started with a bad bang...literally! It's almost too hard to write about, but it's part of "the story' I guess.  Upon our arrival into our super neat suite, which had a loft with a ladder, Chloe promptly fell off that ladder.  Now, we had just spent time going up and down for practice and reviewing safety rules, so Momma thought it was ok and went over to unpack.  I think her shoe got caught and I watched a fall that to this moment makes we shake. I seriously wasn't sure I'd pick up a conscious child.  I've never been so scared in my life. Tim sprung into action and got a hotel staffer with ice. Luckily - seriously PRAISE GOD - she seemed ok. The worse injuries seem to be her tongue with a couple of bites. So, we put lots of ice on tongue and head and watched her like a hawk - and no sleeping allowed.  I just keep praying that everything on the inside is ok and that God keeps her little body in His hands...this trip has been hard on her with many trips and falls. Is it the age? the stupid brown sandles? the rougher/bumpier cobblestones? WHAT??? But...I now have her wrapped in bubble wrap and hope to get home without further incidents!!! But...prayers are welcome and needed!!

Let's end on a positve note....our time in Switzerland ended neatly with not only a scenic route, but a neat little lunch at a roadside - very local- cafe just over the mtn pass - with some of the best soup (Goulosh soup basically) I've ever tasted!!! Yes, the highlights are always food-related - hee hee!!!  Overall, we would vacation here over and over....at least once we won the lottery!!!

Kaffee Group

Here it is...the famous Kaffee Group...the group of English speaking gals!!!  This group has been an integral part of my enjoyment here in Germany! So many neat ladies from all over the world who are all settled in to this area of Germany (for either a few months, years or forever)!  We met at the KaffeeHouse in Schriesheim every Friday morning. Every week was a differnet mix of women but we always had fun!  Thanks to this group I learned so much more about life in Germany and how to enjoy every minute!!  I wish these pictures could show everyone, but at least you get an idea of the set-up and the group.


The Location



Another view of the Kaffee House



Our Table - same place each week was reserved for us!





Rylee playing with some other kids- coloring of Filly Ponies!



August Happenings

Since I'm WAAAYYY behind on posting blogs, I think the best thing is to just give some brief updates on our month of August...prior to our big vacation....Here's our fun...

Weinheim Festival - most towns have a summer festival and this one was one of the bigger/better we saw. Great Ferris Wheel and food - weather was not the best



What happens after a day of bike riding and swimming...after being taken off Mom's bike (where she was sleeping) and set on the ground she just collapses on the doorstep to continue her nap!!!

  BALLOON FESTIVAL at LUISENPARK...a hot and fun day at one of my favorite places. We spent most of the day there while Daddy was in Brazil/Mexico - and discovered an entirely new part of the park! Best news...we FINALLY saw some balloons lift off !!


The Chinese Garden - I felt like I was at a mimi Epcot Center!




We found great areas to walk through the rivers, play on large musical/stone instruments and wander through paths looking at animals, plants, airplanes and balloons! The sisters are loving the cool water in this photo!!!




A handful of the balloons we saw!!

NUTS AND FRUIT EVERYWHERE!!  As Tim says, no one should go hungry here...there's fruit and nut trees all around the area and everyone picks and enjoys as you desire.  Our favorite discovery are the chestnut trees - super cool pods (spikey green balls that turn brown and burst with nuts).  On this day, we brought home a bag ful of chestnuts and the neighbor girls quickly showed us how to crack them and eat them!

Sofie and Rylee cracking chestnuts!

 CHILDREN'S FAIRY TALE FESTIVAL AT HEIDELBERG CASTLE - neat afternoon wandering around the castle watching many fairy tale characters act out stories  - and also play various games!  We may have missed out on some things because of the language barrier, but most of the actors tried to do some parts in English for us!   It was also the first time the girls saw the inside of the castle so that was fun for them as well!


Here Rylee enjoys a story and then she searches - and FINDS - the shiny golden ball.  The actress was nice enough to tell the story in both English and Deutsch just for Rylee!!




One of the games...from a fairy tale I was not familiar with???


JOHANNISHOF - a cool restaurant that serves their own produce and many other local specialties...and they have a great playground too!

 TIERGARTEN IN WORMS - we spent a day with Valentin, Katrin and Sasha Beltz at an Animal Park which was like a nice small version of a zoo. It was a rediculously hot day (as you can tell from their faces) but we had a lot of fun!





We fed goats, horses, donkeys and more! I really wasn't sure Chloe would ever leave the goats---she still loves animals!!!



Newest Game

You know you've sepnt too much time in big cities and/or tourist hot spots when your children begin playing  a new game called "Street Performer"and they lay out their blankets for money!!! Take a look...

Oh - and take a look at Rylee's TWO NEW TEETH growing in like champions! I guess the dentist doesn't know what he's talking about..."she'll lose 1 tooth soon but the new tooth won't grow in until she's closer to 6"  HA HA He doesn't know MY Rylee....let's loose TWO teeth and grow them both in now!! Only bummer....they are crooked...braces here we come!!!





Check out my two new bottom center teeth!!