Enchanted April

While we were in Florence I had an interesting conversation with the (non-Italian) owner of an internet café.  I told him at one point that I had lived in Italy as a teenager, he asked where.  I told him that I had lived up north – vicino a Milano.  “Ah, the civilized part of Italy,” was his response.  I laughed. 

Northern Italy is stunning.  For me, it is also a little piece of home.  I only lived there for one year, but that one year was so full and so rich that it (even now, after 20 years) is as bright and vivid in my memory as if it were yesterday.

We stayed in a beautiful guest home on a blueberry farm in the middle of the Campo dei Fiori near Varese (the town where I went to school).  The roads to get to the farm were a little hair raising, but the location was perfect.  We had a beautiful view, there were fields where the kids could run around, trees for the kids to climb, and lizards for the kids to chase.  I would go back in a heartbeat.

          

        

It really was heavenly.  Our first afternoon there (we had spent the morning driving up from Florence) was just what we needed at the time.  We sat outside on the porch and read while the kids ran around.  I also watched some Smallville (fantastic!) in Italian.  I could totally understand it!  Of course it helped that I had seen the episode before….

We went to eat at THE MOST fantastic restaurant.  Amazing.  We had this cheese…..heavenly.  And, the restaurant owners were wonderful with Ian and Naomi (especially Naomi – Italians still like their blondes!).  They even brought out puzzles and toys for the kids to play with while we waited for our food.  I was so grateful.  Restaurants in Italy tend to open at or after our kids’ bedtime, so maintaining good behavior in restaurants during that trip was somewhat of a challenge for them.  My behavior problem in that restaurant was more related to food – like not eating too much of it.  Let’s just say I wasn’t too happy to see the scale when we got back.

We spent our last couple of days in Italy seeing some of the sights on and around Lago Maggiore.  If you ever get to Italy, you MUST visit Lago Maggiore.  Here is one of the reasons why…

La Rocca – A medieval castle in Angera which is situated on the top of a hill overlooking the lake.  The kids loved the medieval life displays and particularly enjoyed the mechanical toy section of the doll museum.

  

We are actually in both of the above pictures.  Can you see us near the gateway in the first one?  We kind of blend into the rock.  (Well, at least, I do.)

      

      

                 

 

 

Unfortunately we had a couple of really rather cold and foggy days up North.  The views are normally stunning.  Imagine snow peaked Alps in the background…

We (of course) found a way to climb to the top of one of the towers.  Naomi was feeling particularly photogenic along the way. 

Ian not so much.

  

He had just whacked his head on something.  I’m not exactly sure what.  Most likely he was doing something I had told him not to.  Anyway, this was the best smile he would give me.

The (well worth the climb) view…

  

And finally, waiting for the boys (eh-hem) to use the facilities…

      

        

A couple of the best things about living in Europe are a) traveling during off-peak times and b) visiting places that aren’t so famous that they’re always jam packed with tourists (like La Rocca).  There are so many, many beautiful and fascinating places here that are only frequented by locals and that just aren’t known by Americans.  It is, of course, fun to see things like the leaning tower of Pisa, but it is equally (or more fun) to explore something unknown.  If you ever get a chance to live in Europe, TAKE IT!  You just can’t get the full experience in a 10 day tour.

An Overdose of Art (for the kids, that is!)

I am on a blogging roll here…I will get caught up!  I have tried to be concise in my descriptions, but it just is so HARD.  There is just so much to say about a 10 day trip to Italy.  And soooooooo many pictures!

We spent days 5 and 6 back in Florence.  Florence is such a huge, huge repository of stuff to see.  This was my 3rd visit to Florence and Ben’s first.  So, we spent most of our time visiting things that I have already seen.  It was a good thing, really, because the kids needed a lot of supervision.  They did pretty well in the art museums until they had finished their fabulous BINGO games (hand drawn by yours truly), but once those were completed….well, they weren’t too excited.  I was very happy to discover, however, that they are actually noticing things.  We saw the Birth of Venus by Botticelli in the Uffizi on this trip.  The next month we saw another painting of Venus (minus the shell) by Botticelli, and Naomi recognized her.  So, while dragging kids through art museums isn’t necessarily easy, I think it is definitely worth the trouble.  Our last two days in Florence we saw (not necessarily in order) the Uffizi, the Duomo, the Academia dell’Arte (location of the statue of David), as well as a few churches we passed as we walked.  We did A LOT of walking.  Now that Ben has seen all of the major Florentine sights, I want to go back and explore the lesser known museums and churches.  We will get back. 

Outside the Uffizi….

  

              

The Gates of Paradise (on the Baptistry)….

 

Il Duomo….

      

                     

I love the Florence cathedral.  I love the colors in the marble, I love the bell tower (which we climbed), I love the architecture, I love the detail.  Even after 3 visits, it still amazes me.

A view from the top….

        

                       

  

Inside the baptistry (looking up)….

A child friendly activity….

          

Another view from the top (Ian and Ben climbed the dome)….

   

Yet another church….

                

And finally, the lovely, muddy Arno.  (The kids refused to look at me.)

 

Wishing He Were Eight Already....

The fourth morning of our trip to Tuscany we piled in the car and drove to Pisa. We had fantastic luck driving and parking the entire trip. Oh Nuvi, how I love you! Let me count the ways.... When I think of my parents (20 years ago) driving all over Europe with only MAPS to guide them, my heart is filled with pity. Granted, Nuvi did take us on a couple of roads in Italy that perhaps don't really deserve to be called roads (goat path might be a more accurate designator), however, overall we quickly and easily reached each of our intended destinations. The only stressful moment in our drive to Pisa was parking. We easily found street parking. The problem was determining whether or not it was legal for us to park where we had parked. The cars surrounding ours had stickers in the windows. Were the stickers parking permits? Proof of registration? Indication of political party affiliation? Not wanting to experience the horrific nightmare that would be recovering a towed car Italy, I stealthily examined the stickers on the cars around ours. Proof of registration. I think. At any rate, our car didn't get towed. (I must confess I was a just a little worried about it while we were wandering around Pisa.) Anyway, Pisa....


The first thing we did when we arrived at the Campo dei Miracoli was make a stop at the ticket office. You have to pay to climb to the top, of course, and it is a VERY popular thing to do, so we made sure to get there early. To our relief, tickets were available for 10:15. We pulled out our Euros, got in line, asked (in Italian!) for 4 tickets, and were promptly told that Ian and Naomi couldn't climb. The minimum age is eight. Seriously?! These kids are veteran climbers, and really, the tower of Pisa isn't that tall. So much for kid friendly activity number one of the day. We quickly revamped our plans and Ben climbed to the top while I watched the kids.




Next up, the cathedral and the baptistry. So, so, so beautiful. Both are filled with sculpture and artwork by renowned renaissance artists. The sculpted pulpit is by Pisano.





After spending some quality time alone with the children on the pathways outside (too bad the grass is more protected than the lawns on BYU campus) we met up with Ben and made an exchange. I left the three of them to explore the souvenir stands and spent some peaceful time alone in the Campo Santo (a cemetary). Unfortunately I sent both cameras off with Ben so I wasn't able to take any pictures. I guess I'll have to go back....darn.

We only spent the morning in Pisa. Outside of the field of miracles - not really too much to see. So, off we went to Lucca (another hill top town - very close to Pisa).

Things that worked in Lucca - a tower to climb (in lieu of the one that leans), a bicycle ride on the ramparts of the city (the walls are wide enough at the top for a bicycle/jogging path), the Lucca cathedral (somewhat rundown -it obviously doesn't get the funding from tourist visits that the others do) and yummy food (I think my calzone had 2 pounds of cheese in it).

Ian particularly enjoyed the statue of St. Martin on the facade of the cathedral. He learned about St. Martin in school last year and made a lantern for the St. Martin's day parade (in which we marched).



Here's a picture at the top of the tower. I can't tell you how much I really, really hate this picture. Unfortunately it's the only one we have. Truly unfortunate. Interesting to have trees on top of a tower, no?


Things that didn't work in Lucca - okay, there really only was one. The "remains" of the Roman amphitheater. So for some reason I had the idea that the amphitheater was in ruins, and that the kids could climb around on it. Nope. The Italians have converted the amphitheater into a piazza. Note the oval shape and the rounded portals (from which entered the gladiators, I guess). It was quaint, and there was room to run - it just wasn't the climbing paradise I had envisioned. Definitely a disappointment for the kids. Two failed kid friendly activities in one day is pushing it.



And that's it for Pisa and Lucca. I also wanted to visit San Gimignano and Volterra but there just wasn't enough time. So, back to Italy we will have to go! I think I can take it.