Day Three: Uffizzi Gallery, Florence Geocaching and Roma

When we got back from Italy and people asked how the trip went, I would alternate between descriptors like "fantastic" and "amazing" with words like "fast paced" and "exhausting." The truth of the matter is we had a very small amount of time to show our sons the parts of Italy we thought they would enjoy. This was not a restful vacation, but it was absolutely unforgettable and truly rewarding in so many ways.


Our third day in Italy was tireless. As I looked through the pictures and reviewed my notes for Tuesday, April 6th I felt disbelief at how much we fit into 24 hours. Our day began with an early appointment at the Ufizzi Gallery in Florence. I love art and Florence is home to the most famous Renaissance artwork of all time. That being said, I knew the kids were not going to be enthusiastic spending hours in lines to see sculpture and paintings - no matter how masterful the art was. Matt and I decided to split the kids up on this day. On Tuesday, Seamus and I would visit the Uffizi with my parents, Miranda and Chris while Matt would spend the morning geo-caching in Florence with Finn.

Seamus was a good sport in the Uffizi. When I asked him days before if he'd like to visit the famous art museum with me, he agreed without any hesitation. I knew that in order to keep his interest, Id have to let him lead while making sure to point out the highlights. That is exactly what we did. Seamus didnt spend much time looking at the art, but I made sure he saw the masters. Sandro Boticelli's Primavera and Birth of Venus; Leonardo di Vinci's The Baptism of Christ and Annunciation; Titian's Flora and Venus of Urbino; Parmigianino's Madonna with the Long Neck; Raphael's Portrait of Leo X; Carravaggio's Bacchus and Sacrafice of Issac; Michaelangelo's Doni Tondo. We werent in the museum as long as I would have liked, but I felt overwhelming grateful to say to my son "Seamus, let me introduce you to your first Michaelangelo." I said that about many of the great artists we saw on the Uffizi walls. It was thrilling for me.



While we were in the Uffizi, Finn and Matt found at least two geo-caches in Florence. Matt said he had a great time because he and Finn were forced out of the more touristy areas in Florence and into neighborhoods they might not normally have visited. Matt and Finn also went to the Leonardo Di Vinci museum where Finn was able to see life size models of all of di Vinci's famous sketches. He seemed to enjoy that a lot.



Our group met up at around 1pm and had a quick bite to eat. The kids had fallen in love with the wonderfulness that is gelato so that is what they ate for lunch. Matt and I had a panini. I LOVE Italian paninis with proscuitto and mozzarella. Yum! At this point in our trip, Matt and I had planned to spend a couple days in Rome, away from the villa and the rest of my family. We knew we couldnt go to Italy without showing the kids the Colosseum and the Vatican so we boarded a 3 oclock train and headed off to the Eternal City.

Once again, I was amazed at how well my boys traveled in Italy. We were up at 8am and had been walking all over Florence the entire morning. At the bare minimum I was expecting some grouchiness or quick tempers from the boys, but they hopped on that train and spent the 1.5 hour trip into Rome totally subdued- almost like they were in a trance. Perhaps they were in a trance. Looking back, I think I might have been. I was pretty worn out. While traveling to Rome, I took out my ipod for the first time on our trip. Im a music freak and I remember thinking "Man, have I missed music these past few days." It was on that train that I had "a moment." Once in a long while, I'll have an experience where everything good seems to come together and for a minute or two, my life feels perfect. Its happened to me maybe 2 times in my life and it happened for a third time on the train to Rome. While I was sitting there, the song Monteleone by Marc Knopfler came on shuffle. Outside it was rural and green - an absolute gorgeous day. Seamus was sleepily gazing at the landscape out the window; Matt sat beside me holding my hand; Finn played silently across from me on his DS. For a instance, everything slowed down and gelled together in perfect harmony. The music. The company. The surroundings. Italy. I acknowledged what was happening and said to myself "Im going to remember this moment for the rest of my life. Right now, I am the most contented person on earth."

I love Rome. It is my favorite city (so far) in Italy. Rome is massive. Its bustling and loud and gorgeous. There is so much to see and do. We got off at the station and took a cab to our home in Rome, the B&B Locanda All'Orologio. We found this place by chance in 2007 and fell in love with the neighborhood. The B&B is really fantastically located: very close to the Piazza Navona and the Vatican. Its within walking distance to everything. There are many streets in the neighborhood that are pedestrian only so the traffic is limited. Seeing the place again made me so happy. It felt like I was seeing an old friend after many years absence.

I dont think we unpacked our bags before we were off exploring the neighborhood. We allowed the kids to run a bit without being right on top of them. I dont know what it is about Rome, but I felt a sense of security and calm when we were walking around our neighborhood. Everything was familiar and it felt great to relax and take in the atmosphere. We ended up eating a fantastic meal at a restaurant down the street called La Danesina Hosteria. The spaghetti dish I order was superb. It was called "spaghetti al grazia" and it was, by far, the best meal I ate in Italy. I wish I knew what was in it and how it was made because it was soooooo damn good!

Im not sure if it was the food or the atmosphere but we got our second wind after dinner and decided to walk to the Colosseum. Once the sun goes down, Rome reminds me a lot of Mexico. The city is electric at night. People are out - walking and talking. Vendors and lovers flood into the piazzas. Its colorful and lively. The Colosseum was about a two mile walk from our B&B - not far, but an ambitious proposition considering we'd been going... going... going all day long. Matt and I had never seen the Colosseum at night; the kids had never seen it at all. We decided to go for it and on the way, we saw many other beautiful landmarks at night: the Pantheon, The Emmanuel Vittorio monument and Trajan's Column. I must say it was an unbelievable experience to share the historical sights with Matt and our boys.

We didnt get back to our room until after 11pm. As I recall, we spent no time falling asleep. The boys bought these glowing crystal night lights with Roman landmarks etched into the glass. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was seeing the colors of that night light change from red to green to blue to purple.

What a incredible day!

Happy Wednesday.

PS - Thanks to Linnea for gently nudging me to get blogging again. Love you. :)

Day Two - Capezzana Tour, Pisa and Luca

Even though I really wanted to sleep in Monday morning, I knew my dad was itching to get on the road and see some of Tuscany's famous cities. My dad does not vacation restfully. In the weeks leading up to our trip, Dad formulated a list of the cities and attractions he wanted to see while in Italy. On my dad's Monday itinerary was Pisa and Lucca - two towns that were about an hour and a half away from Capezzana. I hadnt been to either city so I was enthusiastic about our roadtrip.

Before we left, we had a 10am appointment to tour the Capezzana estate. Benedetta took us into the olive oil production area and explained the oil making process to us. During our tour, something she said struck me as funny and I smile to myself whenever I think of it. Benedetta was explaining to us the "first press" of olive oil. Essentially, the first press of olives yields the best quality olive oil because its the first time the olives are pressed. The oil is the freshest and most flavorful. This is the only type of olive oil that Capezzana produces. However, sometimes Capezzana will sell the excess junk (like the skin, spent olives, stems, etc. that are left over after the first press) to American companies and those companies will use it as the base for their own olive oil production. Because the olive junk originates in Italy, the American companies are able to package it as a "Product of Italy" and charge premium prices for what is essentially the throw away product that Italians would never tolerate. Someone in our group asked "You guys wont use that part of the olives?" and Benedetta absolutely scoffed at the idea. She said "Oh no. Americans may not identify the difference in taste but Italians wont tolerate the poor quality." She wasnt snotty about it; she spoke as a matter of fact. The crazy thing is that Capezzana olive oil has totally created snobs out of me, Matt and our children. Benedetta is correct: there is a HUGE difference in taste between the olive oil that Capezzana produces and the kind you buy on the shelves here in America. We never knew that difference until we came to Italy, but now that we do its difficult to stomach the American brands.

In addition to the olive oil production facilities, we explored the estate cellar where the Capezzana wine is stored and aged. As we walked down into the cellar, a couple of us remarked how it seemed unreal; like a set from the Pirates of the Caribbean or something. It was really dark, dank and spooky. As Benedetta unlocked a grim looking door, one might expect to find a monster chained up against the wall. Instead we were greeted with rows and rows of wine barrels and caskets. It was quite remarkable.


After our tour, we jumped in the cars for an hour and a half car ride to Pisa. Im going to cut the chase and say this right up front: Pisa was really impressive to me. Every kid grows up hearing about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but I dont think you have the slightest idea how totally freaky the tilt of that building is until you see it in person. Pictures dont do it justice. In my humble opinion, it does not seem logical that that building is still standing. In my life, I read how the foundation of the tower was poor and that the building began to shift with the unstable ground. I read how engineers had to reinforce it several times throughout the years in order to keep it from toppling over. Dudes... that building leans at such a unbelievable angle that I found myself not wanting to walk in its shadow. Its absolutely mind blowing to see it standing there. It is a freak of architectural nature and absolutely mesmerizing to view.

Its easy to overlook the beauty of the tower while its sitting at such a crazy angle, but even in my shock I was able to recognize that the Tower of Pisa and its surrounding buildings were strikingly gorgeous. Before going to Pisa, I thought that the tower stood alone. In fact, it was on the same grounds as two other beautiful structures: the Cathedral of Pisa and its Baptistry. All three of these buildings created the Piazza del Duomo. The architecture of these buildings was masterful and demonstrated a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic styles. The detail and mathematical accuracy of the ornate buildings was totally impressive. The Tower, Cathedral and Baptistry along with the orignal village of Pisa were contained behind a medieval wall. You couldnt see any of it from the street. When we first walked in through the gates into the city, I was immediately struck by the picturesque view of the all white marble buildings. It was a vision! I was sooo not expecting Pisa to be that beautiful.



A couple notes abou the Pisa photos: 1.) Even though it was sunny, there were dark clouds in the distance while we were in Pisa. The clouds made for some very dramatic photos of the tower. 2.) I love that picture of me and Matt with Seamus' face peering in on the side. It cracks me up! Matt and I enjoy taking pictures of ourselves with Matt's point and shoot camera. On the first shot, Seamus snuck into the picture. We laughed it off and took a second shot that didnt include him. Turns out, the one with Seamus humored us so much that Matt and I preferred it over the one with the just two of us. And 3.) I accidently left my glasses at the Villa on this day. It was sunny so I bought some cheapy blue glasses outside the wall at Pisa. I do not normally wear neon blue sunglasses.

After Pisa, we decided to head out to Lucca. The city of Lucca was on the way home and it was on my Dad's list of "Things We Must See in Italy." Lucca's claim to fame is that its an old medieval town completely surrounded by a large wall and moat. Even though it had been a long day and some of us were wanting a rest, we humored Dad and drove out to Lucca. At this point in our trip, there began to be some personality conflicts.

Even though both cars had a GPS, Matt usually assumed the lead while driving in Italy. Chris would follow behind in the second car. As I said in an earlier post, caravaning in Italy is problematic. Not only is it difficult to stay together, it is also impossible to know what the people in either car are thinking while driving. Upon arriving in Lucca, I consulted with our Rick Steves guide to figure out where to park. Rick Steves specifically stated in his book NOT to drive into the walled city. He suggested parking outside the city and walking in, so Matt circled around until we could find a spot. However, Chris' car (which included my dad, mom, Miranda and Seamus,) didn't know that. Chris and my father were getting impatient and increasingly pissed off that Matt kept passing the gates into the city in lieu of circling the perimeter. They didnt realize we were trying to find parking outside the city. As Matt approached the beginning of our loop, he paused and asked me to find out how close we were to a parking lot and at that point Chris (apparently encouraged by my Dad) cut in front of us and drove headlong into the city. Astonished and against his better judgement, Matt had no choice but to trail along. What followed was a stressful and apparently illegal pleasure ride into the streets of Lucca. What an adventure! Chris navigated us into a "pedestrian only" area of the city where we slowly crept through the narrow streets alongside walking tourists. Even though we were careful not to hit anyone, people glared at us as if to say "You do not belong here." We saw the sites from the comfort of our cars (which was nice) but after a quick pit stop realized we could not park or stay. It seemed that you needed a special permit to park inside the city walls - an item we did not have. As quickly as we had driven into Lucca, we drove out.

Before we got back into the cars to head home, Seamus came up to me asked to ride home in our car. He had heard an earful of complaints and protestations about Matt from my dad and Chris on the drive around Lucca. I explained to him it was all just a misunderstanding and that people say and do things they dont mean when they dont fully understand whats going on. Dad and Chris didnt know what we were doing and they got pissed. Its natural; not personal. That seemed to comfort Seamus some. Still... I know how my dad is and I can totally imagine the words coming out of his mouth while they impatiently followed us around the walls of Lucca. Im glad I wanst in that car during that time.

We were late getting home and the Pam (aka: grocery store) was closed when we arrived. Chris' car drove home, but we continued into Bacchereto in the hopes of scrounging up some food for dinner. Bacchereto is a very small village next to Capezzana. When we were in Italy in 2007, we often walked down to Bacchereto and had food and drinks with our friends at Bar Sport - a small cafe. Thankfully, Bar Sport was open and we were able to pick up some sandwiches and pasta for dinner. Valerio and his son, Gianluca, own Bar Sport and Valerio was behind the counter when we entered. Gianluca came down to help with our order and after some prompting remembered Matt from three years ago. It was really neat to see their familiar faces again.

All in all, it was a very eventful day. :)

Coming next: the Uffici Museum in Florence and our train ride into Rome.

Happy Wednesday.

Day One: Florence

I took this picture of the boys on Easter Sunday - our first full day in Italy. After 24 hours of traveling, we were grateful to lay our bodies down and rest. I think most of us slept in that first day, though quite a few of us confessed waking up in the middle of the night and having a hard time falling back to sleep. I believe the time change was hitting us. Thankfully, it didnt take long to adjust to Italy. Once we were all awake, we ate breakfast together and discussed the day's agenda. It was a cold morning with lots of clouds on the horizon. The bells were ringing all over the valley on account of the Easter holiday and despite the fact that we didnt know if anything would be open, we all agreed to drive into Florence.

Florence was a 30 minute drive from Capezzana. We set out in two cars with five people in each vehicle, but caravaning on Italian streets is tricky. Its easy to get separated and lost. The streets in Italy are narrow and they dont often go in straight lines. Italians drive fast and weave in and out of traffic without fear or trepidation. There are traffic circles which take some getting used to and kamikaze vespa motorists that pop up from out of nowhere. The driving experience rivals a challenging video game, but Matt enjoyed navigating the streets and so did my sister's fiance, Chris. Getting from one place to another proved nauseating to those of us who were easily carsick, but thanks to our drivers we always arrived at our destination unscathed. When we reached Florence it was surprising to see so many people out and about. Despite the holiday, everything appeared to be open and the city was buzzing with activity.

The city's center is a short walk from the train station and the first landmark we found ourselves in front of was the Medici Chapel. Previous to our trip, my mother and I both read a couple books on the MedicI family. It seemed opportune that our first place of interest in Florence would be the chapel of their great family and the location of the tombs. We stopped for a few seconds to get a couple pictures of the chapel and continued into the open market that surrounds the church.


Entering the market, I sensed something was wrong. The majority of our group was lagging behind and when we circled back to find them, we were met with the realization that somewhere in front of the Medici chapel my mother was pick pocketed. The culprits took off with her credit cards and US drivers license so for the next hour or so, my mom was on her cell phone trying to cancel her credit cards. Im pretty sure that the picture above was taken seconds after the crime occurred. My mom is the one with the purple scarf and her hand feeling around towards her pocket. After we realized what had happened, many of us understood that we too felt the same bumps and rustling that fostered my mom's theft. Fortunately, the thieves didnt find anything in our purses or pockets that was valuable. For the rest of the trip Matt stuck a small Rick Steves phrase book in his back pocket as a decoy for anyone trying to pick pocket him. ha ha


The theft didnt rain on our parade, even when the actual clouds did. We spent most of the day taking in all the popular walking sights in on again/off again rainy weather. The Duomo. The Ponte Vecchio. The Piazza della Signoria. Mercato Nuovo/Il Porcellino. Piazza della Republica. We had a nice lunch right off the Piazza della Signoria in a pizzeria called El Bargello. The pizza was just ok, but the beers we received there were HUMONGOUS. They were very refreshing after a days worth of walking. We also savored our first taste of Italian gelato in Florence. Oh man.... it was soooooo good. Finn is a very picky eater and I had to convince him to try it. He didnt want to taste it! I explained to him that while gelato is technically ice cream, its not. Its better than ice cream! Once Finn tried my raspberry flavored gelato, he was hooked and had quite a few cups during the trip.


Just a side note: During our first day, Matt bought Seamus a leather jacket in Florence. Seamus was really hoping to get one so while my mom was calling around trying to cancel her credit cards, Matt took Seamus into the same leather shop where he bought a leather jacket three years before. He ended up picking out the one in the following picture.

For the rest of our Italian vacation, Seamus wore that jacket everywhere we went. By our second or third day, he had accessorized his leather jacket with the page boy hat. During our stay, he would often ask me "Mama, do I look Italian?" and Id tell him yes. I swear, he looked like some little Italian character out of a film. So cute.

Happy Monday.

The Villa at Capezzana

Honest to God, staying in the Villa at Capezzana felt like being in a movie. When Matt and I went to Italy in 07, we stayed on the Capezzana vineyard, but we lived in a large farm house owned by a private individual. The house was homey and rustic with three bedrooms and lots of old world charm.

The Villa had a slightly different feel. Although it had the same Italian essence as the farmhouse, it was very large and set on a sprawling estate with wonderful gardens and vistas. The Villa is the country home of the Contini Bonacossi family. They have been running the family business of wine and olive oil production at Capezzana for several decades. Their estate was a fairytale kind of place. The Villa where we stayed was a fifteenth century mansion with God knows how many rooms. We occupied only a small fraction of the house during our stay. There were old iron gates that allow privacy to the occupants. The grounds included a tennis court (that was set up like a soccer field for our boys) and a pool. As you strolled through the gardens, you encountered old fountains and architectural structures aged to perfection. There were ancient, classical statues hidden among the vegetation and perfectly situated benches to sit and take in the views of Tuscany. It was a very dreamy place and I found myself wanting to sit alone enjoying the sights and sounds more than once during our stay. The Contini Bonacossi family rents out a portion of the Villa to vacationers for a modest price. During our week's vacation, we occupied seven rooms, five bathrooms, two sitting rooms (one that included a large library,) one kitchen, one dining room and a large patio type veranda that was perfect for outdoor eating and relaxation. Even though the grounds and the Villa itself were quite grand and overwhelming in beauty and history, the furnishings inside were functional and modest. The beds were very comfortable and the showers ripe with hot water. The entire location was cinematic - not anything that even remotely resembles day to day life here in America. It was terribly romantic. As we tumbled into the Villa that first Saturday night, there was not one of us who did not outwardly marvel at the surroundings in which we found ourselves. I feel confident in saying that we all felt a sense of extreme awe - as in "pinch me, this cant be real."


The Villa acted as our home base while in Italy. Most of our days were spent taking day trips into Florence (which was a 30 minute drive from the Villa) or driving around the Tuscan hills exploring neighboring towns. I wish that we had spent more time relaxing at Capezzana, but we didnt. If I had to do it again, I would add a couple days of down time specifically spent at the Villa and its estate. It was truly such a relaxing and beautiful place, but unfortunately we only had five days to explore not only Tuscany and Florence, but also Rome. I am confident that when we return to Italy (and God willing it will be sooner than later) we will be spending a lot more quality time at Capezzana and less time running around seeing the sites.

I know I said that I would also write about our first day in Florence, but Im pretty sick right now. Hacking cough, running nose, lost voice and clogged up head. I think I need to take some time today to recharge and rest. I will, however, leave you with the view I encountered that first morning in Italy. As I said earlier, we arrived once it was dark. None of us saw any of the grounds or surrounding area upon arrival. When it was morning, the boys and I were excited to get outside and explore the gardens. This is the view that welcomed me on Easter Sunday. It was so breathtaking and I was so moved that I ran back into the Villa to grab my camera and take a shot.

Happy Thursday. :)

Take Off - Italy 2010

The inception and planning of our Italy trip began at the end of Summer '09. My parents were going to be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in April of 2010 and since I was the oldest of their three children, I began to ponder my responsibilities as far as a party and/or celebration was concerned. My mom is a low key, private kind of person and I didnt want to overstep and plan something if she and my dad didnt want it. Upon asking my mom if she would like me to organize something, she replied "no." She said she'd prefer to do something with just my sisters and our families. I'll admit, I was relieved. Though I was totally willing to throw myself into organizing an anniversary celebration, party planning is not my thing. Bullet dodged. ;) I think it might have been the next Sunday at family dinner that my mom told me she'd been thinking she'd like to go someplace together. My family is no stranger to family vacations. We often travel to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico together and in 2009 enjoyed a wonderful winter vacation in Lake Tahoe. I figured she was thinking about a trip along those lines. I was wrong.

My mom admitted to me that she had been thinking about a trip to France. I was shocked! In recent years, my Mom traveled to France twice: once with my dad and once her sister, Mel, and my sister, Miranda. I didnt realize she was thinking about a trip of that magnitude, but was excited by the prospect. Id never been to France and imagined a once in a lifetime trip with my parents and family. Over the next couple weeks, the trip to France morphed into a trip to Italy. I still cant recall if I had any influence on this change or if it just happened naturally. Regardless, Matt and I were thrilled! We traveled to Italy in 2007 and were excited to take the boys along too.

For a few months it all seemed like an abstract dream. We made tentative plans and discussed hypothetical options. With all of us participating, we would be traveling in a group of 11: my parents; my sister Miranda; my sister Jennifer, her husband Barry and their kids Eli and Abbey; and the four McGarveys. We decided with such a large group that it would be better to rent a house rather than stay in a hotel. By late November, we had rented the villa at Capezzana - the same property that Matt and I had stayed in 2007. That was the first big step in legitimizing our travel plans. By January 2010, the plane tickets were purchased. As each of these big milestones were finalized, the reality of what we were doing became concrete. We were going back to Italy, but this time with my family.

Along the way we lost some participants and gained others. Jennifer and her family chose not to go. When the Paweleks dropped out, my cousin Michelle and her husband Rasheed signed on. They live in France and would meet us in Italy for a few days. Also joining the group was Miranda's boyfriend, Chris. Rumor had it that he was planning to propose to her in Italy.

The beginning of this year was a blur. The days were flying by fast and yet they couldnt seem to come quick enough. Finally on April 2nd, Mom, Dad, Miranda, Chris, Matt, Seamus, Finn and I drove up to Los Angeles for a red eye flight to Zurich, and from there a quick flight into Florence. With the multiple time zone changes and the 7pm flight time, we were going to experience only 4 to 5 hours of night. The flight out to Zurich was 11.5 hours and I was concerned that the kids wouldnt sleep and/or be out of control because their ADHD meds would have worn off. Im happy to report that Finn slept for most of the flight. Unfortunately, he was the only one. Matt and Seamus got less than one hours sleep. I dozed for a total of about 2-3 hours, but mostly stayed awake watching movies. All that withstanding, the kids were fantastic! I am so proud of how well they traveled and how agreeable they were on such long flights. Id been praying for weeks, hoping the long flights and constant moving wouldnt bring out the worst in them. Im happy to report they did amazing. Their cooperative and pleasant behavior/attitude was a huge relief and it set the tone for the rest of our vacation.

When we touched down in Zurich, I couldnt get out of that small airplane seat fast enough. It felt great to walk and stretch my legs. Our layover was only 2 hours but it was enough time for us to tool around the airport and check things out. One thing that Seamus liked (and that I found very impressive) was that various Swiss chocolate companies gave away HUGE chocolate samples in the airport. When I say huge, Im not exaggerating - they were the size of a large bon bon. The companies set up stands where you could watch them make the chocolate and eat samples. Im do not usually like chocolate, but Swiss chocolate is so damn good! On Swiss Air they give you chocolate at the end of each flight. I ate every single one they gave to me. Yum!

Our flight from Zurich to Florence was quick - only 1.5 hours long. (Random side note: We flew over the Alps en route and Finn was dazzled by the mountains and snow.He couldn't stop looking at them and was amazed that they seemed to go on forever.) When we arrived in Florence it was almost twilight. We grabbed the rental cars and headed out to Capezzana via GPS. We drove through small towns and back roads to get to the villa and I was surprised how after 3 years, the sights up to the winery were still familiar. When we arrived at Capezzana it was dark, but Michelle and Rasheed were waiting for us. That was awesome. They had arrived earlier in the day and bought groceries for dinner. Once we had settled into our rooms, we made something quick and fresh to eat and then collapsed into bed. Actually, I think Miranda, Chris, Dad and Matt might have stayed up talking and drinking, but he boys and I collapsed. It was a long day.

Tomorrow: The villa at Capezzana and our first day in Florence.

Home Again, Home Again... Jiggity Jig.

A couple of things upon coming home:
-Our house was clean, but not because I cleaned it before leaving. I asked my sister to have her cleaning lady come in while we were gone and have it cleaned in our absence. I think Im going to do this every single time we leave home for an extended period of time. It was seriously heaven to come home to a sparkling clean house.
-Unfortunately, its not clean anymore. HA! Laundry piles cover the floor. Our cleared off counter and dining room table have odds and ends strewn across them. There are a few dishes in the sink and dirt clots on the floor from the boys coming in and out of the yard.

But its good to be home.

On my list today:
- grocery shop. I am hoping to get this done before noon today.
- laundry. There are two more piles to get into the rotation.
- go through my pictures. I took 1250 pictures in Italy; much less than I thought. I need to go through them and get rid of the ones I dont need.

While I was in Italy, I kept a journal of what we did each day. After I get my pictures organized and proofed, I'll share them with my notes. Im kind of excited to see our vacation from this standpoint.

A few notes on Italy:
- Awesome trip. Kind of a whirlwind, but so fantastic and beautiful. We went there for my parents 40th wedding anniversary and split our time between Tuscany and Rome. My parents, my sister and her fiancee, and our cousins Michelle and Rasheed joined us.
-We traveled by plane, train, car and foot.
-We saw the Pope very close up. It was a trip! I was kind of shocked we could get that close.
-I ate so much good food and gelato. Oh man - the gelato! Im not a big ice cream person, but gelato is not ice cream. It is heaven. The food in Italy does not compare to here. I know that sounds harsh, but I dont know how differently to state it. Its divine - sooooooo good and fresh and flavorful. Im certain I gained between 5 and 10 lbs on our trip, but it was soooooo good. Given the chance to do it again, I would eat it all (and possibly more) in a heartbeat.
-Our villa in Tuscany was ah-may-zing! It was situated on a vineyard in Tuscany - a picture perfect location. The 500 year old villa is presently the country estate of the Contini Bonacossi family and the production location of Capezzana wine. The family rents out a portion it very large estate to vacationers throughout the year. I wish we had spent more time chilling there. It was beautiful are large and so charming in a mansion kind of way. lol
-The kids were great. They did much better than I ever thought they would. The flights were really long (our longest was 11.5 hours) but they traveled like little pros. No problems. None. It was amazing - a miracle. Once we were in Italy, we had a handful of little outbursts, but nothing that jaded my memories of going. Im sooooo thankful. They totally surpassed my expectations.
- When we asked the boys what they liked the most, Finn said "The Colosseum" and Seamus said "Spending 7 full days together in Italy." Awwwww.
-If I could use one phrase to characterize our trip, it would be "full throttle." We did not rest and my lack of voice today is proof of it. During our 7 days (and about 2.5 of those days were spent in route) we saw Tuscany, Vinci, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Rome and the Vatican City. It was very intense. Go... go... go. We ran ourselves and the boys into the ground, but the sights were sooooo worth it.

Those are the cliff notes. More details to come.

Happy Monday.

Ciao Italia!

Today, Matt the boys and I flew back home after a week's stay in Italy.
I am very jet lagged.... and very blessed.
Just wanted to check in and say Im home. :)
Much more later.

Happy Sunday.

Family Portrait - 3/10

I was really hoping I wouldnt have to post this family portrait. Its not very flattering, but I think in 15 years I'll appreciate it more. It was taken this month while we were watching Molly and McGee on their life feed/web page. We were really into that for about a week.

I thought I would get a chance to take another family picture, but this month has flown by. Actually 2010 has really been flying. Crazy how that happens.

March recap:

- Matt and I have been searching on tivo for everything Italy, Rome, Tuscany, Medici and Florence. We're gearing up for a big trip to Italy and wanted to get in the mood. So far, we've seen some cool travel shows and a great series on the rise and fall of the Roman empire. Matt is loving it. He's such a history dude.

-I read tons of Italy themed books this month and many of them were bad. Im not a reader by nature so this fact was a real let down for me. I suppose if I had thought about my purchases longer I could have guessed that fiction based in Italy mostly follows a generic, highly predictable plot line involving romance and second chances at love. Boring. Of all the books I read, the worst was one called Home To Italy by Peter Pezzelli. I have read better writing from middle schoolers. It was the worst book Ive read in many, many years.

-One random day this month I was in Costco and spied a woman in the next aisle who had twin babies. They looked like they might have been about 8 months old - a boy and a girl. As I looked at them, I had this out of nowhere yearning to have a baby. Let me rephrase: a STRONG yearning. It hit me hard and I spent the next several moments trying to figure out how I could convince Matt to reverse his vasectomy and knock me up. Thankfully the moment passed pretty quickly.

- Finn and Seamus had good report cards this quarter. Go boys!

-I discovered this fantastic new restraunt in town called The Yellow Deli. They have wonderful food and this tea type beverage called Yerba Mate. Sooooo rad. I find myself wanting to get there every day...but since I dont have the money, I only go for my "mate" once a week.

-Matt and I spent a weekend this month going wine tasting with Matt's oldest friend, Joe, and his girlfriend, Stephanie. Even though Matt and I drink wine regularly, it was our first time going wine tasting. Even though I was pretty much done drinking by the second winery, we had a fantastic time. We sampled wine from five different wineries that day and had a wonderful dinner at this place. At the beginning of the day, we decided Stephanie would drive us around so we left our car parked at the first winery. After dinner, when we went to pick it up and drive home, we were stunned to realize that our car was locked into the gated parking lot. Poor Joe and Stephanie were forced to drive us home (which was completely in the opposite direction they were hoping to go) and we had to retrieve the car the next day.

That's all I can remember for now.
Happy Thursday.

Oh, What A Night!

After spending hours at the track meet last Saturday, Matt put on his Mr. Mom apron and made sure the boys attended two separate birthday parties in two different cities. It was not an easy task, but Matt did it like a pro. Thats my man!

I, on the other hand, escaped Vista and my normal mama duties to meet up with my bff for a few wonderful hours in Los Angeles. Linnea invited me to see a lecture featuring Ira Glass - the creator and narrator of the This American Life podcast. Im a huge fan of the show and havent missed an episode for about 2 or 3 years. Linnea thought it would be fun to hear Ira speak together (shes a fan too) so I jumped at the opportunity to go with her. The traffic was horrible on the way up to LA, but it was worth it. I was so fired up to see/hear Ira speak. I wasnt let down. Ira was great and Linnea's husband Duane hooked us up with fantastic seats for the show. We were in the third row! I know it sounds silly, but Ira looked exactly like his voice - quirky, intelligent and kind of off center. I loved him! The lecture took place in Royce Hall - a gorgeous building on the UCLA campus. I havent been to UCLA/Westwood forever and I couldnt help but think it would be cool to bring the boys there someday. Seamus in particular would love the university vibe.

It was a wonderful evening for me - so adult-like and different from my ordinary life. Thank you so much to Nea and Duane. You both are so generous and kind to me. Love you tons. :)