Lake Oconee – Leona found a new rock

Leona and David discovered an even bigger jumping rock. Apparently she was the youngest jumper and chastised the college age girls who were too scared to jump at the top.

Our Last Days in Paradise

Clearly, we’ve been back from Italy for a while but I wanted to post a few of our last photos while we were there. It was a wonderful trip and I’m already wishing we had the next one planned.

We spent a few days on the beach at Viareggio and Lido di Camaiore. The views were unbelievable with the alps in the background.  In Italy one accesses the beach via beach clubs that have playgrounds, restaurants and other facilities.  The girls loved the playgrounds and I particularly loved the frizzante white wine.

We traveled to Rome for a couple of days. We should have just skipped this step as we prefer the countryside and have been to Rome a few times before. However, ending our trip at the St. Regis was nice!

The girls made the plane ride home look easy. They were happy just to watch cartoons that they hadn’t seen in a few weeks.

p.s. Nikon did replace my lens once I returned home.

Cinque Terre con bambine = Pazzi

Italy with young kids is not without its challenges. I can’t tell you how many times a day I hear “are we there yet?”  or “will you carry me?” or various other complaints relevant to a five year old.

We attempted the Cinque Terre today which are five “remote” fishing villages on the mediterranean coast.  They are a strange contrast of old-authentic towns and yet the most over-run with tourists we’ve seen.

We only made it to two of the five (cinque) towns. It was just a logistical nightmare with kids.  It’s a beautiful area that if I had to do again I’d see by boat. David and I will look forward to returning in 16 years.

Apuan Alps

Today we explored the northernmost area of Tuscany with large mountains full of carrera marble and lush valleys with rivers, lakes and surprisingly more modern towns (victorian era). 

We went to a charming town for lunch named Barga.  At the highest point there is a 13th century church which was having service at the time we visited. The view was stunning and Leona loved how the choir and organ sounded in this cavernous church.  She thinks any building we go into that has a large echo is naturally a church. 

Then we stopped to see this medieval bridge built in the 13th century.

Nikon Sucks!

I should have some incredible photos for you by now but the lens that I have sent to Nikon for warranty repair twice in the last month is not working again. Ugh!
Instead I’ll show you some photos from Leona’s camera. It’s fun to see Italy from her eyes anyway.

Katherine and Alice in Orvieto

 

There were many more pics – most of my butt.  I’ll spare you those.

Four years later

Here is Leona standing in the same flower filled street in Spello where we took her photo four years ago. There seem to be more flowers but her patience for the camera is about the same.

Mt. Sibbilini

We visited the town of Norcia – known most for its pork products. David was in heaven…and the girls liked all the stuffed boars heads on the walls.

The town is down in a valley which is unusual for Umbria. We drove up the mountain side to an area where it becomes a grand plain. There were wild horses, wild flowers and a remote village in the distance. It was quite a unique sight.

Mom, I can smell the jasmine already!

I conditioned Leona that Italy smells like the jasmine we have growing in our garden. And it does, there is jasmine growing everywhere here.  As we were descending into the Rome airport and Leona was looking out the window she announced, “Mom, I can smell the jasmine already.”

 

The girls did great on the plane and on our first day.  We all immediately got adjusted to the time. I can’t believe it.

Today we went to the town of Spoleto.  It’s a beautiful day (sunny and 78 degrees) and we seem to be the only tourists. We sat out at a cafe in front of this beautiful cathedral which was built in 1200.  The town sits high on a hill and parts of this walled city date back to 200 bc. Unbelievable!