Family & Friends, Food & Drink, Travel Adventures

Italy Day 9: Two hour lunches & naps in the garden

We had a slow start this morning, and not for any particular reason. As per usual at home, #1BigSister was first awake and quickly asking me to turn on everyone’s new favorite show, “Bread Barbershop” (Netflix) about a slice of bread who works decorating the bald “heads” of various cupcakes, adding swirls of icing, sprinkles, chocolate pieces – lots of flare. Bluey is still the best – but Bread is running a close second.

I made a casual breakfast by cutting up some fruit I bought yesterday and arranging concentric circles of meat. I forgot the croissants – but no one noticed.

Sometimes it feels like vacation is just passing the time until you eat again… and in Italy that seems even more condensed. Yesterday we made a lunch reservation at Chalet Fontana, a lovely restaurant with gardens and terrace dining. We went last time we came to Italy. I was psyched to make a return.

Checking out the tadpoles

We ordered the octopus, salad and beef tartare for starters, then we each had an entre – servings were generous. The kids enjoyed rolling around in the grass, and I appreciated that no one at the restaurant seemed to care.

2018
2023

We had two tables, 11 of us total. We took our time, talked, drank, watched the kids do silly things… slowed down. It was lovely. It was Italy… well, likely anywhere in Europe. These are the moments that tempt me to go expat.

After lunch we all went separate ways. #1LittleSister and I took a walk in the stroller from Chalet Fontana back to our AirBnB, but of course I took that opportunity to stop and take photos as well as pop into some stores in search of the perfect thank you gifts for some friends back home helping us out while we are gone.

Il Torchio del Erin Ciulla

At my sister’s recommendation, I stopped in to check out a small store for handmade books. The artist is a Canadian expat who fell in love with Florence on a study abroad and made her way back as fast as life allowed. Her shop is so special. I picked up two handmade things which she gift wrapped for me free of charge.

Views along my walk

As I mentioned, one meal seems to roll right into the other here, so it was soon time for dinner… but first a little snack from Madeline, a pastry shop unfortunately for my waistline located right outside our door. So for those counting, that’s Gelato to the right and pastries right across the street.

Fruit torte and cannoli with limoncello

I’m starting to get worried about when we get home and everyone is off of their sleep schedules. This will go one of two ways… either the kids will be so exhausted their bodies don’t even care what time it is and then just crash… or they stay awake for 18 hours straight and #1BigSister gets in trouble for falling asleep at school. I don’t want to jinx myself with a prediction.

In keeping with the daily gelato tradition, after dinner we stopped by a small store right at the foot of Ponte Vecchio. Everyone was good at sharing. #1LittleSister played the cute card hard and wooed the gelato women into gifting her a free waffle cone wafer. I swear she’s a 21 year old trapped in a 1.5 year old body. She knows what she’s doing.

Ponte Vecchio at night

After gelato we walked for a bit, but the length of the day and the cold weather were wearing on everyone. We turned back and looked for a taxi to take my mom back up “the hill” to my sister’s house where she’s staying. Unfortunately there were none to be found, nor through Uber, so my sister came and picked her up in her “car.”

Generous leg room

Tomorrow we are hoping to rent either a golf cart or some other kind of vehicle to take a quick ride through the city and see some parts out of walking distance. In the evening, we have a BABYSITTER from 6-9, and will head to my sister’s house for a meet and greet for our of town friends and family. I’m looking forward to seeing many of my cousins who will be here. I only have 5 (total in both sides), and 3 will be here. And with that, sleep calls again.

~Steph

Family & Friends, Travel Adventures

Italy Day 8: Firenze & Family

This morning we left our AirBnB an hour after we had planned. Sometimes the kids make their own schedule, no matter how much extra time you pad in there. Fortunately Italians are very easy going, so when Amir returned the rental car two hours late, they didn’t even blink.

We crashed upon our arrival in Florence

The whole reason we are here in Italy is to celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of my youngest niece. My sister and her family moved to Florence (or Firenze as it’s called in Italian), about seven years ago. They initially said they were coming on a two year rental… then two turned into four, four into “we’re taking it year by year”… until they bought the house they were renting. They are here for good now. I’m not complaining.

Our AirBnB has views of the Ponte Vecchio

The last of our three AirBnB rentals for this trip wins out for best location. We’re situated right on the Arno River with a view of Ponte Vecchio from all three of our windows.

Cousins coloring

I’m excited for the leg of our vacation, as I have some of my closest relatives who have traveled here as well for the event. The last two times we’ve all seen each other have been for my father’s funeral, and then just a year later and unexpectedly, his brother, my uncle. We’d commented how we need to get together for something fun for once and here it is.

#1Nana enjoying a snack with TeamLouka
Ponte Vecchio from our window

Tomorrow we have a reservation for lunch at a nice restaurant my sister swears is kid-welcoming. I really hope she’s right as I really don’t want to get kicked out of the first place we try in Florence.

It looks like I might actually get to bed before midnight tonight!

~Steph

Family & Friends, Travel Adventures

Italy Day 6: Fishies & one other unexpected friend

I honestly don’t have a lot of energy to throw towards writing today… but today was also a day where we stayed home and explored the nature around us.

We started with swings and feeding the fish, then went to explore the pool and were greeted by a green whip snake crawling out of a hole in the stone retaining wall a la Temple of Doom. I’m ashamed to say I screamed, ran and while I’d like to say my motherly instinct was to scoop my child up first and then run, well…

One of the many details I appreciate about this AirBnB is the wine cabinet. The owners have gone ahead and selected a few bottles of local wine in all the varieties, and written the price (no markup) on each label. When you want a bottle you just open it, drink it, and then set the empty on top of the wine cabinet. They bill you at the end for your choices. As someone who loves wine but isn’t an expert, I love having a cultivated selection right here.

This afternoon we took a quick trip north to San Casciano dei Bagni to grab a bite to eat and visit the geothermal pools. There was a huge archeological discovery here in 2022. The site dates to 40 AD when the Etruscans built the baths.

Visiting a geothermal bath at San Casciano dei Bagni

We didn’t bring our bathing suits on this trip, so we just dipped our toes in. Of course that was utterly devastating for some in our crew who have been dying to go swimming anywhere, any time, any temperature.

Visiting a geothermal bath at San Casciano dei Bagni

Tomorrow is our last day here at Podere Palazzo. We head on to Florence on Wednesday to meet up with our families who are all here in Italy to celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of my youngest niece. I’ll have to set aside a few hours tomorrow to pack us back up ahead of the drive.

Buona notte

~Steph

Family & Friends, Food & Drink, Travel Adventures

Italy Day 5: Castello di Torre Alfina & Lago di Bolsena

Sleep was scarce last night. We had to barricade #1BigBrother in his room as he kept escaping and roaming the halls all night. We’ve decided tonight not to even fight it. We’ll watch movies until they pass out.

We didn’t have much, any, of a plan for today. We had to get gas for the car, but beyond that, we were just driving and exploring. While Amir was pumping petrol, I took to Google Maps scoping out the nearest castles. Yes, there are many choices, one atop every hill in fact.

I found Castello di Torre Alfina, just 15 minutes away and with 127 five star reviews. Sold. It didn’t open for an hour though, so the kids were so disappointed we just had to get gelato… again. It’s been a daily occurrence. this time we added cannolis.

Dark chocolate, white chocolate and pistachio cannolis

The castle doors opened right on time. #1BigBrother was tied with Amir to be first inside. The gates opened up to a large garden and u-shaped courtyard where we found a small door to purchase tickets. #1BigSister immediately took to doing cartwheels in the grass. She’s a gymnast now. Monday nights.

Courtyard of Castello di Torre Alfina

At first we were afraid we’d be shut out of a tour. We weren’t sure if small children weren’t allowed, or if the tour guides just didn’t speak English. It didn’t take long for our English-speaking guide, Eva, to appear and introduce herself to the kids. Phew.

As soon as we entered, we knew we were in for an unexpected experience. For starters, we were the only family there. We had the place to ourselves. We had Eva to ourselves. Amir pelted her with question after question like a kid asking for candy answers.

The tour encompasses two floors. If you want the history lesson on the castle, I’m not your gal. Ask Amir. I was too busy taking photos every five feet as I encountered aesthetic moments one after the other that just required capturing. I was also baby-wearing squirmy #1LittleSister, which required me to up my photography game to avoid 2G of blurry photos.

After the castle, we loaded everyone back into the JEEP and again consulted our friendly tour guide Google Maps for a next stop. We’d been eyeing up a large volcanic lake on the map. I’d noticed it when researching our AirBnB. We set course.

The castle at Lake Bolsena

It turns out Lake Bolsena also has a castle. I’m not kidding you – the things are everywhere. This time we were hungry though, so we hiked up the hill towards the castle, but our destination was a small cafe called I Sapori del Castello. Somewhere along the upward climb it started raining… cold rain. Rain that just seemed extra wet. When we finally reached the restaurant, we worried they might not let us in looking so war-torn.

Small starters: artichokes, fish salad and anchovies on toast. Delicioso!

The kids surprisingly didn’t eat much (there was pizza, too)… but we needed to move along to our next stop before it got too dark. We are brave explorers, but only in the daylight.

We walked back down that huge hill and stopped at the overlook to appreciate the volcanic lake and surrounding village. The rain had passed and the shivering stopped.

At the overlook, Amir spotted a ferris wheel down below, at the edge of the lake. I’d have thought for sure the kids would have seen it first – but we had to point it out to them. There was no question where we were headed next.

After three turns on the ferris wheel, it was our turn to exit. We took one last lap near the water to get a close up look at the fishing boats before heading back to the car. As a lover of all vehicles and vessels, #1BigBrother was quite satisfied.

Tomorrow we might check out the geothermal pools – but that all depends on everyone’s willingness to sleep tonight. Here’s hoping for more rest than the last 5 nights.

~Steph