The second weekend of September (and the second weekend of Shannon, Matt & Ari's visit) was all planned out by Jamie to see a typical Italian town and Rome. Our first stop was about 2 hours, 45 minutes up the boot of Italy from where we live, a town called Orvieto in the Umbria region. Orvieto is a fairly flat town built up on tufa (volcanic rock) - a very picturesque town, and very visible driving up (or down) the A1 surrounded by it's tufa cliffs.
We visited the very old duomo, walked the cobblestone streets, peaked into several shops and just enjoyed the Italian town for it's beauty. We missed out on some highlights, like the Pozzo di San Patrizio (St Patrick Well, built for the popes) and the underground labyrinth of caves and tunnels. A town easy to get to as a day trip, or as a stop on another road trip or on our way home, we'll be back to visit for sure!

We stayed just outside of Orvieto at a really fantastic agriturismo: La Rocca. It was one of the most beautiful settings and the agriturismo had so much on site including an awesome pool (the kids LOVED!!!) and a really amazing restaurant. I could see myself going back to stay at La Rocca a few more times, or at least for a few days to get away and relax.

Like most tourists want to see, we headed to Roma for the next two days to hit the highlights of that city, one of the most amazing cities in the world.
We stayed right outside of Vatican City, in fact we could see the pillars surrounding St Peter's square looking out our apartment window. Pretty cool!

We let Shannon and Matt have a few hours without Ari while they did the main tourist (not-so-toddler-friendly) attraction there: The Vatican Museum which includes the Sistine Chapel. Meanwhile, we took Ari, Riann and Lincoln on a bus ride over to La Bocca dela Verita
(the Mouth of Truth, well known from Audrey Hepburn's Roman Holiday) before heading back to St Peter's piazza to let the kids play (and do some nun counting) and met up with Shannon and Matt.

The second day there, we saw the Colosseo and the Roman Forum, the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon... a day filled with walking and seeing as much of Roma as possible.

Sabbia, mare, templi greci ... e mozzarella di bufala!

Translation: Sand, sea, Greek temples... and mozzarella di bufala!

Jamie's sister, Shannon, her husband Matt & their son Ari came to visit us at the end of August. Jamie only gave them about a day in Napoli to catch up from their long flight before we were hopping on their tour.
Out-of-season by a few days, we headed to the beach about 2 hours south along the coast and stayed at a resort called Oleandri.

The months of July and August, you just don't want to be at the beach here unless you really love the crowds. The timing was perfect! We invited a few friends to tag along too, so we met them all shortly after upon check in at the resort. We all headed to the sand and sea, the kids began their fun as the adults chimed in to some relaxation.

Jamie had researched some nearby restaurants, so we headed out for dinner on our first night and ate some pretty amazing food!

The next day, it was hot, so we got an early start and headed to Paestum, a town known for it's most well preserved Greek ruins which included several temples.

It is quite an amazing place!! It could only be prettier if it wasn't the end of a hot, dry summer and instead had the lush greens and flowers in bloom all around.
We also visited the Tenuta Vannulo Mozzerella farm. We saw a ton of Bufala, indulged in some gelato, and brought home some fresh balls of mozzarella di bufala - possibly some of the best cheese ever!

After a few hours there, and to the kids delight, we headed back to the resort and back to the beach. Since we had some other friends at the same resort, and we couldn't stop talking about the food from the night before, the whole group of us made plans and meet up for dinner at the same restaurant. Again, it was a night of full bellies thanks to the excellent cuisine!

Our hurrah to Labor Day weekend, Italian style was a scenic, although semi-tortueous drive up the Amalfi Coast to the town of Ravello. Hairpin turns, cliffside two-lane road... a little scary, to say the least, at times, but OH! so worth the drive to get to beautiful Ravello!
We ate some lunch at a scenic little park to settle our stomachs, walked around and snapped a few photos before our last portion of the drive to get home.

I'm still hoping our first weekend excursion didn't completely wear out Matt, Shannon and Ari... a few days to rest before our next Italian adventure!