April fun!

Before Spring Break, we were busy enjoying the different ways to entertain oneself as an American living in Italy. My friend Sara and I like to go on adventures, the two we went on this past spring was to look for demijohns and we hit gold! Well, first we hit some trash, and saw some interesting, yet typical sights you see living in Italy, then we hit gold...

snapping photos of what Italian cemeteries look like...

And this is how we find demijohns...

We can also "find" them by having date-day and going up toward Benevento to Solopaca to fill up demijohns with wine at a pump...

All this wine... what about beer? We found a local microbrewery too!

After our Spring Break adventure, life continued to more swiftly too - rarely is there NOTHING to do. Those days are rare but hey, we live in Italy for only a short time, so we have to enjoy it! Jamie's cousin, Tess, who was studying abroad in Wales, was on her spring break and got in touch with us. Jamie treated Tess and her friend to a day adventure in the rain in downtown Napoli: cafe at Gambrinus (the old, famous cafe), pizza at Da Michele (made famous by Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love), and then brought them to our house for a non-hostel evening of home-cooked food, a washer and dryer, some limoncello and a comfy, clean bed to sleep in.

I took off on a girls trip with my friends Molly and Kara - we headed first to one of my favorite finds for fun, refurbished Italian furnishings near Siena.

We each left with some ideas and treasures before heading further north to Ochiobello where we stayed overnight, and dined on some fantastic Italian dishes and some wine. Off to Nove, Italy for some fun shopping. Nove is known for their ceramics, specifically ceramics that are made for Lenox, Tiffany & Co, Williams-Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, Anthropologie, etc.

We had fun, got a little overwhelmed, made some good purchases and moved on to another night "off", uniterrupted dinner at a restaurant back in Orvieto - a bit closer to home.

From there, our days were filled with gymnastics performances, surprise 40th birthday parties, and Mickey Mouse kids parties before the four of us were heading back northward to Orvieto. This time, we were meeting Unc & (Aunt) Debi - Jamie's uncle and aunt from Syracuse - they were in Italy for Unc's company's Presidents Club annual conference that took place in Rome. They extended their Italian adventure to spend part of it with us. We thought they would enjoy Orvieto, and then a side excursion for wine and olive oil tasting. It was a fun visit, although a short one.

All this fun had to come to an end eventually. And so PCS season began. PCS?? What's that?? The wonderful world of the military has, what seems to be, about one million acronyms. PCS is the acronym for Permanent Change of Station, and it's a term you hear, especially here, every day. People begin the moving process once orders are in hand, of course. Once those papers are in our hot little hands, we can schedule movers for our HHG (House Hold Goods), schedule the temporary furniture to come in, make TLA (something about temporary lodging) reservations at the base hotel for your last days before you hop on the Rotator - the regularly scheduled military flight that gets people from one duty station to the next. My first sad day came when I volunteered to drive to Rome airport with my friend Kristin, to take their dog, DJ, so she could fly back to the states before the hot temperatures arrived and animals can no longer fly for the season. See, they did not have orders yet, they had already waited as long as they could before they had to make special arrangements for their fuzziest family member to get stateside. It was a fairly easy process considering how expensive it was, but it was awfully sad to say good bye to DJ as we saw her through security checks, paperwork stamping, cargo loading, etc. The good news was, DJ made it safely to Atlanta to spend several weeks with her, ummm, grandmother.

And before another O'Leary family adventure was about to begin, we had to send off another friend to the states... My friend Molly, her husband Andy, dubbed "Googleboy", and their two girls, Claire and Ellie. Lincoln and Claire were like an old married couple - one minute they adroe each other, the next they are bickering, then they are best buddies again and then back to "He/She's not letting me talk!"

We had an "Arreivederci" party for them, but we also had a ladies night of bunco playing to send Molly off in style. I couldn't post them here, but in true Molly-fashion, we did her vogue-like series of photos as the camera was set in timer mode to take 10 shots. This was the *best* one of us all:

Spring break, Italy style

Spring break 2012 - It was way better than any tropical destination as we were headed to the northern parts of Italy to meet up with my sister and our three nieces. They spent their first days in Venice, they had an amazing time exploring the canals, and the nooks and crannies of the beautiful city of Venezia!

With some time to pass before meeting up with Gretchen, Paige, Molly and Megan, the four of us spent a few hours in the town of Riva del Garda, the northern-most town on Lago di Garda where we ended up in the middle of a youth sailing event. Sailboats from all over Europe and many other countries including the USA. The lake quickly filled up with hundreds of boats, and we were happy to just walk around the lovely, picture-perfect town of Riva del Garda.

Off to Malchesine to meet up with G & the gang - it's always nice to see family, especially when you're living far away in Italy! After hugs and greetings, we took a funicular-type "ride" up to the top of Monte Baldo. Up above the clouds and drizzly skies, we could see the lake and the valley below when there were breaks in the clouds.

Afterward, we checked out the town of Malchesine, had some Italian sweets lake-side, then headed south along the lake a bit further to the town of Garda where we ate some piping hot pasta dishes. We checked into our agriturismo, got settled and called it a night. The next day was Easter so we started with a short drive to the peninsula town named Sirmione. Sirmione is on the southern most end of Lago di Garda. We visited the archeological site of Grotte di Catullo (Grottoes of Catullus).

It was a busy morning with trying to see some sights of Sirmione, but we had to make our way back to the agriturismo as we had reservations for Easter lunch, Italian style. The food was outstanding, the wine was great, the room we had all to ourselves was fantastic and cozy, but in Italian fashion, we were stuffed and had to get moving.

We had a fun time letting the kids have a few Easter egg hunts on the property, the kids ran and had a ton of fun. The skies were sunny to one side and so grey to the other side, we were lucky to find no rain but a vibrant, long-lasting rainbow. It made for a wonderful afternoon of colorful eggs and fun picture-taking. After all that busy-ness, we headed back to Sirmione to walk around some more and to end Easter Sunday with a scoop of gelato.

As requested by Paige and Molly, we headed to Verona - the city known for the setting of Romeo & Juliet. We saw some of the main attractions, including the balcony claimed to be (but not REALLY) Juliet's.

Later that afternoon, we drove from Verona to Pisa, another "must see" request by the Hoffman girls. We arrived to our hotel, then got to the main sight - The Leaning Tower", of course, as it was all lit up for the night.

The next morning was an early one, very few people were among the Piazza dei Miracoli (field of miracles) as the Hoffman girls took their tickets and headed to the top of the Leaning Tower.

Jamie, Riann, Lincoln and I hung out at a nearby bar sipping on cappuccinos and eating pastries for breakfast. When the Hoffman girls were done, they kept Riann and Lincoln for us (you have to be 8 years old to climb to the top) so that Jamie and I could walk those crooked stairs and get to the top of that leaning tower.

It was really cool and a fun opportunity to take! Having some fun in Pisa, and do as all tourists do, we all took our turn holding up the tower for photo opps.

After our few hours in Pisa, we were on the road again. Next stop was Assisi. We walked all over Assisi, which is no small feat, as it is a hillside town, and it was a bit warmer than the other days. The pinkish brick that most of the buildings are constructed with is beautiful, the cobblestone streets, stairwells, etc make this town a fun but tiring one to visit. We ended our evening with a superb dinner at a local ristorante highly recommend by our favorite, Rick Steves.

Our fun adventure with cousins and Aunt Gretchie had to come to an end... It went by so quickly but we had so much fun. They still had a few more days to spend in Rome before flying out, so from Assisi, they followed us to Rome. We got them situated with their rental car checked in, and into a taxi headed to their apartment where they continued their Italian adventure. Two hours of a drive for us and we were back home, just enough time to get ready for the school and work week to begin.

Brussels, Brugge, Gent and... PARIS!!!

A few weeks after our return from Madrid, we were packing our bags yet again. This time, we were heading to Belgium and Paris with our friends, the Tuckers. Kristin was one of the very first people I met when we moved here. She has been a wonderful friend, and my "go-to" because she has lived here for nearly 4 years, she is so wise, smart, friendly and funny. Her husband Anthony and Jamie have a great time together, and their boys, William and Wesley, are great friends to Riann and Lincoln. I think we were all equally excited about our trip!
We did the two-hour drive to Rome and flew directly to Brussels, Belgium. We had apartments next door to each other and quickly unpacked so we could get out and start enjoying Belgium. First stop: the Christmas Market right down the way from our apartment. We had the most unbelievable waffles that Jamie had promised would blow Eggos way out of the water. They were insane delicious! Cake-like batter, sweet and dense, and melt in your mouth warm and delicious. If heaven were a food, this would be it!

Of course, we had to sample some other goods at the market and the kids spied the most unique carousel ever: instead of horses, there was a hot air balloon, a submarine, a dinosaur, a cruise ship, a rocket ship that actually climbed so high, it went above the carousel top (there was a hole cut out of the roof for that). Riann, Wesley and William had so much fun!! Lincoln chickened out - he is not a fan of carousels.
As agreed, the husbands went out to sample Belgian beer while Kristin and I stayed back with the kids, and we alternated like that a few nights... We told our husbands we didn't care how much they drank or what time they stayed out until, they just had to be 100% the next morning when the kids were up and we were off on our daytime adventures.

I'm sure they struggled the morning after drinking beers the size of their heads at places with names like Delirium but they kept their word and didn't complain when it was time to get up.
We woke up to a gross, cold, rainy day but we were in Belgium and we were headed to Gent, we weren't going to let crummy weather stop us from enjoying our first day, especially because it was Riann's 6th birthday!!!!!

We started the morning with a super special treat: belgian waffles for breakfast.
Then we hopped the train and arrived in Gent a short time later. A stop in a fabulous chocolate shop only increased the happiness in our day, as well as a tasty, hot lunch in a cozy little restaurant.

It was the ladies turn for an evening out, and Kristin and I headed out just in time for HUGE snowflakes to come tumbling from the sky - it was picturesque! We went to the Christmas Market again, it was so festive with all the falling snow! We didn't last long as it was cold out, and we were tired from a long day out.

The next morning we checked off some sights in Brussels before taking the train to Bruges. The sun came out and we arrived at our stop... Brugge is a perfectly adorable town! We found ourselves in an open air market and had to snack. Coconut macaroons that were out of this world, Anthony found Gouda cheese that was like no other cheese I have ever tasted, and then the rotisserie chicken... Oh. My. Word. Never would I ever think I would be able to write about chicken, but this was the best chicken EVER. There are no words to describe this chicken and there are three other adults and four kids that would tell you the same thing. Indescribable chicken. Who knew??

There was an ice skating rink in Brugge, so everyone but me went ice skating... I took pictures. I didn't dare put on a pair of skates, it's been way too long since I skated, and I'm way too uncoordinated and didn't need to go injuring myself on our trip. Neither Riann nor Linc had ever ice skated before, but they were both very eager and excited. Riann got very frustrated quickly and ended up in tears saying she never wanted to ice skate again. I think the words she used:
"I never want to ice skate again.

It was a fun and adventurous day but we were all hungry, so we headed to Chez Leon, famous for oysters. Poor Wesley was so exhausted after all the fun, he had fallen asleep, slept right through dinner and until the next morning. The rest of us chowed down on some seriously good food, oysters all around for the adults!

As we were walking back to our apartments, there was a holiday light show taking place in Grand Place. Even though it was raining, we stopped and watched for a while, until the kids were all too cold and headed to our beds to snuggle down and get some rest. Except for Jamie and Anthony who took the opportunity to try out some more Belgian beer, including Westmalle, the best beer in the world according to Jamie, and one of about 1000 beers to choose from. They actually had a beer catalog as a menu to order: paradise for beer-drinking guys.

December 18, we boarded the fast train to Paris!!! Riann's #1 requested destination since moving to Italy. She was super excited and we were too!
We arrived in Paris, found our apartment and took off on a walk to the train station. Soon after, we arrived at the Eiffel Tower. Since the Tuckers had already been to Paris a few times and visited the Eiffel Tower a few times, we decided to divide and conquer!

Jamie, Riann, Lincoln and I were going to visit the top but after getting a (ridiculously expensive, tourist hot dogs in baguettes) snack, we canned the idea as the lines were so long to wait to get tickets and go to the top.
We caught up with the Tuckers at a nearby Christmas market, took some photos of the tower, then decided to do as the French and go sip on some wine, eat some cheese and baguettes, letting the kids recover a bit and buy us some time to do a few things that evening.

When we were done at the restaurant, we headed back over to the Eiffel Tower, timing it perfectly to watch the first light show on the Eiffel Tower of the evening. Words cannot express the amazing view of the tower being lit up, sparkling and just standing there beautifully for us all to enjoy. I think the kids even loved it for it's duration!
It was getting cold since it was dark. Back to the apartment to rest up for the next day...

The next morning, Jamie and Anthony went out to get the adults caffeine and fresh baguettes for breakfast for everyone. A jar of fabulous French jam and a couple baguettes make for a delicious and cheap breakfast; the Starbucks frou-frou drinks were just the icing on the cake.
All eight of us headed out for another walk to the Eiffel Tower right after breakfast, making for a short line, it only took about 15 minutes to get tickets and head to the top. Even though the view would have been clearer the day before, the panoramic view was fantastic! We spent more time up there than I would have imagined and then we took the lift back down to Tier 2, the "middle" deck of the tower.
The most incredible memory of our trip to Paris: Ice Skating ON the Eiffel Tower. A few days before, as you may recall from our ice skating adventure in Belgium, was not the best ice skating experience for Riann. However, the magic of the Eiffel Tower and the excitement of being in Paris had Riann back in ice skates and pushing around a penguin "walker on skates". About 30 minutes on the ice, she decided on her own to get herself around the ice without assistance - SHE DID IT!! Her smile was contagious, she never slipped or fell, she did awesome and we were so proud of her! I'm pretty sure she was super proud of herself too.

We cut across Paris on foot to Rue Cler where we had lunch: quiche for some of us, carrots and mashed potatoes for Riann.

Our walk came to a halt after realizing we had a lot more distance to go and the kids were just done. We headed to the Metro, took it back across town and got off near the Latin Quarter. There was a Starbucks calling our name - a good rest stop that provided snacks, caffeine, a few comfy chairs and most importantly when traveling with kids: a clean bathroom.
After a good break, we headed through the Latin Quarter and arrived at the Notre Dame. The outside of the building has so much detail - intricate stained glass, the flying buttresses - and the inside was ready for the holidays with a nativity scene, but the stained glass from within the cathedral was just breathtaking. It was unbelievably beautiful!

That evening, the Tuckers stayed back at the apartment with all the kids so Jamie and I could have a date night out in Paris. (Yes, we did the same for them too the next night...)
Jamie and I took the train from our apartment to the Arc du Triomphe. It was a gross, cold, rainy night but in Paris, everything seemed to be beautiful regardless of the weather. We climbed the spiral staircase up to the top - the structure is massive!! - and enjoyed the views even despite the rain. The views of Paris from the top were amazing, we really loved looking down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and seeing all the traffic lights and ferris wheel at the end. It made for some cool pictures! The sugar on top: the Eiffel Tower having it's hourly light show again. Romantic, beautiful... It is Paris after all!

Jamie and I continued our date night out even though our feet were already killing us from doing so much walking earlier. We window shopped, dodged the heavier rain by escaping into a few stores and finally arrived at the Christmas market along the Champs-Élysées. We ended the evening with a little, quiet dinner.

The Tuckers did a day trip of their own the next day: a visit to Versailles. We took Riann and Lincoln, sort of to celebrate Riann's 6th birthday, to Disneyland Paris. We didn't tell them where we were going, we just hopped on a train and waited to watch their faces once we arrived at the main gate. There were a ton of people in line but we finally managed to find our way in. Lincoln wasn't being the most cooperative that day. In fact, he had told us multiple times "I just want to go hoooooome", and when we would tell him we were on our way back to the hotel/apartment, he would say "Noooo, I want to go hooooooooome." The poor guy was just homesick and really just wanted to be home, in our home, with his toys, his bed, his routine.
Riann walked through Alice's Wonderland with Jamie,

then Riann and I went on the Dumbo ride. The crowds and lines weren't cooperating much either, and finally, Jamie and I just said to each other "We spent all this money to get into the park, we just have to find a way to make the very best of the situation". And so we did...
We found the rides that had the shortest lines, we ate some kid-friendly food, then we made our way to Disney Studios, the "other" Disney park. We watched a short parade with a bunch of the characters Lincoln recognized and then, finally, he got excited to be at Disney. We really hit the jackpot with him as we found the entire Cars area of Disney. We watched a live stunt show with a REAL Lightning McQueen, we went to "Radiator Springs" for another ride (which Lincoln chickened out on at the very last minute), then we found Guido & Luigi's Casa De La Tires. He was in heaven!!

Of course the day ended with the big parade and a special stop in one of the gift shops where Riann and Linc got to pick out a toy of their choice. Riann picked out a plush Bambi and Lincoln picked out a Finn McMissile car that talks, has lights, etc. So for the day that started out not-so-great, it ended with two delighted children and two happy, but tired parents.

The following day, our last full day in Paris, we headed out to the Louvre.

It was impressive in size, the art was amazing, the construction made it confusing, and then there was the Mona Lisa. THE Mona Lisa. And when I picked Riann up to see it, I said "Do you know who that is?" She said "It's Mona Lisa, Momma." Duh. One well-cultured little lady, she already knew who Mona Lisa was.
We left the Louvre after several hours, we headed out to find our next destination - another major highlight to our visit to Paris: Fajitas.
What?? Did I really say Fajitas?? Yes, yes I did.

Fajitas, a restaurant, was recommended to us by a coworker of Jamie's. Living in Italy, we really miss out on the variety of food. Maybe I've mentioned this a few times in previous posts?
Anyway, we walked to the Latin Quarter again to find Fajitas, owned by a Mexican man and his American wife. We indulged in authentic, delicious, happy Mexican food and some delicious but expensive margaritas. At 30Euro a pitcher, it was kind of insane but they were so worth it!! All 8 of us were in heaven. Mexican heaven.
That evening, Kristin and Anthony had their date night which was pretty much a replica of ours. They too had sore feet from walking and it had just been a FUN, but very long week.

The next day, our flight wasn't until 6pm. We packed up, let the kids all played at a really great playground for a few hours. Kristin and I went to get sandwiches, we let the kids play a bit longer after lunch and then we headed to the airport a little earlier than we had originally planned.

Well, that was a good idea but it didn't take us long to get on the train, the train ride was rather short and then we had a significant delay. Thankfully, we did not have a shortage of entertainment for the kids: we had enough Apple technology to watch a few movies, play many games, etc.

We didn't get into Rome's airport until close to midnight, and then we had to wait for the painfully slow baggage people, we finally got to our cars and finally arrived home about 2am. Exhaustion was an understatement, but it had been such a fantastic trip with our friends, one we certainly will not forget!