Milan was just a short sleep and shopping morning before getting on the road to Switzerland. Micah got some rad shirts, and we found the best kid’s shoe store.
But really…I just want to give a shout out to these two sisters…who have been traveling dreams. Navy is helpful 100% of the time. And Pippi is always game for everything. And together…they make a really cute pair.
I am really excited that these two have each other forever and ever…because everyone should have a best friend/sister in their lives.
We FINALLY hit kid-friendly Italy! Micah booked hotel rooms and theme park tickets months ago, and the secret was out today. We told the kids that today was going to be kid day (after our debacle in Florence, and Venice being anticlimactic). We told them to search around for a fun park or something to do while we drove.
They found Gardaland almost immediately! Little did they knew it was in the works all along.
And we all agreed…it was time for some real-deal fun!
This place was magical. It was more whimsical than Disneyland, but more upscale than Efteling. Everyone agreed, that Gardaland was great. No lines, enough European flare, great rides, not too big, not too small…just right!
Talking and singing trees.
Cool off rides.
Even if you didn’t want to cool off!
Cool off falls!
Fun shows and attractions.
We got my mom a wheelchair because she has a broken bone in her foot. She loved it…until Pippi pushed and swung her in circles!!!
I sat on a bench while Pippi ran to tons of kid’s rides…and she thought she was hot stuff all on her own.
Then she invited Nonnie to ride with her.
When we saw a cool mini-water park, Dash and Pippi wanted to go so badly, but didn’t have swimsuits on.
I told them to go European style…and they didn’t give it a second thought!
Then begged for a euro to dry off.
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We got back to our rad hotels
-boys were in the adventure hotel, and spelt under an igloo.
-girls were in the magical hotel, and slept in a fairy garden.
We slept like champs in the girl’s room. But after a night of escape-room treasure hunting and frog hunting, Scout ended up with the flu and threw up most of the night.
While Scout slept in, we took the kids to the pool for some swimming and fun.
The greatest thing ever –were the mandatory caps to keep the hair out of the pool!!! PLEASE USA - enforce this! Scout eventually started to feel much better, and the kids came up with “steal the cap” where they all played a tag-style game where they had to steal the blue caps off of everyone else. Last cap wearer — won! Dash was the ultimate at this game. He was a patient hider…and a fast juker.
We ended up back at Gardaland for another afternoon of fun.
And Pippi took good care of her older brother while he was recuperating.
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Honestly…these two days were a blast! They were so fun…and were so needed after a few rotten days before!
We all feel like the trip was resurrected today!
I was really excited to take our kids to Venice. The gondolas, the bridges, the Italian music, the romance….what we really got, was the HEAT, the CROWDS, and the RUDE GONDOLIERS! I have always had great experiences in Venice…but I can honestly say I don’t think I will ever go back. A lot has changed in 20 years, and it was just one huge tourist trap.
We spent a lot of time on the boats that took us from place to place.
Good thing Dash was prepared for the sun!
The views really were incredible, and my kids couldn’t believe there was a whole city on the water!
San Marco square (which I vividly remember as being quiet with thousands of birds), was a mass of people. We had security tell us 10 times we couldn’t sit anywhere!
After finally finding a table, we overpaid for disgusting food.
We also paid for a glass blowing show (used to be free)- good thing it was entertaining and impressive.
We finally found a bridge for a picture that wasn’t full of people.
Good thing for nice siblings…
And kids who know how to make the best out of any situation.
And GELATO!
The redeeming grace of Venice…
was…
The most amazing pizza place Micah found!
this guy was a beast…and gave us pointers for our own pizza dough at home!
Scout and Dash (and everyone else) were in HEAVEN!
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And that is a wrap on Venice!
A place I have fond memories of…and will never visit again!
Did I mention that for our fourth run in with the police — I got an unwarranted parking ticket!!! It was contested and released…but what a headache!
Florence was the best of times, and the worst of times.
Let’s start with the best…
When we pulled into Florence, Micah and my mom were craving non-Italian food. We opted for Indian, and it was great. Our waiter was a darling college-aged kid. After talking with him for a bit, we heard his story…and it was incredible. He had left Bangladesh for a better life in Italy. He was attending college, as the first in his family. He worked hard to send back money to his family. He and Pippi really bonded, because he has a little brother her age that he doesn’t know well, except for the FaceTime calls they share. He brought out little treats to Pippi — including a free dessert, and they became fast friends. Through his story, he talked about his mother with the utmost respect…calling her “his heart”. You could tell how much he loved his family at home. Later in the conversation, he told us he was going to try to visit his family next year, but in the meantime, he was earning money to send back to his mother for a surgery she needs. He was just the happiest and sweetest son, trying to make things work for his family. We were all so impressed by him…he was awesome! He also shared Pippi’s overbite.
When we left, my mom got into her purse and gave him 40 US Dollars. She said…”this is for your mom”. When he received the money, he had huge tears well up in his eyes. Then, we all had big tears well up in our eyes. He could barely contain himself, as he thanked us profusely.
When we left, all of the kids were obsessed with Buillon.
We all decided that nothing overrides the great feeling you get, when you are able to do something kind for someone else. Our kids wanted to go back the next night and the next! I asked for Buillon’s family’s address in India, but he said they don’t have an address. (I think they are extremely poor.) I told him I wanted to send his little brother a box of treats, but he said he wished he could tell me where to send anything, but it would never get to him. I hope Buillon’s family is well taken care of. And I hope that one day, we meet back up with Buillon.
Today is Father’s Day!!! Happy Father’s Day to a great one!
The next morning we woke up in our AirBNB in Florence.
It was a great place. Big and spacious and clean enough.
After a good sleep, we went into downtown…and Nonnie treated us to a horse and buggy ride — a great way to see all Florence has to offer!
This church was incredible.
Michaelangelo’s David was shocking to the kids — but still a masterpiece.
The artists around town were highly talented.
And the window shopping was great.
But after being hot and wiped out…we headed back to our big and cold AirBNB…
only to realize that our idiot guy had locked us out, becuase he wanted another 60 euros from us. The story is long and detailed…but in a nutshell…Cosimo the owner decided to start nickel and diming us three days before we got there. Micah and he settled on the outcome, but because he was drunk when they settled and didn’t remember, he decided to lock us out the next day. We sat for three hours while we tried to get it all figured out with AirBNB and Cosimo. It was a total joke! The jerk wouldn’t let us in the place to get our stuff, and he wouldn’t even respond. Finally I called the police, and they came. (Yes…our third encounter with the police on this trip!)
you know who showed up three minutes after the police?
Cosimo.
The police were helpful, and agreed that he was a real bad dude. When we got out of there, we found out that Cosimo had stolen 100 USD out of my mom’s coin purse. He also threatened me every time Micah left the room with, “Your husband thinks he is so clever…..”. He was a wreck. So we got out of there, drove for hours…and finally at 2am ended up in Venice.
It was a travelling nightmare — and AirBNB is investigating it all, for our refund and him getting kicked off the site.
But not all was bad…
At 1am, we discovered my mom had been walking all day with a tootsie roll in her shoe!
It gave us our biggest laugh of the entire trip!
Years ago, I went to Assisi.
I never forgot how beautiful it was, so we drove to the hilltop town again today — 20+ years later.
Right in the middle of Umbri, Assisi is surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery in Italy.
It is just a patchwork of different greens, and a road that leads up to a city built into the side of a mountain.
There is a large square and a large air-conditioned church. (My mom was very pleased with the air conditioning!)
The entire town is picturesque. It is all stone, with narrow streets throughout. Honestly, it is what Hollywood movies are made of!
A favorite stop in this town, was the embroidering shop. We watched this man and his steady hand for 30 minutes.
He created the cutest backpack for Pippi!
We separately wandered the streets of Assisi for a few hours.
I had Pippi on a special date.
Micah took the other three for a photo shoot all around town.
And my mom sat in the cool church the whole time!
We ended with gelato, and a park for the kids — the first decent park in all of Italy!
Where Dash could actually kick his soccer ball around.
YAY!
We drove into Rome really late.
On our way in, I mapped us to the new temple in Rome, and we stopped off for a quick visit.
It was huge and so pretty.
When we got to our hotel, we were so excited that it was a suite and really big…and as a result….we slept and slept!
Until Dash took it upon himself to finally wake us all up!
We finally got ready and headed into the heart of Rome…and for the first time in my life…I took a double-decker sight-seeing bus. Over the years and vacations, we have discovered that we are not a sight seeing family. It just isn’t our favorite thing. But I guess when you are in the mecca of cool sights…you sight see.
The Colosseum was insane…and boiling hot!
Pippi skipped all over the grounds. About four people stopped to ask us about her age and tell us how cute she is. She really was darling as she sang and skipped!
With everyone else in the universe, we admired the Arch of Constantine.
When you really think about when these monuments and structures were built, it is incredible.
The Spanish Steps saved us with a few drinking water fountains at the base of them.
At the top of the Spanish steps, some crabby Polizia informed us that “This is not a beach! This is a monument.” We asked if he was sure…because the sand and waves were mystifying us. The guy was on one because Pippi had walked in a drained fountain that looked like part of the walkway…so he freaked. We were sincerely apologetic the first three times he lectured us over the same offense. But on the fourth, I refused to go on the emotional roller coaster with power-hungy Polizia Pete. So I gave him some sass back, when he told me to come with him. The kids all thought I was going to be arrested (PTSD from Micah’s Tijuana days), but he just wanted to show me the sign that reiterated that these were monuments. (Remember that it was a five year old who took two steps where she wasn’t supposed to, and we quickly got her out.) Thus ends our second run in with the cops on this trip.
But be warned…..When you go to Rome…remember…”This is not a beach!” (Our favorite tag line the rest of the trip!)
The Roman Forum was awesome. This is an excavated site, where Roman temples, squares and government buildings date back over 2000 years. It was pretty amazing to recreate their world in our eyes.
Altar of the Fatherland
This is a monument that honors Italy’s first king and World War One soldiers.
And of course…the Trevi Fountain.
We all tossed coins in — One for a return to Rome in the future. Two for love. Most of us tossed two, because between the heat and the crowds…we wanted LOVE.
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After sight seeing, we found a yummy restaurant that had the best bread we have had on the entire trip.
We also loaded up on baked goods from their sister bakery — that included that bread!
When we hit our beds in our big room…we slept really hard.
The next morning was eventful, as a man died outside our hotel door. Literally 15 feet from our door, the paramedics were trying to revive a man who had gone into cardiac arrest. It was right when we needed to check out, so my kids got a first hand viewing of death. It was pretty insane. Moments later, my boys were outside kicking the soccer ball back and forth, when Scout kicked it too high and too hard, and took out one of the hotel’s globe lights. I had to go in and take care of that one.
By the time we were leaving Rome and the heat….we were ready to go.
Arrivederci!
We had quite the eventful day through Tuscany today.
We found San Gigigmano, and couldn’t believe our good fortune. It was beautiful. In an effort to get my mom as close to the city as possible, I dropped everyone off (except Navy) and went to park.
Navy and I were following road signs, but must have missed something, because we ended up driving down a street that might not have been a proper street to drive down.
See below:
Yep…Navy and I drove down that street.
UNTIL…I got to the end, and was stopped by a big stump in the ground.
See below:
Navy and I sat there, and were stumped (pardon the pun)! Then we started to laugh. Then the cops came and lowered the stump and let us out. We graciously thanked them…UNTIL they cited us!!!
Yep…an Italian ticket!
That I signed “Yeah Right”.
Good thing it was only 28 euros.
Meanwhile…
We had the best gelato in the world.
We agreed it was pretty great. Maybe not best in the world…but pretty great.
Pippi also got her new best friend, “Strawberry” or in Italian “Fraggy”.
Our drive was so incredibly beautiful. I looked over at Micah, and saw the prettiest scenery behind him, I had to snap a picture.
After San Gigimano, we continued on towards Rome.
But not before we got our regular first-class treatment at the gas station from Navy and her protege.
Trick Shots:
Some better than others.
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Creative Trick Shots:
Some better than others.
On our drive today, we found a little Olive Oil factory and got a personal tour. It was pretty awesome and tasty, and that olive oil and balsamic was a staple on the rest of our trip.
As we were driving, we had big decisions to make.
We kind of hated the Italian Riviera.
Actually…we REALLY hated the Italian Riviera. It was dirty, you had to pay money to get on every road, there were too many people..it was honestly a total bust! So today, we decided to go inland to Tuscany and drive south. Our decision was a good one, because we found Lucca!
Oh…Lucca!!!
We love you.
Lucca was at the top of a hill, behind a medieval wall. It was small and quaint. It was charming and Italian. It was heaven sent.
The cafes were yummy.
The patisserie was visited three times by this crew.
We happened upon the perfect shop for Scout!
The girls and I were in desperate need of a good blowout.
So daddy treated us!
Micah found an Italian shop he was excited about — and got a few new ties.
Pippi got gelato and plopped for a rest in her new Italian sandals.
It was a great afternoon. We loved Lucca!
I mean — look at these water fountains that the local restaurants were filling their water carafes with. It was the coldest and cleanest tasting water on earth.
And the kids were in their happy place as they adventured all over this town. Scout challenged everyone to walk these handrails. They did it successfully several times until Navy tried to cross and her foot slipped, and she came down on her side with full force. For several hours, we were concerned that maybe she had broken a rib or had something internally going on. Her reaction was intense and almost silent. She struggled to get a full breath of air for hours, but it started to get a little better so we just watched it. It ended up being really bruised and tender for a week, but thank goodness there was no horrible injury!
As we were driving away from Lucca, we decided to park again and stop for dinner. Micah, the research genius found maybe our best food of the trip.
Just like Pippi, we all licked our plates spotless clean.
As we drove away from Lucca, we all said that leaving the coast to drive inland, was the best decision we made!
On our way to Nice, we stopped in Aix En Provence.
It was a darling town, that featured my favorite…
a french carousel — the best carousels in the world!
The town was almost closing for the night, but we were able to walk around and just be excited we are in France. I loved it all — the cobblestone streets, the fountains, and the boulangeries everywhere.
By the time we pulled into Nice, it was dark and CRAZY! The women’s World Cup is in France this year, and they had just finished a game in Nice an hour before we got there, so the town was on FIRE! It was a little crazy for us, but the next morning redeemed the city.
This is my view from my morning run.
Quiet and calm…and beautiful.
The kids were excited to go to the beach.
Although we all agree that we prefer sand over rocks!
We spent a few hours relaxing or playing. It was kind of stormy, so we really didn’t have any crowds to deal with which made it great. And of course, Navy and Scout found an entire bottle of Mediterraneansea glass — including three marbles!!!
In the afternoon, we walked the streets of Nice. It was so french with cafes everywhere, parks tucked in between buildings, and fountains in the middle of squares. The kids were getting their first taste of all things naked in Europe, and were saying that Dash was the constant model for these pieces of “art”.
Meanwhile….Micah was walking around and sending me pictures of kid shops we needed to see! You know you have a good husband, when he scouts out shops for you…AND THEN…takes the kids while you shop!
He took the boys all around, while the girls stuck with us to try things on.
In each shop, there was a kid area, so Navy made the best of her time with Pippi, while my mom and I looked around.
We all met back up for dinner, strolled the streets some more, had gelato, and made our way back to our hotel…before Nice got crazy again with another round of World Cup soccer.
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