"When In Rome, do as the Romans do poop in the Vatican"

November national break came and went in a blink of an eye! Figures.  We thought long and hard of where we wanted to go on a little mini break...well not that hard, Rome was pretty much at the top of the list, living in Italy and all! Once we found out our good friends, Evan and Jillian Cheverie were planning the same trip at the same time with their son Landon (6 months), we had to make it work.  I know what alot of you may be thinking, "Are you crazy, bringing a baby to Rome!?"...well maybe.  But then I ask you, living in MN, when would you ever have the chance to travel and see Rome for under $1,000?  Now was the only time for us. 

We weren't sure of the exact dates Gino would have off, but we knew what week it would be, so I started researching how we were going to get there and where to stay.  We started off thinking it would be easiest to fly but after figuring in the drive time it takes to get to the Venice airport (closest airport to us)  and then the bus, taxi, or train to our hotel in Rome...it would be about the same amount of time to take the train all the way there or drive ourselves.  After weighing all the options,  we decided to pack up the car and drive.  We didn't find out the actual break dates until...THE DAY BEFORE.  Planning a trip like this, with a baby in mind is tough enough but then not to know your dates until 24 hours, well actually more like 16 hours, beforehand was tough.  Once he found out, we booked the hotel, packed up and left the next morning.  The drive was going to take us 6 1/2 hours and we figured an extra hour of having to stop to feed Lily.  It was a very easy drive, all highway and beautiful driving though Tuscany.  Lily was actually pretty amazing considering she's 4 months old.  She slept a good chunk of the way and the rest of the time she "talked" to herself.  When she got fussy, I felt no shame in using the Ipad as a distraction.  Before we left, Gino uploaded a few kiddie videos and they came in handy not only in the car, but to keep both Landon and Lily occupied throughout the entire trip! 

If you can see through the finger smudges, "Pocoyo" is playing.

 

I'll mention this quickly, only because we were so shook up over it!  After driving past Florence, we were about 3 hours or so outside of Rome and witnessed the most horrific car crash we had ever seen.  The car in front of us took a turn too tight and cranked his wheel right into the side of a mountain.  I saw him going into the mountain and said, "He's going to crash!"  I didn't realize how fast we were all going and thought he may just hit the rock head on and it would stop his car...No.  He ended up rolling 3 times.  It was like watching a movie.  Tires were flying off, glass shattering etc.  When they came to a stop, we were right behind them and all I could see was the passengers face full of blood.  It was so horrible...Gino pulled off to the side so that cars screeching around the corner wouldn't hit us.  By the time we pulled over, there were about a dozen people stopped trying to help them out of the car.  All we wanted to do was help but we couldn't speak the language or knew of an emergency number...which now we know!  So we got out of the car, checked out our own car to make sure there was no damage, took a deep breath and drove away.  Lily slept through the entire thing, me screaming and all.  I couldn't help think, "What if we would have hit them, or a tire would have hit our windshield."  From that point on, we said that we didn't care what time we got to Rome, as long as we made it there safe.  SLOW DOWN PEOPLE!

Onto happier times. We arrived in Rome at about 6pm and if it wasn't for the GPS Gino borrowed from a friend, we would have never found our hotel.  If you're not familiar, European streets don't really have noticable street names/signs.  They're usually plastered on the side of a building mixed in with the brick so they're very hard to see.  Hence, why the GPS was a lifesaver.  We got into the city and to our hotel pretty easily. I had researched where to park our car since the hotel parking was 30 Euro a night ( a little high).  The parking lot I found online was only a few blocks away and was half the price.  Once we got there, the parking attendent told us we were wrong and that the price was actually 28 Euro a night ( random number if you ask me).  At that point I just wanted to be at the stinkin hotel already so we decided to pay the 30 Euro and park there.  After Gino got us checked in, we had to drive around the block to the other side of the building where the parking was.  Sounds easy right?  NOT AT ALL!  We must have drove around the block a dozen times. At this point we were irritated, hungry, tired and embarrassed.  The bell boys outside of our hotel were practically laughing everytime we drove by, in the car that has Ginos name plastered across it. We went around one more time and I saw this tiny little gate no bigger than a very small Fiat and no parking sign what so ever.  Duh, we should have noticed that! (Not)  Anyways, that was a long story.  But we found the hotel, got to Rome safely and managed to park our car.  Success.

That night we got ahold of Evan and Jillian and had a nice dinner to catch up. It was so amazing to see them and finally meet baby Landon!  They were in Lillehammer with us the last 2 seasons and Jillian and I were pregnant together all of last year.  She was about 7 weeks ahead of me.  After putting the babies to bed, us momma's went down to the hotel bar for a few drinks.  It turned into a really nice evening. 

The next day we woke up early, and had an hour or so free before we met the Cheveries for a city bus tour.  We took a stroll down the street to the Basillica of St. Mary where we were recommended to go.  It's where the supposed remnants of Jesus's manger are held.  Who wouldn't want to see that!?  The church itself from the outside was very large and of course old. The inside was spectacular.  We've been in our fare share of impressive churches during our time spent in  Europe (Notre Dame Paris, Sacre Coeur Paris, Basillica St. Marco Venice, Church of Our Lady Before Tyn Prague, St. Vitus Cathedral Prague, etc) but this was by far, one of the most beautiful. An incredible amount of detail in the mosaics, lots of gold and color. It was built in the 4th century! Definitely a highlight of the trip, which I wasn't expecting. Amazing...

The crypt under the alter where the manger is held

Wood from the manger
 

The weather was great the whole trip, in the high 60's low 70's. So, we decided to sit in the seats at the top of the bus where it's open air.  You actually see a TON on the bus tour and they gave us headsets to listen as we drove by different sites.  Of course, we weren't able to listen to much while holding Lily...watching our bags...and shielding her from the light breeze.  (Everytime air blows in her face, she holds her breath, its cute, until she starts crying)  As we were walking towards towards the Vatican enterance, we were stopped by a tour company offering Vatican tours.  I was told by my parents, who were just in Rome a few weeks earlier, that it was cheaper to buy the tours off the street. So we did!  It was about 40 Euro a person (babies free) for a 2 1/2 hour guided tour.  We paid, changed and fed the kids, got our headsets for the tour and were all set!

 

As you can imagine, the Vatican/Vatican City are huge.  The Vatican itself reminded us alot of the Louvre in Paris, but larger. We were told by the tour guide that the Vatican museums have over 1,400 rooms and that only counts the MUSEUM rooms.  The Louvre has a little over 400.  If it would take you 24 hours a day for a month to see every single artifact in the Louvre I can't imagine how long it would take to see everything in the Vatican...years.  So, our dinky 2.5 hour tour only showed us the big name sites....

Emperor Nero's Bathtub from 50 AD

The dome of St. Peters Basillica.  Didn't actually make it in...ill explain below.

The Pieta, by Michaelangelo

 

Peek of the Vatican Gardens

And last but certainly the most famous, The Sistine Chapel. We weren't allowed to take photos so I grabbed a few online so you could get an idea of what we saw. It was spectacular. A check off the old bucket list for this lady. Below are photos of God Creating Adam and The Last Judgement. It was all so breathtaking.  The tour guide said that it took Michaelangelo 4 years to paint 5,000 square feet of frescos. He practically lost his eyesight from years of paint and bristles falling into his eyes. 

The Sistine Chapel was the last stop on the tour. Side note:  I have to admit that most of the photos in the Vatican were taken by Gino.  I on the other hand, along with Jillian, was back and forth to the bathroom cleaning up poop explosions.  I would say about 20 min into the tour the babies were doing great. Until we walked out to the Vatican courtyard and the tour guide started rambling on and on while it started raining on us.  Lily was sleeping in the stroller and I started hearing little grunts, actually they were loud grunts and I was afraid everyone around us could hear!  It definitely got Gino's attention and both of us couldn't stop laughing.  WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN?  IS IT NORMAL TO HAPPEN IN THE ABSOLUTE WORST PLACES!?  Then of course the smell started to drift from the stroller and I knew I had to get her out of there.  Jillian brought Landon with because he needed a diaper change as well. We went on the search for the closest bathroom.  Which should be easy right?  well, it took us about 20 min to find a bathroom and get through the crowds of people.  After they were changed and clean it took us another 20 to find the guys again and catch up with the tour group.  By the time we found them, Landon was starting to get fussy and we soon realized when either of them cry, the other one soon follows.  So Lily joined in and we had two cranky babies.  I'm sure the other people in the tour HATED US.  We can't go to Rome and not see the Vatican, sorry!  The poor tour guide told us she would give us another tour for free the next day but we politely declined.  Wasn't about to try it again.  Once we went out to St. Peters Square in front of the Basillica the line to get in was outrageous so we opted to avoid that as well.  We'll just have to make another trip someday!

Jillian, Landon, Lily and I- St. Peters Square, Vatican City.

 

 

Love

 

 

After we left the Vatican we went straight to the Trevi Fountain (actually alot cooler than I had anticipated) It was started by Bernini and finished by Nicola Salvi in the 1700's.  The legend of the fountain says that if you throw 3 coins in, you will be guaranteed a return trip to Rome. Although there are a few other legends associated with the fountain as well... I like that one.

 

 

 

 

 

 We stopped at the Spanish Steps after the Trevi Fountain.  Sort of a waste of a stop... but we took a quick photo and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for a sushi dinner with the Cheveries and another couple from Gino's team, that were in Rome. 

 

 

 

On our last full day we had to hit up the Pantheon, Colosseum and Forum. We took the bus to the government building  and walked to the Pantheon from there.  The Government building itself is a pretty spectacular structure.  It was huge! We remembered seeing it on the bus tour and thinking that it had to be something important and old.  haha.  I really don't know much more about it than that.  I think it was built in the 1800's so not nearly as old as everything else in Rome.

 

 

 

 

 The Pantheon was the first stop. We walked along side streets and alleys and all of a sudden came across the Pantheon.  I was expecting to see it out in the open somewhere but it was literally smack dab in a neighborhood it seemed. 

 

 

It was originally built as a temple for the Gods in 27BC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  and has the largest free standing  concrete dome in the world.  How did the Romans build this without modern machines.  It is really incredible to think about.  Raphael's tomb is also inside. 

 

View from the side

 

 

 We were pretty hungry after the morning we had and decided to walk on over to Piazza Navona for a quick lunch.  The sun was shinning and the square was packed with artists selling paintings, a full blown market, and lots of asian tourists. ( you can see one of the tour groups taking pics of the fountain behind us)

 

 

 

 

 So, I'm sure most of you are aware, but food/drink prices in Rome are crazy compared to the rest of the country.  Jillian and I paid 8 Euro/person for a Spritz at the hotel which you can get for under 3 Euro basically outside of the city.  I thought we left Norway!!!?  We looked around at a few menus at restaurants in the square and the prices were of course, outrageous.  One, because its Rome, and two, because we were in a well known Piazza.  We walked out of the square a bit and found a cute pizzeria which had a 3 course meal for 10 Euro.  BINGO!  We originally came to Rome, telling ourselves we were going to try and eat Chinese, Sushi, Mexican, American...anything but Italian! (Thats basically all you can find at restaurants and grocery stores in Alleghe)  But we couldn't resist the deal and of course had to give the Cheveries a good Italian meal:)  It was really tasty!

 

 

 



After lunch, we intended on walking towards the Roman Forum and Colosseum, while making a few stops at smaller sites (Mouth of Truth, Roman Chariot Race Track, etc)  We walked along the Tiber River for a good 45 min/hour. Finally found the mouth of truth...

 

The line to put your hand in the mouth and grab a photo was really long! and we were on a little bit of a time crunch, so Gino just took a picture through the fence while the guards weren't looking. 

 

We thought at this point that we were close to the Forum and Colosseum...not so much.  Turns out we sort of walked in a circle and were another 20 min walk from our destination.  UGH.  Once we finally arrived at the Forum, the gates were closed and we found that it shut down for the day at 3:30pm.

 

We walked around the corner and found out that the Colosseum had also shut down.  SO, we snapped a few  photos and planned on returning the next morning (our last morning) to see both before checking out of the hotel and heading home. 

 

 

 

 Since it was getting a little late and we had gone out with the babies for a later sushi dinner the night before.  We decided on settling for McDonalds and letting the babies go to sleep.  On the walk back to the hotel we stopped for some wine and beer to bring back with us.  We gave Lily a bath in the hotel room sink and while I was putting her to bed, Gino and Evan ran to get food.  When Gino got back, Lily was asleep in the pack n play so we quietly ate McDonalds in the bathroom.  As we sat there eating, we had to laugh at the situation.  In Rome..Lily sleeping in the bedroom...mom and dad eating McDonalds for dinner...in the bathroom so that Lily could sleep...I'm sitting on the bath tub ledge and Gino on the toliet.  We are officially parents!

 

After "dinner" we left Lily in the room and went to Evan and Jillians for some drinks.  They were staying in a room a few doors down. We checked on Lily every 20 min or so and it worked out great!  Landon was fast asleep with his little sound machine in the bathroom.  It was nice to have some adult time at last! and great to catch up without a crying baby to distract us.  My have times changed since our years in Lillehammer. 

 

I know this is getting long but I'm almost done!  The last day we woke up early, met the Cheveries in the lobby and walked straight to the Colosseum.  Gino had uploaded a Rick Steves Colosseum tour on the Ipad so we tried to listen to that as we walked through.  What we didn't realize is that it was actually white in color during its time.   It also happens to be one of the "New" 7 Wonders of the World.  The Colosseum was spectacular!  It's cool that its positioned right in the heart of the city surrounded by busy streets etc.  Not where you would imagine it to be. 

The rooms underneath the Colosseum floor where the gladiators and animals were held.

Even though you won't remember any of these, here's proof you were really in Rome!

Next up was the Roman Forum, which was also the last stop before leaving Rome.  We had been told that strollers were nearly impossible to push through the Forum.  It's basically the ruins of a small city of government buildings and houses of government officials.  We popped Lily in the baby bjorn and went exploring. 

The remains of an ancient ballroom floor.

The rest of the time we walked through an orange grove and relaxed in the sun before hiking back to the hotel.  Gino and I both said that we have to make another trip back to Rome.  The 3 days just wasn't enough!  and of course another Vatican tour without the distraction of a 4 month old would be great.  It was an awesome trip and I'm so thankful it worked out to meet up with the Cheveries.  We miss them alot and feel very fortunate to have been able to spend a few days traveling with them.  It was an emotional goodbye for Jillian and I but I know we'll see them again! 

 

I'll mention some hockey news in the next blog.  Gino is now back to playing after his injury and the team is still in 2nd place.  They're doing great! 

November flew by and after a filling Thanksgiving feast with our Alleghe family last week, we now have Gino's parents visit to look forward too!  They arrive this Friday.  Our plans for their trip are a visit to Venice, and tour around to a few Christmas markets in northern Italy and perhaps Austria. (they open on the 30th)

 Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and you were surrounded by lots of family! 

 

If anyone wants Rome travel advice, I would be happy to help. 

 

Ciao! 

 

 

 



Exploring A New Country

Has it really been a month since my last post???  Time is passing much faster with a baby in our lives!  This last month has been a complete blur. So much has gone on, I don't think I'll remember all of it, lucky for you:)  but here I go.

We're pretty settled and enjoying Alleghe and Italy as a whole.  The culture, people, food, sights, we can't complain too much.  Except for ooooonnnne thing, the late hockey games!!!!!  I was used to getting out of the house to watch Gino play in 2 or 3 games a week last year. But the games in Italy are late, well late for a 4 month old, 8:30pm.  I've taken Lily to 2 games. The first one, I brought the stroller, which is massive and too big for the tiny bleachers in the arena so I had to sit in the last row on the top and set the stroller behind me.  Lily was pretty good and if she was awake, she was quiet/calm.  But I felt so guilty for keeping her out until almost midnight!  I decided after that, I wasn't going to sit through all the games and the games I am able to attend, I will only stay for a period.  Big change from last season! (For those of you that don't know, those aren't ear muffs on her head, they're noise headphones to block the sound.  Alot of my hockey wife friends use them, but fans at the game had never heard or seen of them before).  I may have bundled her up a little too much that game... She was a big ball of sweat when we got home. oopsy!

 

 

Here's a little Hockey talk... There are 10 teams in the Italian A league, Milan 4 1/2 hrs, Valpellice 6 hrs, Fassa 45min, Asiago 2 hrs, Cortina 45 min, Pontebba 2 1/2 hrs, Bolzano 1 1/2 hrs, Renon 2 hrs, and Brunico 2 hrs. Alleghe is currently 7-5. 4th in the standings.  Gino tore a couple muscles in his groin a few weeks ago and has been out.  He rested it up and has now started rehab. He'll probably be back after the November break around the 15th.  If you'd like to follow Gino and the team this year. Here is the link to Pointstreak. 

 

Pointstreak Alleghe Hockey



 

 

The end of Sept and the beginning of Oct were beautiful.  I spent my days enjoying alot of walks along the river by our house and one crazy hike with a new friend, Francesca.  I had heard her and a few other girls talk about the hiking they do in the mountains and thought, how fun! I can totally do that.  How hard can a little hiking be? I hiked my fair share in Lillehammer and it was always pretty easy. This was a little different.  For one, the mountains here are insane.  Two, this was more like my version of rock climbing then a stroll through the woods on a nicely laid out path.  We were gone for about 4/5 hrs and were completely above the tree line.  I was breathing hard pretty much the entire time.  (that could be due to the fact that I haven't worked out in almost 8 months).  But when we got to the top, it was absolutley breathtaking, PUN INTENDED.  I had thought we would see a bunch of animals since we were in the "wild" but the only animal Francesca said she would most likely see would be a viper..yes a VIPER SNAKE! She didn't seem too worried about it.  Once we were at the top of the pass, there was a restaurant/motel where alot of hikers stop for food and possibly a nights stay.  I guess there are no roads that lead all the way up, so there's a helicopter pad where food is flown in for the season (Summer-end of Sept).  The person that working at the restaurant, stays for those few months and then hikes or gets flown back down at the end of the season. 

Looking down on Alleghe from Mount Civetta, over 3000 meters high, we weren't at the very top... 

 

Coldai Lake, right on the other side of the pass. You can see the little trail we followed.
 



 We were lucky enough to have my parents visit us again this year! They arrived on Oct 4th and stayed for a few weeks, traveling around Italy.  They of course were excited to see a new country, I mean who wouldn't want to see Italy!? But they were most excited to see Lily:).  I had been practicing my driving since we got here and felt comfortable enough for the 2 hour drive to Venice to pick them up at the airport.  Thankfully, one of the sweet girls here road with me and helped out with Lily...who by the way, had a complete meltdown about 10 min into the drive.  We had to pull over to calm her down and I even considered driving her back home to Gino and having him take her to his game.  I don't know what happened...she was fed and happy when we left the house and then BAM! she flipped.  I guess that's a baby for you.  We finally got her calm enough to continue driving and were about 45 min late in picking them up.  I did pretty well with the drive and managed not to wreck the car or harm any pedestrians.  I would say it was a success.

 

We drove into Belluno (45 min drive) the day after they arrived, to stock up on some groceries and show them the city a bit. We all enjoyed a few Spritz Aperols on a patio.  For those of you that aren't familiar Spritz Aperol, it's a very popular drink in the Veneto Italy region. It's made with Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine), Aperol (orange flavored liquor) and a splash of soda water. 

Lily enjoying the view

The Sunday after they arrived, Gino had the day off, and my parents 35th wedding anniversary! So, we decided to make a day trip to Venice.  It was a comfortable 73 degrees!  Perfect for strolling around the city.  Im predicting a few more Venice trips this year, it's too easy of a drive and such a cool city to show visitors.  We got there right around 11 and decided to jump on a water taxi to enjoy the sites as we made our way to San Marco Square.  That's where you can find the church of St. Mark which dates back to the 1500's and also a variety of shops/restaurants and MANY touristy souvenir stands.

After looking around the Piazza for a while and stepping inside the church, it was time for lunch.  Try finding room on a patio in Venice spacious enough to fit a stroller on a beautiful Sunday afternoon...impossible.  I think we passed about 60 restaurants and finally settled on sitting in the back corner room of a restaurant which looked to me, like it was reserved for strollers.  We were one of about 5 families with strollers in this little room.  It had a Chucky Cheese feel to it.  The meal was actually tasty and of course we had to enjoy another Spritz.

After lunch we strolled the many canalled streets and arrived at the Rialto Bridge for a couple photos.

Don't be fooled...a ride can end up costing 200 Euro. It's a joke.  They can charge whatever they want. You can take a water taxi for 7 Euro and  basically get the same experience.  The gondoliers attend a school to perfect this craft, they make very good money.  Fun Fact: Up until 2010, there were only male gondoliers in Venice.
 

The Famous Rialto Bridge

As we were walking down some of the small streets, we stopped at a glass shop so my mom could browse.  When we all came out, Gino was holding Lily and she just let out a huge laugh! It was the first we had ever heard.  It was the biggest chuckle coming from such a little girl!  We were all screaming and laughing and must have been making a scene because a guy near us asked if he could take her picture, he thought she was a hoot! Such a special moment that I will forever remember on the streets of Venice. When I think of our trip, I'll probably remember that over anything we ever saw:)

We ended the day with a little night cap before our drive back to Alleghe.  There were 2 Canadian couples sitting next to us wondering how old Lily was. When we told them 3 months, they said that she'll probably see more in her first year than they will in their lifetime.  It took them 60 years to get to Venice.  Too bad she won't remember any of it! I didn't feel too bad for them, they were staying in Venice for 2 nights and then taking a 2 week Mediterranean cruise.  Sounds pretty amazing to me!

Lily was a sweetheart the entire day and we were so thankful she let us tour around without a hassle. We've found, in the last 2 months since we've been here, she actually sleeps and is much better when we are out and about then at home!  I think she's just so aware of her surroungings and loves to look around, she gets bored at home.  For all of you with kids and think you can't travel to Europe or Venice in particular, I was told by numerous people that Venice isn't stroller friendly...which it isn't.  But at the same time, I wouldn't have been able to carry her around in the Bjorn for 6 hours.  We've been there twice now this year with a stroller and as long as you have someone with you to help lift it up and down the bridges, your good!  We've learned that traveling is definitely different with a baby, but you can totally do it.  You just adjust your schedule a little and account for extra time and it can be just as enjoyable.  Our next big trip will be to Rome in a few weeks...I'll let you know if my opinion changes at all after that one. 

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!  We loved spending it with you!

The week that followed was full of a few hockey games, hikes, the Agordo market, and driving to Cortina.  I have to mention the hike that my parents, Lily and I went on, because it actually had some history to it.  My parents found this trail, Serrai, in Sottoguda. It's an all natural gorge that was created by a strong earth quake and water erosion. We've been told to visit in the winter to see the frozen waterfalls that people will actually climb!  This area was used by soldiers in WWI  to transport weapons and other supplies through and also dug out caves in the side of the rock to hide gun powder etc.  The trail is in a little valley between the mountains and theres a creek that flows through the middle.  Its breathtaking! 

You can't go very far in Italy without seeing a shrine to Mary. They are scattered all along the mountain roadways and trails.  Most of the time, you'll see candles lit near them at night.

Caves built into the rock

Driving home from Cortina, you can see Lake Alleghe in the background
 

 

The following Sunday was Gino's Birthday!  Lily woke up early to give daddy a little gift.

 

 

 

We were debating on whether to drive to Verona or Lake Garda for the day.  They are both about a 3 hour drive from us.  Since my parents were going to be seeing Florence and Rome a few days after, we thought maybe doing another Italian city would just be too redundant, so we thought Lake Garda would be fun and different.  Lake Garda is very similar to Lake Como, but Garda happens to be alot closer to us.  I would love to someday see Como as well.  The weather called for pretty clear skies for the most part so we were good to go!  The drive to Lake Garda from Alleghe is really beautiful.  You go through sprawling vineyards and orchards through the valley and Bolzano.  We counted probably a dozen castles perched up on the hills.  That was neat for us, you don't see casltes everyday!

Lake Garda is about 30 miles long and ranges from 1-10 miles wide in some areas.  The first town we arrived in was Riva del Garda and unfortunatley, the weather was far from sunny:( I wasn't able to get a good picture but here's one I found on google so you can get an idea of how beautiful this area is.

 It was actually raining!  We hoped that by the time we arrived in Limone that the clouds would lift a bit.  Luckily they did! 

unfortunately you can't see the mountains too well in the background

Settling in at a restaurant over looking the water for yet another Spritz

 

We thought it was breathtaking and so quaint in the Fall, I can't imagine how amazing it would be in the Summer.  All the hotels that were built up on the mountain side had beautiful lagoon pools lined with palm trees.  I'm sorry Minnesota, but pools and water in general look better with a palm tree next to them, don't they?   I'm just glad we were able to see it before the snow hits...  If we had more time I would have loved to drive to the south end of the lake to Sirmone. Which I heard so many wonderful things about.  Instead of mountains, its more flat but beautiful water and again..castles!

Google Pic

The rest of the day was spent ejoying the cobble stone shopping streets of Limone and having Bruschetta and Spritz's next to an old Lemon plantation overlooking the water.  Turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day. 

Alot went on this month but I think the highlight was spending 2 weeks with my parents exploring more of Italy and loving up Lily.  She is very lucky to have so many people in her life that love her and we feel lucky to be able to share our life in Europe with our families. 

Well, it's almost 2pm here and I have yet to brush my teeth or eat for the day, with that said, I'll leave you with a little video that will hopefully start your Monday off on a good note.  PS.  She doesn't quite get it just yet, and I think she enjoys sucking on the sides more than actually bouncing but we think it's cute. Ciao!