Italy Trip: Chinque Terre

We stayed the night in La Spezia and boarded a boat the next morning to tour Chinque Terre. 

 Considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site (which means it's preserved and protected by the government to maintain its unique cultural significance), Chinque Terre are five towns along the Mediterranean Sea that you pop into and out of by boat (or train or bus; they are not accessible by car).

 At each stop, we waited about 20 minutes while tourists disembarked and boarded the boat.

 The kids went a tad loopy on the boat ride since it was two hours long, but we finally made it to the end!

 We got off in Montorosso al Mare.

 The kids played at the beach for awhile and John and Krista left to get started on their hike. They wanted to do the hike back through all five towns, but they were also going to see how they felt along the way.

It was heavenly to be without coats for the first time since last fall! 

After sandwiches (this area is known for its focaccia bread)...

 and gelato (this pistachio was wowing us all - even the kids ditched their strawberry for it!)...

 we started on the hike to the next town.

For two kids who put up a huge stink about our Sunday family forest walks every single week, they were sprinting into action. The walking sticks always help.

 

It was a hot day despite the overcast sky. About an hour into the hike, Adam told me a story about hiking this trail with his parents 13 years ago and how they had come upon a 200 year old man selling lemons and his mom bought one just to be nice (there are lemon groves dotting the terraces all along the path). Just then, we came upon an ancient fellow selling .... lemon juice! And orange juice! Adam didn't think it was the same guy .... but it made me wonder. We purchased one of each for 4 euros total and they were both refreshing and delicious. Whoever he was, he had definitely improved upon the business idea.

The hike lasted maybe 3 hours. It was really steep up and down with plenty of narrow pathways that drop down steep hillsides and cliffs, plus hundreds of stone steps. I honestly don't know if I'd done it with kids if I'd known how hard and precarious it'd be. But they did really well and they were pretty happy hikers the whole time, so it was worth it for sure.

 And you can't beat the views. Insane!!!

Noah was petering out just as Vernazza, our destination, came into view. When he saw it, he was able to finish.

We stopped for a snack of olive focaccia, then we made the final descent.

 
Shoes and socks back off!

Time to relax and enjoy the views!

 
When we got hungry for dinner, we took a 10 minute train ride to Manarola, one of the Chinque Terre towns where we'd booked our apartment.



When we got there, we enjoyed even more incredible views! I could've stayed here for a week!

 This dinner was my favorite of the whole trip. Adam and I shared a sea bass and it was everything I'd hoped for. Appetizers were anchovies, another regional specialty.

And finally, this shot. Because it's great.

Italy Trip: Venice

Adam was a missionary in Italy 15 years ago and had been several times since as a tour guide for his parents and later for his half-Italian grandmother who'd never visited. It was never top of our list of travel options because he'd already done it. But when we were discussing ideas with his old college buddy, John, who wanted to visit us with his wife, Krista, we decided it would be great for all of us to have Adam as our very own tour guide for our first time through Italy. It was the right choice. 

Our trip started when we all flew into Milan, rented cars, hopped in them, and sped to Venice. We originally planned to skip Venice, but changed our minds.

John and Krista flew in from Utah and powered through their jet-lag to make the drive. We all met up in Maestre, a town just outside of Venice.

 After some pizza for dinner (this was mine: egg, asparagus shavings, cheese, panchetta - doesn't look like much but it was one of my top 2 pizzas on the trip) we all crashed at the hotel. After a good night of sleep, John and Krista perked right up!

 Of course, I was immediately dying over all the architecture. Venice is a city in decay, which surprised me, but it shouldn't have. An old city built on water is subject to that kind of thing. In San Marco Square, however, the buildings are gleaming!

 There was a huge, old photograph of this pink and white building in our hotel and I immediately fell in love. In the picture, the square is flooded and people are holding their pants up and walking around. It's so great. I'm glad it wasn't flooded for us, though. I wouldn't have thought it was quite so enchanting.

 Adam and Noah in front of my favorite building. I really love this picture of them.

The whole crew, just getting warmed up for withstanding many days of my Over-documentation Syndrome.

Noah looking adorable in front of St. Mark's basilica.

Chasing, heckling and feeding the birds was the most exciting part of the day for the kids.

 This was early in the trip when the kids would still get in front of the camera.

 We were planning to skip the gondola because Adam remembered it being over-the-top expensive. But John found one for 80 euros for the six of us. Perfect! We went for it.

 Our gondolier was Lorenzo and it was so fun to hear Adam speak with him in Italian. Lorenzo is a 4th generation gondolier and his son is expected to be the 5th. If he chooses not to do it, they must transfer their license to another person. There are 450 gondolas allowed in the city. We all loved the gondola experience completely. What a place! There's just nothing like Venice.

We floated by Mozart's former residence when he was age 15. That was unexpected!

Our first gelato of the trip set the bar high. 

 Krista is 7 months pregnant but you can hardly tell.

Until she's double fisting on the gelato.

After lunch (also pretty good but I didn't take any pictures; I had a yummy seafood gumbo) and gelato, we left Venice. We rode the bus back to our cars in Maestre and headed to La Spezia to stay the night. 

Life Lately

Everyday life the past few months in pictures:

It snowed in January! My neighbor and her daughter stayed after bus pick up to build a snowman with us.

We were all very thrilled with the white world that surrounded us for about a week.

 It was melting but the ponds were still frozen. I made the kids walk with me anyway. Plus, Lambers was being crazy and needed some outdoor time, too.

 We watched our friends' kids for a weekend while they visited Vienna, Austria. We swam at the pool, played/ate at Quickburger, got ready for church really early on Sunday. They all had a really fun time and we loved having them.

 The Broncos won the Super Bowl. But this is Adam and some friends watching one of the final games to determine who went to the Super Bowl. The actual Super Bowl itself was in the middle of the night. You better believe Adam stayed up to watch it. :0

Halloween Part Deux: Carnaval holiday involved dressing up and getting candy, so it looked like we were back in October.

Sienna had a little gymnastics recital in January. She has consistently loved it and I'm grateful for that. I said after one class one day, "So, can you understand any French?" She said, "What?" I said, "They're speaking to you in French." "They are?" Poor girl, she's lost in all of her classes, doesn't matter what language they are speaking. I think at this point she's gotten used to not even listening and just depending on charades (though all her teachers, even at the gym, do speak English).

A friend had us over for cookie decorating to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Park fun with friends, even if it's cold.

 Tea party with Nobes in the teepee.

Adam had a New Year's Resolution to learn how to cook authentic Italian food. Here are his gnocchi. He left them out overnight, though, and they turned gray, so we never ate them. :(

He's had some big wins, though. He made an incredible bolognese sauce that took about five or maybe seven hours too cook. He made pesto with a mortar and pestle. What? He made pasta with his new pasta machine.

 Date night with Adam. Eating out has proved to be less than satisfying here. More expensive, usually have to make a reservation. It's kind of thrown off our dating game. But, we'll survive. ;)

I got a new cheese plate. This is very exciting, people!

 One of the girls I visit teach lives in the country. SWOON over those clouds and those endless green fields.

 I turned 34 a couple weeks ago. My friends made me crepes for brunch (YUUM) and the family and I went bowling! Our kids had never been and Adam and I hadn't been since we were dating. It was so much fun, everybody was having the time of their lives. Bumpers have come a long way since 2004! My lemon cake with raspberries on top was not good. The kids wouldn't even touch it. I feel a redemptive cake-baking is in my near future. Probably chocolate this time. I should just always stick with chocolate.

 My friends gifted me with this swanky mortar and pestle. It is so beautiful and I love it.