Bell'Italia!

Italy is truly a beautiful country. We took advantage of Jennifer and Grant's visit, to do some sightseeing in some of the most gorgeous areas in Italy (though there are so many!): Tuscany & Umbria.

We drove to Florence, spent the day there, then drove to Arezzo (still in Tuscany) for dinner and spent the night in an old "Torre" that was renovated by some friends' of ours. Emily had a blast! She even got to drive a tractor!!

On the last day we went to Gubbio, a medieval town in Umbria. The town was built on a mountain and all the buildings were made in the same color stone as the mountain so it blended in perfectly. We were very grateful for the internally built elevators that took you all the way to the top of the town!

Here are some pictures I took of the weekend:

I like to ride my bicycle...

Now with the nice weather, one of the best things to do in this area is to go and ride your bicycle in the Monza park (the park right in front of my house). I had the bright idea of taking Emily for a ride in the Park after a day of school. My mom had fixed my former bicycle (yes, can you believe the bicycle is 23 years old??!!) for Emily to ride when she's here. Emily wasn't too convinced but she decided to give it a try. Take a look at some of the pictures.

The ride started off ok (by the way, check the bike out. Not bad for being 23 years old!)

Towards the middle of the bike ride, Emily was asking herself why she had allowed me to talk her into the ride. By the end of it, she took a dandelion stem and made a wish. She asked me if I wanted to know what she had wished (she knows how curious I am and she would have told me anyway), and then said "I wish never to come for a bike ride around the park!"... I was secretly getting her trained for a biking holiday. Oh well! There goes my biking holiday in Austria!

First Visit from the US and A

Jennifer and Grant just won the award for being our first visitors from the US. We had a great visit with them. Emily and I went to pick them up at Malpensa airport two Fridays ago. They were lucky they got there in there on Friday since they had missed their connecting flight from JFK. Anyway, here they are!

Jennifer was our travel buddy when we were in the US. We took many trips together, including one of our favorite in Boston. It was great to get to travel with her and Grant whilst they were here in Italy.

La Sagra Degli Agrumi

This year we got to experience some of the authentic Sardinian traditions. Mura Vera, a town approximately 30 minutes away from our home, was celebrating the "Sagra degli Agrumi", the "Citrus Fruits Festival". The oranges that grow in that region are absolutely delicious! We got to taste orange jam & jelly made locally too.

There was a parade of traditional Sardinian clothing from the various towns throughout Sardinia. It was so interesting to see how each town has their special designs and dresswear. There is so much history behind each garment. Emily enjoyed the first 10 minutes and then wanted to go home. The costumes she liked the most were the ones of the scary men with the black masks (the ones that look like sheep). My aunt was explaining to me that these costumes (the sheep looking men) come from the Shaman tradition in Sardinia, and were meant to scare the wicked spirits away.

My dad was really funny throughout the event. He kept making comments to the people in the parade in Sardinian dialect (I think he felt at home). To one group of girls he told them they looked like nuns! I wonder if you can guess which group of girls he said it to. See the costumes for yourself:

All together in Sardinia for Easter

This was a memorable Easter for us, since the family was altogether, it was the first time we all took the plane together and we were going to Sardinia! I was so excited to take Emily to Sardinia. Last time she had been there was when she was two. Sardinia is a very special place to me since I have been going there since I was 21 days old! Have lots of good memories there!

We got to spend time time with family and friends. Everyone was so excited to see Emily (and me of course!) after all these years!

Emily's Birthday - Time to Celebrate!

Wow! I officially have a 7 year old now!! For some reason this birthday is a milestone for me. I'm 30 and my daughter is 7! Anyway, Emily was lucky enough to have a number of Birthday Parties! Her dad organized a Birthday Party for her and most of the kids in her class attended. Then we had cake & presents on her actual Birth-Day, and later that week we had a family & friends get together to celebrate Emily's Birthday & the family being together again. I guess we learned something from our time in the US!

Confetti War!

Carnival is over but the roads and squares here were left in a sea of confetti. Emily and Gaia took part in the Confetti war last Saturday in Monza. Gaia enjoyed bouncing her balloon on other people walking down the street. One little girl wasn't too happy about that!