We're Not in Venice Anymore

We are not in Venice anymore. That is the first thing that came to mind as the taxi dropped us off at our hotel near the airport, our hotel in the middle of the corn fields**. So today, we pretty much did nothing. Lunch, electronics, a walk for me to get some exercise in, and dinner. We have to wake at 04:30 for our flight to Madrid, Spain, which is going to make for a very cheery morning of waking the kids. From here on out, we are in standard one-room hotels, so we are basically on top of one another for the next five days.

** Okay, there may have been one random river in the middle of the corn fields. 

A Day of Art

Today started early (not Sky's favorite, especially after getting no sleep because of a buzzing-in-her-ear-all-night mosquito), with a tour to Murano and Brurano. We absolutely loved visiting both islands and Ryder said that watching the men make glass art was his favorite thing of our whole trip. After looking at all the Murano glass art, the boat taxi took us to the rainbow island of Brurano, known for it's delicate lace art. There's only seven women left, who make this lace art by hand. Sadly, a loom and machine have taken over the lace making. I so wanted to purchase a piece of glass art (about $2000 USD) and a very small piece of lace art ($250 USD), but I did neither. Maybe one day, when Steve and I return to Italy. And to be honest, I have to sort through our household goods and figure out exactly what art I already have before buying any additional art. Art collecting definitely holds a special place in my heart and is something that I hope will one day be passed down to my children. I talked to the glass art salesman a lot about that. 

Once we returned back to Venice, we decided to visit the 57th Venice Biennale and WOW, it was brilliant. I'm so excited we made the time and effort to visit, as exhausted as we were. To see the various country's interpretation of art was incredible. The funny thing is that I had no idea what Germany's pavilion was all about, so I googled it when home and learned that Germany won. Well I also learned that the art included a performance under the see-through flooring and in the open stalls, which spanned over five hours (I'm guessing during the judging). Man, it would have been awesome to have walked through on that day. 

To anyone that questions world schooling, I am in awe of what the kids and I have learned and experienced on this trip. They are still doing proper math each day, but the rest, I am leaving up to our adventures and schooling by curiosity, for these past three months. Feeling so very blessed for this opportunity -- one that we will NEVER forget.

Meeting with Friends

It's crazy how Felice and I end up meeting one another. First, in Paris. Then in Thailand. An exhibition at her gallery in Germany. And today, we met Felice and her family here in Venice. We joked that we are going to have to connect in the US next. We adore their family and are excited about any time we are able to connect with one another. We met them on the Rialto Bridge, which was hot and crowded, so I was grateful that we even found one another. Then it was a bit of walking and lunch. After lunch, we had to part but a few hours together is definitely better than no hours. 

Sick Day

Home in bed with food poisoning. All day. All night.
Note: Photo from Tuscany because this is the only day that I haven't taken at least one photograph, but I thought it was rather fitting.

Florence to Venice

Left the farm at 9 AM to catch a 1:30 PM train to Venice. The trains through Italy have been pretty fantastic and easy to book online -- and any easy planning makes me happy these days. Once in Venice, we took a Ferry to our airbnb stop. I'm basically in awe of the beauty of Venice; it really doesn't even seem real. As usual, the first thing I do upon arrival is hit the grocery store. Luckily, I figured out my way back because when i tried to google map my way back, it wasn't taking me where I was supposed to go. Venice is all kinds of confusing with it's twists and turns and bridges and narrow pathways, all blending into a maze of similar-ness. After groceries, we went to dinner at a restaurant around the corner.

A Day on the Farm

Woke up early, to change locations and stay a night on a Tuscany farm. Before heading there, we stopped in the village of Montepulciano and oh my gosh, what an awesome little town. We walked around a bit, bought four pieces of art from a street vendor, got some food to go and then got back on our way to the farm. If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely spend a bit more time exploring Montepulciano and probably even stay a night or two there. 

We arrived at the farm around noon and I have never seen such incredible views. I mean truly spectacular, views that one might think only exist is the most beautiful of dreams. The farm runs a restaurant, where they serve everything organic and homegrown, with their specialty being goat and sheep cheese. The owners are originally from Switzerland and absolutely incredible. They have a staff of 20, with four people helping on the farm each day. They care for sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, two donkeys, three peacocks, four dogs and one guinea pig. Both the goats and sheep are milked twice a day for six months. All the cheese is handmade and wow, what a process that is. Sandra, one of the owners, took us on a super informative tour of the farm, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. After the tour, we took some time to just explore around the farm and pet the animals. Our dinners consisted of fantastic pasta dishes, ravioli for the kids and I have no idea what mine was (spelt something), but it was incredible. The farm also allows camping and they have an old trolley that they converted into a sleeping room -- that's where we slept. :-) What an absolutely fantastic way to spend our last day in Tuscany. I can't wait to bring Steve back one day.

"We're getting lazier and lazier"

...said the boy today, as we sat around the house and I worked on planning our travels back in the US. We basically had a chill day at the house. Gosh, after moving every three days and constant on-the-go, these days are quite cherished. And we are all getting anxious and excited about getting back to the US. So call it lazy if you wish, but I'm calling it a needed down day. Of course, we had dinner at our favorite local village restaurant (man, they make incredible food) and the owner even sent me off with a bottle of wine. If you ever happen to be in or near Castelnuovo Bearrdenga, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND eating at Bengodi - Enoteca Ristorante. Absolutely everything we ate there was fantastic, but you MUST try the wild boar pasta dish. After dinner, Sky was game to do some photos around the airbnb, which was super lovely and appreciated.

Tuscany Road Trip

We decided to get a late start today because mid-day, it's just so hot and walking around ends up being no fun. On top of that, both kids are now sick with bad head colds and sore throats. So I had our afternoon and evening all planned out and then things got a bit miserable, with the kids just wanting to be done. We bypassed a few villages that I wanted to stop at, came back to our village, to have a 20:00 dinner at our local favorite restaurant. Sometimes it's just this way and today was one of those days.

Florence to the Countryside

Took a taxi to the Florence airport, where we picked up a rental car and drove 1-1/2 hours to our airbnb in Castelnuovo Beardenga, in the Tuscany countryside. While I loved Florence, I was super excited to get into the countryside and away from the tourists. Our airbnb is remote and absolutely lovely, a true Tuscan experience, and we ended up finding the most delightful restaurant in the nearby medieval village. The owner didn't have an English menu and instead said, "I am your English menu, what are you interested in?". 

"Ummm, salad and cheese and ummm...meat."

We ended up ordering a wild boar pasta (A-MA-ZING), a cheese platter and a salad. Everything was so delicious, I think I could eat their every night. On top of that, I love that, I love the atmosphere and adore that it's in our neighboring tiny little village.

Uffizi Gallery Tour

We did a three-hour morning tour today of the Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Vecchio. Lucky for us, the Museum was not crowded, so much so, that our guide kept commenting that she has never seen it with so few people. Every painting we stopped at, we had front row viewing. I was super grateful that it wasn't crowded because I was obnoxiously tired after not sleeping the night before, thanks to it being so hot and full of mosquitoes buzzing in my ear. I ended up killing 15 through the wee hours of my non-sleeping night. But the Museum and Palazzo Vecchio were both incredible to see in person. I'm absolutely in awe of the artwork and architecture. 

It ended up being a napping kind of afternoon and a fantastic dinner, although, Ryder now has a cold and has lost his appetite. 

The Hunt for Wifi

I'm teaching an online worksop and today basically became a hunt for wifi. The wifi in our Airbnb wasn't working so great, so Ryder and I ventured out this morning to a cafe the was supposed to have good wifi. Well, that didn't quite work out as well as expected. So I decided to check out of our Airbnb early and into a hotel in Rome center, which was said to have the best wifi in Rome. The good news -- after SIX HOURS, my 20-minute video FINALLY uploaded. Tomorrow we head to Florence and the Airbnb owner said that there is good wifi. With one more week of teaching, I am so very hopeful. This week and next are working weeks for me, so I'm doing the very best that I can to balance it all.

Evening in Trastevere

Today ended up being a working day for me. I'm teaching an online workshop right now and today was one of those busy days. It was okay though because we typically do just the morning out because midday is just so hot, so I decided I would work during the day and then we would venture out to Trastevere in the evening. BUT THEN evening came and I was feeling very lazy! I ended up pushing us out, to explore Trastevere, which ended up being a street art hunt and happening upon a pyramid from 18 BC (yes, an actual pyramid in the middle of Rome...crazy). It was a very late 21:30 dinner for us and bed at 23:00. Another day of random exploring and lots of walking. Kids were troopers. I was in street art heaven.

The Colosseum & Roman Forum

Today was a four-hour tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum -- again, absolutely worth every penny for the proper tour. We got to see the underground and climb to the third floor of the Colosseum, which only tours get to do. The history of the Colosseum astonishes me. To think about 50,000 people sitting in that stadium watching animals and people fight one another. After the Colosseum, we walked through the Roman Empire. Our guide was an archeologist and so he jam-packed us with history. It was a really hot afternoon and a lot to process. Ryder shared that he checked out at times because it was to a bit too much. But it was super cool that our guide was part of the archeology crew that dug up one portion of the Roman Forum. In 20 days, he's headed to Crete for an excavation over there. After our tour was done, we visited the Pantheon and then headed into the Jewish District for lunch. We purchased a couple pieces of art from a little street vendor and then walked back to the Colosseum to catch a train back home. Another day full of walking. Another incredible day of sites and history in Rome.

Vatican City

We did a Vatican tour today and let me say it was worth every penny of that $250 for the three of us. We got to skip the really long line and had an amazing guide taking us through, pointing out the most important pieces and sharing the history. I 100% recommend the tour and the earlier the better because things just get more crowded and hotter as the day goes on. I cannot even begin to imagine the crowds and heat in July and August. 

The Vatican is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Absolutely unreal. And I cannot believe I got to see the Sistine Chapel in person. Just WOW!! We also visited St. Peter's Basillica and St. Peter's Square. Had okay pizza for lunch but the yummiest gelato ever for dessert. We stopped by the Rome USO to see what they had to offer (not a whole lot) and then took the train back home. We walked for 10 hours, 20K steps and were exhausted. We got back home around 7 PM, chilled for a couple hours and then off to bed, to get ourselves ready for tomorrow's tour of the Colosseum. 

P.S. It's so sad that Michelangelo's La Pieta sculpture now has glass in front of it so that you can't get very close. Apparently, in 1972, some crazy man, who claimed he was Jesus, climbed over the guard rail and started hacking away at the Pieta with a hammer because he said he was Jesus Christ it didn't look like him. Vatican officials retrieved some of the chipped off pieces, but tourists took a whole lot more. 

Train to Rome

Took the train to Roma Termini and then had to transfer to the metro, which was about a 10-minute walk. Once we arrived at our airbnb metro stop, we had a 15 minute walk, to include a 115 damn stairs UP. Kids are both carrying about 15 pounds and I have about 50 pounds. I was fucking exhausted by the time we arrived at our airbnb. We found a place nearby to have dinner and then chilled for the evening in our place.

Catching up and Restocking

Our last day in Naples and we spent it restocking things such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. It was loving to have the US Naval Exchange to shop at. I also shipped a big box home to Steve and then planned out Spain and booked our train tickets for Italy. Basically today was spent on my to-do list. We had one final Naples pizza and got our packs ready for our transfer to Rome.

A Day at the Beach

Spent the day today relaxing on the beach, in the city of Vietri sul Mare, along the Amalfi Coast. It's a lovely little area, known for it's ceramics. The beach is wonderful and full of sea glass and pottery. We rented two umbrellas and four chairs for the day for 15 euros. The area is not touristy at all and really beautiful. After spending all day at the beach, we wandered the city a bit and I purchased a few pieces of pottery. This was the first time that I could buy something because I had the ability to ship it home US to US, thanks to the base post office. I also shipped home a shitload of clothes. Prior to this, I couldn't purchase anything because there's no room to carry it in our packs. Once home, we had dinner at my friend's, which was so awesome. We are always grateful for a home cooked meal, that's for sure. 

Positano

We did a tour today, offered by the military base. A bus takes us to the ferry, which then takes us to Positano. We had a guide with us on the bus, who offered us Italian history along the way. He also shared a bit about Positano and the Amalfi Coast, once we arrived to Positano. Then it was a couple hours on our own, to explore the area. The kids and I walked around, to include 500 stairs, and then we had lunch, before it was time to get back on the ferry. The Amalfi Coast is absolutely beautiful, with the colorful homes built into the hills, but what I loved even more was how you could see some of the Roman ruins along the shoreline. Absolutely amazing! I had considered staying overnight somewhere along the Amalfi Coast. I'm glad I didn't because I think the kids would have been bored -- lots of shopping and eating. Once back on base, it was time to switch hotels. 

Historic Naples

Remember my friend that picked us up at the airport yesterday? Well today, she picked us up at our base hotel and took us to the historic area of Naples -- and WOW! We started at The Duomo, the Chapel of San Gennaro, and it just so happened that there was a couple getting married, while we were there. Crazy because they were getting married with about 100 tourists walking through the church. Annually, since 1389, they bring out a vial of San Gennaro's blood from the crypt, to see if the dried blood will miraculously liquify. In December 2016, the blood failed to liquify, which can mean possible disaster for the years to come. It is documented that the blood has failed to liquify twice in the past, in 1939 (WWII) and 1980 (the earthquake). 

Then we went into the Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco Complex, which is a Church and a Museum that revolves around 'taking care of' the souls in Purgatory. You pay to go into the 'Lower Church', where there are all sorts of alters filled with anonymous bones. In the seventeenth century, women would select or adopt a skull (via a dream) and then intensely pray for shortening the time which the soul had to spend in Purgatory.

Of course, we did pizza for lunch from the restaurant that won the 2016 grand pizza prize. With our bellies full and bodies refueled, we walked down San Gregorio Armeno (aka Christmas Alley), which is known for their elaborate "presepe" or nativity scenes. Oh yea, I tried Crema di Cafe (aka Cafe del Nonno or Grandpa's coffee), which is kind of like a very sweet coffee milkshake.

We visited the Chapel Museum of Sansevero, which houses The Veiled Christ and the anatomical machines (corpses that have their blood vessels preserved or reconstructed) amongst so many other breathtaking statues and artwork. The entire place was absolutely spectacular and how all of this was done in the 1750s is just mind-boggling. I so wish I could have made photographs there but photography is strictly prohibited.

We ended our five hours of exploring historic Naples with a stroll down a narrow Neapolitan side street of Spaccanopoli. What a fantastic day, full of beautiful architecture, great Italian food, palazzos, churches, street performances, museums, art, shops, education and lots and lots of walking. So much gratitude Janine; we loved our day with you so much!!