Tagliatelle and Gelato: my trip to Italy!

Recently, I was lucky enough to accompany my good friend, Chelea, on a reward trip to Italy that she earned through work. We went to Milan and Florence and spent the week indulging in pasta, wine, and gelato. When we were making plans for what we wanted to do and see on our trip, we both came to the same conclusion that we each just needed a vacation and not another to-do list. Traveling is so fun but it can really be exhausting. Our goal was to take in the scenery, eat amazing food, relax, and catch up on each other's lives. We skipped the daVinci art tour and the city walking tours. We did not go to a museum. Some of you may find that appalling but we got the vacation that we wanted and it was wonderful.

Milan is a much bigger city than I expected. It's very industrial and cosmopolitan. There is a definite hustle and bustle on the city streets. Once we got checked into our hotel, we took a walk down to the city center. We walked through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is an amazing shopping center covered with an awe inspiring glass dome. There, you see all the fancy fashion shops that make Milan a fashion destination: Prada, Louis Vuitton, and the like. We found a little cafe outside the galleria to eat lunch while taking in the scene. The cafe also had a great view of the Duomo di Milano.

 

This is Duomo di Milano, the cathedral church of Milan. It took nearly six centuries to complete. The architecture in Europe always takes my breath away. It was interesting seeing this Duomo and then the Duomo in Florence. They are so very different but equally impressive.

One of the more hilarious things that Chelea said while we were walking around was, "what is with all these people and their ice cream?" Haha! That would be gelato, my friend! I am never one to buy a pint of ice cream and sit on the couch, but I can assure you that if I lived in Italy, I'd be stopping for gelato on a regular basis!

There was a day that Edward Jones had offered a free city walking tour where they'd point out all the prominent landmarks. Initially we thought we'd sign up but then changed our minds. Something about walking around with a hundred other people just didn't sound like the Italian experience we were after. Instead I suggested we check out a beautiful city park called Parco Sempione. It's situated adjacent to the Sforza Castle. We walked through the castle gardens to enter the the park and found a little place to order a glass of wine and enjoy the sunshine. It was lovely and completely enjoyable. As we were leaving the park, we actually ran into the tour group. They were all standing around with their headphones, listening to the history lesson. I'm sure hearing about the history of the castle was plenty fascinating but they seriously looked so bored. When I close my eyes to think about Parco Sempione, I can imagine that little cafe in the park where the sparrows scam potato chips from the patrons' table. Something tells me that I wouldn't have such fond memories of the walking tour.

We spent a lot of time doing the above, which is looking at the map, wondering where we were and where we were heading! We walked more miles than I can count and it was the perfect way to justify all of our decadent pasta and gelato stops.

We signed up for a side trip to Lugano, Switzerland. We took a tram to the the top of Monte San Salvatore. The view is supposed to be outstanding, however, we visited on a very foggy day and the view was basically non-existent. Oh well, at least we can say we went to Switzerland!

Lugano, Switzerland

After three days in Milan, we took the train to Florence. Florence is near the top of my list of favorite places. I had been there once before and it's such a breath of fresh air. After hitting the city streets of Milan, walking through Florence is completely different. Life seems simpler and calm. Mostly, it's just completely beautiful.

This is the Duomo Firenze. The architecture feels softer and more inviting to me than the cathedral in Milan.

In Florence, we spent our days walking around, shopping, and eating. We had one meal that was the standout of the whole trip. It was at a little place called Mamma Gina's. We had walked around all evening and it was pretty cold. We decided to start with soup. Chelea ordered a minestrone and I ordered pasta fagioli. This was the best white bean soup I have had in my entire life. The beans were pureed in a savory broth that was infused with rosemary and the noodles tasted like they were freshly made. We were served huge bowls of soup and the meal could have ended there and left me satisfied. Of course, then my second course of tagliatelle bolognese arrived and it was equally mind-blowing. The pasta and sauce was so good that I ate every last bite. Stuffed beyond reason, Chelea suggested we order dessert. I looked at her as though she was insane. She ordered us a tiramisu to share and I planned on having one bite just to taste and being done. As I took my first bite, I looked at Chelea and said, "Oh shit." Seriously, that is what I said. We both started giggling because we knew that plate was going to be empty when the waiter returned. That meal sums up my trip to Italy. It was indulgent, satisfying, and fun. Here are just a few more photos.

Streets of Florence

One of my favorite things about Italy is you just order "red wine" and they bring you something inexpensive but completely fantastic. Chianti always tastes better in Italy.

We're Coming Home!

As many of you have heard, Adam got a job offer at the practice he was most hoping to work for. He is joining Rainier Anesthesia in Puyallup shortly after he graduates. If all goes as planned, we should be home at the beginning of July. It does not seem like that long ago we were making similar plans and arrangements to move to Albany. It's truly amazing how quickly time goes by. Yet, it seems like a long-ass time ago that he began the process of becoming a doctor! Haha! I am just so impressed with his perseverance and dedication in accomplishing this goal. After he got off the phone, we just sort of looked at each other, eyes welling up at the bewilderment of having survived this journey. And not only did we survive, we're actually still happy. Mind-blown.

The next few months will be busy as we make the transition back to the northwest. We haven't nailed down where we want to find a rental house, though we've received many opinions! I've already had one emotional breakdown and I'm sure I'll have more. I'm the stress-case of the family and fortunately have Adam to bring me back to reality. I wish I could just snap my fingers and all of a sudden our house would be packed up and moved for us! Oh well... it will get done and all will work out. I'm really looking forward to another cross-country road trip. We're thinking of heading a little further north and then driving west. I'd love to see some of the Great Lakes and parts of Canada.

I'll do my best to keep you updated. Somehow, I'd still like to go on a few more Northeast adventures. I'm guessing once we get the house on the market in April, we'll get a chance to do some of that. We'll need to spend as much time out of the house as possible so the kiddos don't mess it up! That is going to be a serious challenge! Wish us luck and we'll see you soon!

Saturday Morning Update

It's Saturday morning and I'm watching the kids chase each other around. I realize that I have been terrible about blogging. Somehow life has been moving more quickly even though it doesn't seem like we have that much going on. Gavin and Olivia are growing up faster than I'd like. I love seeing them accomplish new milestones but it's a little sad watching the shadows of their babyhood fade away.

Gavin is loving school and has been learning to write. He tells us about how some words end the same and rhyme. He has also started doing yoga. He shows us his tree pose and his balancing skills. Apparently his speech is a little delayed compared to some of the other kids but I'm sure that will work itself out. We're most impressed with how kind he is proving to be. His teachers continue to praise how he handles conflict with the other kids. He is polite and a genuinely nice boy. It's much easier to work on speech, if you ask me.

Olivia is almost 20 months old, a fact that completely baffles me. She is a funny girl, our little miss thang. She struts around the house with her own little swagger, arms swinging and booty shaking. Liv loves her accessories and her baby dolls. My parents got her a little doll for Christmas that might as well have been her only present because she is obsessed with "baby." She is really starting to talk a lot. The other day I coughed, and she said, "You, ok?" It's fun being able to communicate with her.

Adam has only four months of residency training left before graduation. He is starting to look for a job in the Seattle area. He has a few prospects, so we're hopeful that something will come to fruition. I truly thought I'd be counting down the days until we moved back but I'm actually going to really miss living on the east coast. There are still a lot of places I'd like to see. We'll try to get to as many as we can over the next few months. I've actually started compiling a list of places I'd like to see in Washington State. There are a lot of cool parks in the Pacific Northwest!

Anyhow, that is what's happening with us. Here are few updated photos of the kids. Miss you!

 

 

Tromping through the woods in 2012

We've been enjoying a very mild winter in New York. We've gotten out for a couple of hikes over the past few weeks. This continues to be one of my favorite things to do. There is just something really special about being outdoors with the kids. Olivia is extremely determined and does a great job keeping up. I put together a little video for your viewing pleasure, a digital short, if you will :) 

Holidays

Nearly two months since my last post. Oops! The month of December was wonderful. We stayed home for Christmas, which meant that we decorated the house and got a tree. Gavin and Olivia are at such fun ages. They made the season sparkle. I think everyone feels excited when they pull out the lights and ornaments, but seeing a child's reaction ups the magic factor.

Early in the month, my parents came for a visit. It was so fun and nice to spend time with them. We mostly just hung out but did make a short trip to NYC before they flew back to Seattle. We strolled through Chelsea Market, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, saw the tree at Rockefeller Center, and hung out at Central Park. It was a really fun time and I'm so glad that my parents were able to make the trip.

Hopefully, I will be better about keeping this blog updated over the coming months. Here is a photo recap of some of December's activities. Happy New Year!

Little man helped Daddy set up the tree

My little magic makers

Grandma and Grandpa with the kids down by the Hudson River

I love this picture of my parents on the Brooklyn Bridge

Always funny trying to get family pics... 

With my babies at Central Park

Carriage ride through Central Park- $50 for 20 minutes but I will remember it forever.

Darling girl with her snowman

Sweet little man, taking a rest on the porch

I love the sparkle in Gavin's eyes as he prepares for Santa Claus

Olivia got a babydoll for Christmas- might as well been her only gift, as she carries it everywhere. Sweet.

The Day to Day

Hello. Sometimes I forget to just check in and write about our day-to-day stuff. Things are going well this month. Gavin is loving school and has made lots of friends. He even has a girlfriend! Yet, her name changes nearly everyday so I'm not sure how serious things are. One day it's Lyla; the next day it's Angeline. He seems to get along with everyone and has such a joyful demeanor. His teachers told me that they think the world would be a much better place if everyone got to spend one hour with Gavin. I can't think of a better compliment than that. Of course, he saves some of his less pleasant behavior for after school.

Gavin is challenging our patience with back talk and not listening. Communicating with a four year old can be difficult. Many of our conversations go like this, "Gavin, you're not acting nice." "No, you're not acting nice." "Gavin, you need to say you're sorry to Olivia." "No, you need to say you're sorry." It can quickly develop into a downward spiral from there. Before I know it, I'm the one acting like a four year old. The worst part is when I just want to laugh but can't because I'm trying to be a good parent. I'm going to try a new method of dealing with this behavior. I feel like I'd be best to redirect his attention to something else and then later bring up why he needs to talk nicer or why he made me upset. These in the moment behavioral corrections are not working. We'll see... it's funny how many different articles are out there on the best form of discipline. Everyone has a theory and they pretty much all conflict. What I do know is that it's all normal and pretty much annoying! As the saying goes, it's a good thing kids are cute!

Speaking of cute, Olivia is sure coming out of her shell. She held back for quite a long time but now she's laughing and being silly. I don't know if it's just having more experience but she seems to be such an easy toddler. She is just happy! Of course, she absolutely destroys our house. That girl makes more messes than Gavin ever did. She is like pig pen- she makes a mess in one room and then moves on to the next before I've even gotten the first mess cleaned up. Such a trouble maker! Probably the cutest thing she has been doing lately is giving fist bumps. She gives a pound and says, "boom!" Crazy cute.

Adam has been busy. In October, he spent a week in Ecuador on a medical mission. I've asked him to write a blog post about it, so stay tuned. He also had to give an hour-long presentation at what they call grand rounds. It was in front of his whole department- 100+ people. Better him than me! I hate stuff like that. Anyhow, now that he's got that out of the way, he's working on finding a job in the Seattle area. He's got quite a few leads and is starting to send out resumes and explore opportunities. He's counting down the days to graduation. If all goes well, we'll be back in the northwest by early-to-mid summer.

I'm working on getting our house ready to put on the market. It's all tiny detail work. I'm freshening up paint and clearing out clutter. I'm not sure what to expect with the market but I'll do my best to make this house show as well as possible. This is a great house but it has plenty of old-home quirks. I look forward to having our next home be permanent. It gets exhausting working on a house, knowing that we're just going to move. I am going to miss this house quite a lot.

Well, that's all that's going on back here. Now, I better clean up all of Olivia's messes while she is napping or she won't have anything to do when she wakes up! :)

Halloween Superheroes

Let me introduce to you the kids that keep our house safe from all things bad and evil:

 Captain Dangerous

 And his sidekick...

The Evil Genius

For Halloween, I decided to make capes for the kids because of Gavin's recent interest in superheroes. I found a pattern on Etsy and managed to do a pretty decent job making them! I am still very green when it comes to sewing and I didn't realize how hard it is to work with stretchy knit fabrics. But, I managed to get them done well before Halloween. It was pretty easy to put together the rest of their costumes, just needed a few accessories. Although Gavin loved his cape, he was a little bummed that he wasn't going to be Batman. Adam and I loved their originality but I've decided that next year I will just let him be whoever he wants. The last thing I want is a guilt trip when he's all grownup. It amazes me how much stuff like this can come back twenty years later!!! 

Halloween night was a lot of fun. We weren't sure what Olivia would think. We thought she'd be too little to enjoy trick-or-treating. Boy, were we wrong! She strutted along from house to house, dragging her little pumpkin. Her walk is just too funny. We've taken to calling her "little miss thang." Everyone got a kick out of her "evil genius" cape. Gavin told everyone that he was Captain Dangerous and that he had a danger button. So, even though he wasn't the awesome Batman, he did own his character very well! 

The best part of the superhero costume is that they will keep playing with them. I love watching them chase each other around the house, capes flying behind them. It was fun making them and I can't help thinking that I'm a pretty kick-ass mom! (Hey, there can be a lot of self-doubt or guilt as a parent, so you have to celebrate your successes!) Here are just a few more pics:

October in Maine

Well, I managed to go an entire month without a blog post- sorry about that! I cannot believe how fast the days are flying by. We are having a wonderful fall season in the northeast. We are midway through October and we haven't had to turn the heat on! Normally we have already installed the plastic in the windows. I'm sure that the cold weather is right around the corner. But, in the meantime, we are soaking up the nice days!

Earlier this month we took a trip back up to Maine. We rented a big house with our friends and it was so much fun. I cannot even articulate how much the friendships we've made here have helped us get through this time away. We have a legitimate family here. They've helped us raise Gavin and now Olivia. We're just very lucky. And, on top of all that, we plan awesome vacations together! The house we found was amazing, right on a lake, with plenty of bedrooms and a game room. We are now in the midst of planning our winter trip, maybe to Lake Placid in the Adirondacks or to Vermont. These group trips are something we hope to continue throughout our lives.

Maine is called the vacation state, and for very good reason. I can't think of many places that are more relaxing. It's just beautiful there. I love the scenery with its rocky beaches and views of lighthouses. I love the bakeries and quaint shops. On this trip, we spent less time at the ocean and more time enjoying the lake we stayed on. Gavin got his first fishing pole and had a great time casting off the dock. He's at such a great age right now, able to do so many things. I took him out in a kayak with me and we paddled around on "adventures." It was a small glimpse into all the fun things to come. As much as I get sad thinking about my babies growing up, I am so excited about all the active things we'll be able to do as they get bigger. I could talk all day about how much I love vacationing throughout New England, but instead I will just share some photos. It was a really wonderful time.

Fort Constitution, Rye, NH with their buddy Lukas

Amazingly gorgeous day in Ogunquit. Liv and Gav loved splashing in the waves.

I just love this picture of them having an inside joke moment.

One of my favorite moments of our entire trip.

$4.98/lb baby!

Family. Friendship. Maine. Perfection.