Firenze

This is the story of two people who woke up one morning at 7am and decided to drive to Florence.  As with any adventure long on hopeful innocence but short on planning there are highs and lows and eventually a happy ending.
Florence was only two hours away and although we were perfectly happy to laze the day in our adopted hometown, we decided it would in some small way justify us traveling all the way to Italy to not just sit at the beach.  Most people in our shoes would probably procure some sort of guide book or at least attempt a quick googling of said historical venue.  However we instead tried to remember what it is we should do (five minutes before arriving) in such a lovely town.  The drive was smooth and the parking was free so we were off to a good start.  In fact the city seemed almost abandoned which did not help our plan of following large crowds to the most important destinations.  In a few short turns we found a busy street and with the help of a man selling posters, discovered we were in line to see David.  Not bad for rookies.
Two hours later we were still in line to see David but we had scored a convo with two American college girls who gave us the down low on after hours bars.

 lots of time to take pictures

 Here I am totally laughing because B was caught red handed breaking the no photo rule.

After the museum we rounded some corners and stumbled upon beauty of the 13th century intricately detailed church variety.  Believe me, once you do a semester with Wheaton in England you've seen some churches and this one definitely topped the list.

The details were so breathtaking you didn't know where to look

Unfortunately with the long lines, the cost to see everything and the heat, our luck started to change.  We were slightly swindled at lunch but at least the food was amazing.  And then we attempted to wander.  At this point we were so dang hot we just wanted to find a park and sit down.  All attempts at this were futile and only led to us finding a homeless mans bench in a dry deserted field.  After returning his bench we soldiered on and became more and more lost and dehydrated.  It seemed all roads led us upward so that's where we went.  After a few failed tries at navigating the bus system and one less than loving conversation we took some stairs up to find that it had all been worth it.  In one moment the heat and exhaustion are erased and there is only him and me and the view.  

I memorized that horizon as if it would save me from a lifetime of wanderlust.

I think I took thirty pictures of doors.  Each one seemed to tell a story.  They were either twenty feet high or designed for tiny hobbit people.  

 I'm thinking of single handedly bringing back lion door knockers to the states.

There is so much history in every stone wall of this city that they don't even know what to do with it all.  I think this was a side entrance to Banana Republic.

So after what we eventually called a successful day in la citta bella we found our car and began the journey home.  Until Ben said, Do you want to get dinner in Tuscany?  Turns out we were in Tuscany (probably something we should have known).  So after (another argument passionately Italian discussion) and then miraculously finding a McDonald's with wifi we picked a restaurant from tripadvisor, changed in the car and found ourselves on a vineyard watching the sunset.  I couldn't make this stuff up.  It was the best meal I had on our trip.

The moral of the story is that sometimes taking a blind step into another country can leave you looking like a couple of dumb a's stranded and hungry, but sometimes when you don't know what your looking for the surprises are so much sweeter.

gravity always wins

Man oh man this world traveler gig is officially a young persons game.  I'm four days home and still falling asleep at the dinner table and starting my day at 4 am.  It probably didn't help that we decided to potty train Ian, otherwise known as, small boy peeing on the floor from now on, the day we got back.  I love him to pieces but I am almost out of resolve, both emotionally and carpet cleaner wise.  My (sweet tone), "Uh, oh, pee pee goes in the potty" has become (not sweet tone), "seriously?  are you kidding me right now?  You just peed on this exact spot an hour ago!"
But my shining mom moment came after he peed standing in front of the bathroom door (and refusing to go in) at the mall.  "Well, we were going to go ride the train and get ice cream (total lie, there isn't even a train at this mall) but now we have to go home because that was our last change of clothes."  Did I mention my job title is Child Development Specialist?  The irony isn't lost on me.
And just so Ava would have an equal amount of traumatizing mom memories let's review our trip to Target for school supplies.  Is this bizarre scavenger hunt designed to punish me for not joining the PTA or is every mom given the same list?  I think teachers must hysterically watch the security cameras of the parents searching for wide-ruled 100 sheet notebooks and a 6 pack of clear glue sticks for over ten minutes before realizing they don't exist.  I'm all solidarity with the get up at the crack of dawn, forty grand in debt from school loans, googling hands-on math activities, wipe our kids noses and butts teacher crowd but come on this just isn't nice.
So here we are two weeks from the start of our fiscal year, our January, when new jobs begin, family meetings are held and resolutions are made.  Ian's picked out his Avenger's backpack and Ava's first soccer game is tomorrow.  I've got my doubts and 2am panic attacks but that just goes with the August terrain.  We may be exhausted and unprepared but we're steering into fall days, one pee soaked carpet stain at a time.
At least I have the memories....

sunset magic in Levanto

bridges of Florence

 oh Tiramisu you have ruined me for life.... xoxo B

Transportation

Tonight at dinner we listed all the things about levanto that we had learned since coming here last.  Eleven years ago when we visited we saw a place where you could rent scooters for the day.  That was such a unique experience for us and we drove into the mountains and over to the next town for dinner.  We didn't really realize at the time that scooters were just one vehicle for adventure here.  You can rent boats and kayaks to explore the coastline or snorkel around the reefs.  You can take the train and water taxis into any of the cinque terre.  We took the train one morning into vernazza and then hiked along the mountains to cornigilia.  They also recently renovated the coastal path going north and you can rent bikes and ride through old train tunnels to visit other towns and beaches.  This was one of my favorites since the tunnels are so cool on a hot day.
All of this makes for an excellent compromise when one member of your party wants to lay on the beach and the other has their heart set on cliff jumping.

We have no idea where we're going at this point

Showing off

This looks like a good place to stop

Wait, there was someone with me a minute ago

Oh, there he is.  Can someone tell me where the nearest hospital is please?

Pretty views around every corner

Thankfully we started our hike early because I was hurtin getting up all those stone steps.

Before leaving vernazza you can really cheese up the experience by "locking up your love" and throwing the key into the water.  

I am only smiling here because we are headed downhill and there is a promiseland of gelato on the other side.

Almost there

Finally made it and celebrated by finding a "take away" restaurant so Ben could order fried chicken.  I think we saw all five cinque terre towns that day and even though they are beautiful, they seem to cater exclusively to tourists and it is hard to get a feel for them.

Since b was on a protein high and looking for more, we decided to take the train into la spezia for dinner.  It did not disappoint.  You probably can't tell but underneath all these veggies is an entire roasted cow.

This town does transportation up right.  If only we had found the elevator before climbing six thousand steps up to the castle.

Loved this sculpture of a little boy pulling a (to scale) humpback whale up the street.  Kind of made me miss my kiddos, until I realized it was almost ten at night and we had to walk five miles back to the train station.

Another beautiful night