Ciao, Italia!

Ciao! Italia!

(Subtitle - The Woman Who Ate Her Way Through Italy and Lived to Tell the Tale)

Spring Break!  Last year we had an amazing adventure with our wonderful friends the Bryant Family in the Umbria region of Italy.  In fact, we enjoyed it SO much that we decided to do it again!  We had heard that they had replenished the pasta and wine supply since we demolished it previously, so it was worth another trip. We even stayed in the same gorgeous villa - Casale San Silvestro:

When we arrived, the lovely housekeeper Giovanna said "I am ready for you.  I bring lots and lots of beer and firewood."  So, you will be proud to note that we are totally representing the great US of A in true form - evidently on our last visit she learned that Americans like to drink beer and burn stuff.  Usually simultaneously. 

San Silvestro is located just outside of Todi, a quaint hilltop town. You can actually see Todi in the distance from the villa:

Using San Silvestro as a home base, we explored the region.  First stop?  Narni - the town which inspired the fantasy land of Narnia from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Undeterred that the bottom floor of this abandoned church is now a pescivendola (from the smell we translated this to "fishmonger") the kids take a tour:

Next stop?  Rome!  Rome is a fabulous city.  So fabulous, that at any given time about 1/2 of Europe is visiting it.  Next time I'm making everyone in my party wear green neon vests so I can find them in the crowd.  Here's a view from the top:

Roman Ruins:

Well, looky here! A trip of course would not be the same without our travelling companions, the Walkers and the Goulds!  This is the arena where they would run the chariot races.

But really?  We were there to visit some of the smaller, more quaint villages of Umbria.  (Actually, we were there to drink wine, but don't call me out on that).  So our next stop?  The town of Orvieto.

Orvieto is famous for two things.  The amazing Gothic Cathedral above, and the fabulous white wine, Orvieto Classico, aka "Liquid Gold" (their name, not mine! Although I totally agree. Totally.) Shauna, Paulie and I did a tiny-winy taste test to make sure it lived up to its name.  

 And on the next stop of the Old Churches and Wine tour....Assisi - home of Saint Francis of Assisi.  Absolutely one of the most picturesque villages in Umbria.

One of everyone's favorite sights - the bridge below is passable only by a raised corridor built into this stone wall!  You go in one side, are totally emerged in cave like darkness, and pop out on the other! 

Here's what it looks like when you're in the tunnel!  You can totally imagine the monks wending their way by torchlight:

But the view from the top is worth it!

And the good people of Italy really have the food thing down!  One cafe owner insisted on giving Augusto a free slice of pizza AND a free bologna panini because she felt he was WAY too skinny.  But perhaps not so much after he ate this:

And this:

Oh, and a whole lot of this:

My Georgia knows what's up.  Here she is eating what was probably her 70th piece of pizza for the week (while simultaneously cleverly avoiding Italian paparazzi).

So, full of all the sights, history, culture and cuisine Italy has to offer, we say arrivederci to Italy for one more year!

The Search for Nessie

The Story of the Girl Who Wanted a Waterhorse

Way back in March we actually had a free weekend!  Not knowing what to do with ourselves, we asked the girls if there was anything they could come up with.  After a brief period of consideration, in which they decided we would not likely take them to EuroDisney, Caroline decides "I think we should try to find the Loch Ness Monster". 

Ok, hey.  Not a bad idea.  "I wonder what airport you fly into to get to Loch Ness?" I ponder aloud, "Edinburgh?"

"Could be," Caroline responds. "Or, could be Glasgow". 

Really? The part of my brain that relates to geography was totally damaged at birth.  I could never have named even one city in Scotland at the age of 10.  Clearly, this comes from their father. 

Turns out we were both wrong.  The Loch Ness is in the Scottish Highlands, wayyyy in Northern Scotland, and you fly into Inverness.  So, off we went!

We found an amazing old manor house, called Culloden House, to call home for the weekend. It only has 22 rooms, and is so warm and welcoming that it feels like you're visiting relatives!  They even called in advance to make sure they would have food available in the restaurant that the girls would enjoy!

We got settled, and we were off to explore!  The first thing that struck me is just how ENORMOUS Loch Ness is.  You drive along it for miles and miles (and miles), stopping to visit the castles that are built right along the shore. 

This is Urqhardt Castle, which has graced this area since 580 AD:

And further up the Loch we found Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most beautiful and iconic castles in the Highlands:

The Loch from the Castle:

Guarding the gates:

My little Mountain Goat goes for a climb:

And of course, we had time for some relaxing in the hotel.  One of the best features as far as Augusto was concerned?  The Whiskey Trolley.  This region of Scotland is known for Whiskey, and even has a Whiskey Trail.  We relaxed in the library:

But gave the local wildlife a wide berth.  This is the famous Highland Cow, who took up residence right behind the hotel:

But wait?  What about Nessie? The whole reason we are here?  Enough of the crumbling castles.  Finally, we reached a point where the girls could get out and scour the Loch for their own Waterhorse egg, and sample some of the amazingly clean and refreshing Loch water:

But wait...what is that?  Could it be??  Do you see what Georgia saw? 

She wades out to investigate (the water is NOT warm, I might add):

And upon careful inspection, finds it was only a rock after all.  This discovery is met with genuine disappoinment, and even some actual silent tears in the backseat of the car.  Evidently, the plan was to find an actual Waterhorse egg, bring it home, and let the Waterhorse live in our pool.  I think she will just have to live with that disappoinment.  Hopefully we have not scarred her for life. 

Sending love and hugs from beautiful Scotland! 

Supah Quiz Nite

We have yet to discuss the Pub Situation here in England, but it is a critical part of the social scene for adults and children alike.  Every community has one - and they are EXACTLY as you might imagine...old, quaint buildings with rough hewn wood beam ceilings, fireplaces, mismatched chairs, and that distinctive 300 year old bar smell we have dubbed "Old England". 

More about the actual pubs later - but one event that is incredibly popular at pubs is QUIZ NIGHT!  Almost every pub holds one weekly!  We have never participated in our local quiz night...but it sure looks fun!  We shy away because frankly, the questions are damn hard, and there's nothing worse than being the only Americans in the pub except for proving yourself to be the only stupid Americans in the pub.

So what to do...what to do....

Have our own quiz night, of course!!  But sounded kind of boring just to get everyone together to play glorified Trivial Pursuit.  So, we decided to host

SUPAH QUIZ NITE!

Yes! We hired an acutal quiz company (they do exist), and informed him that we were all Americans and thus needed slightly different questions (re: less Cromwell and more Kardashian).  But that really didn't seem Supah enough.  We put on our thinking caps....and the teams were born!! 

It was a real American Showdown!  We had the

LUCKY CHARMS:

(Me, John, Sean & Michelle)

THE NORTHMANS (True Blood reference):

Francis, Shauna, Taylor, Augusto & Heather (who came later)

THE CHICKS:

(Paulie, Tav, Heather & Susie - joined by the Rooster Phil later on)

and THE BEEFEATERS:

(Stacey, Geoff, Jeff & Shelly - Kyle came later)

And to make it extra Supah, we threw in a few games of "High/Low" with the cards.  Which we universally failed at.  It caused only confusion.  Should have stuck to the quiz questions:

Which, by the way, the Vikings took really seriously: 

But it stayed friendly, especially between husbands and wives! 

Kyle finally made it!

And of course you know these crazy cats....wasn't she a pretty Viking?

And here's Heather...with Frany substituting for her man Phil

The kids needed something special too, so we decked out the garage with a few goodies...such as Giant Jenga (go Shauna...)

A little Sega Rally

Some Dance Dance Revolution

And the Manx...a motorcycle simulator:

It is of note that although the Vikings were victorious at the Supah quiz, we all got along just fine!  We are so lucky to have found such great people to share in this adventure!

Missing everyone at home! Looking forward to lots of visitors this Spring!  Maybe when you come out we'll have enough extra brain power to try the real Quiz Night!  XOXOXO