Italian Vacation: Part I

It had been over five years since we went to Italy as a family. A lot has happened since then, including the addition of Sebastian. So when we found out that Tony had a work conference in Tuscany at the end of the summer, we thought, "We should make a family vacation out of this once camp ends!" And wouldn't you know it, August 4th was Tony's parents' 50th wedding anniversary, so returning to the scene of the crime with them felt perfect!

Despite camp ending just a day earlier, the kids were VERY excited about our trip.

Tony and I should have known at CVG that a "Watch out, Italy" notice might be necessary...here are our kiddos spinning around the poles on the airport tram.

But who could blame them? Italy!

With the grandparents!!

"Ciao, Mom!"

Can you tell this is an Italian hotel room? Well, it is.

More proof? This was the spaghetti with clams that we ate in the hotel restaurant for lunch on Day #1...lucky us!

I also got three kinds of fresh ricotta: pistachio, honey walnut and truffle. Lucky me!

Sam discovered Cola-flavored Calippo...one of my all-time favorites in elementary school when we lived in Germany. It still tastes exactly the same!!

Our trip started in Formia, so that we could visit Zia Carmela (Nonno's older sister). She had some pretty big desserts ready for the kids.

This is still hanging in her bathroom. It's been cracking me and Tony up ever since we first saw it twenty years ago.

Also in Formia? Just like the fun from four years ago, but this time, Sebastian got to enjoy it!

How was Tony's conference, you ask? He was hard at work presenting his latest research, networking with other reproductive science scientists...and watching cheese be made??

Touring Puccini's home??

 Taking in a little sightseeing?

In beautiful Lucca. Lots of hard work going on... ;-)

After a couple of days in Formia, we headed to Ponza! The big kids were planning to sleep up in the loft, but with no air conditioning, it was a bit too hot. In fact, we all opted for air-conditioned sleeping spaces. A.C. is tough to come by on the island!

Pizza, on the other hand? That was easy to come by...and delicious. Like Sebastian's two knives??

Also yummy and plentiful? Donuts as big as our faces!

And the water...oh, the water!!

And fun and games with new buddies!

When Tony's conference ended, he traveled south to meet us on the island. Here's Sam waiting by the port for Tony to arrive.

While waiting, we spotted this concert poster. Who wants to go see Joe D'Urso?? Luckily, we could hear him from our room!

Now that we reunited with Dad, it was gelato time. As Mario says, "Italians do it better." Haha.

A major highlight of our time on Ponza was renting a boat and sailing to Palmarola (a nearby island). Ready to go!

Walking to the boat...

The kids LOVE Uncle Ralph!

We had a gorgeous day to be out on the water.

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After working up an appetite swimming, we were treated to a homemade lunch with lots of local ingredients. Fresh fish, olives, bread, fruit, you name it!

Brie and I loved the local sardines and anchovies.

The big kids were digging the seafood risotto!

Ready for more time on the water!

Most of us were. Sebastian took the "No Stress" sign literally after lunch.

On the other side of the island, the water was a beautiful green color.

With encouragement from Tony's cousins Andrea and Lorenzo, Brie climbed some rocks...

And plunged into the water! Over and over!

And then we swam some more!

Sebastian wasn't brave enough to swim, but he got a big kick out of torturing his siblings with a water gun.

And then we headed back to land...only to be shocked to see Joe and Akiko! They were pretty sneaky--arriving without tipping off any of the family-- and everyone loved the surprise. 

Now that we were all on the island, it was party time. Stay tuned for the next post!!