Lake Barcis

I am so awful at blogging. It has been like a month. Well, life is super busy and crazy and at the end of the day I just don't feel like messing with adding pictures to my blog (to be honest!). So I will tell you about what we did this weekend and then try to back pedal and get caught up (haha maybe, I still need to blog Disneyland in February...). 

Life in Italy is, well interesting. I mean it is fine, just so different than Utah. I'm not going to lie that I lay in bed a lot at night and think about how amazing Utah was and how much I miss it. I might even think about what I wouldn't give to be 5 minutes away from the Layton Hills Mall again! I miss the convenience of everything more than I thought possible. I just want Target, Cafe Rio, HomeGoods!!! 

So anyway.... Quinn started Asilo (Italian Preschool) and she seems to really like it. Her teacher is very nice and speaks English which makes me feel better about her being there because at least I know she can talk to somebody (as well as the other handful of American kiddos that are there). Between her school, dance and soccer our days are pretty busy. Everything is about 20 minutes from our house so I do a lot of driving in the car. Which is super fun because Finley hates the car! Weekends are a blur honestly. Dave is home and we try to get things done on the house but with 3 kids and trying to relax, that is slow going. I hate how our house doesn't feel like home, I know (hope) that it will but right now it doesn't and that is hard. 

Ok- on to this weekend. I love this picture Dave took of the kids, it is perfect. I think Q was pouting about not getting her way, Leo is a mess and is hitting Finley with a bat and Fin is outta here! It sums up our life. Also, I love that I can start putting the girls in matching outfits, in this case pants! 

 

We ran a few errands on Saturday morning and then decided to head up to Lake Barcis which is about 30 minutes away from us. It was so pretty and I feel like we will be back there many times. Next time we are going to take Charlie with us because he would love it. The water is so pretty and there are playgrounds all around the walking trails. The air is crisp and it feels like fall. We walked around a bit and let the kids play. Then we decided to go take the train that rides around the lake. The man at the station didn't speak much English and we don't speak much Italian so we tried to communicate the best we could about when the next train was. We just missed the one train so the kids got popsicles and we waited for the it to come back around. While we waited the man was shocked we had 3 kids (which is a large family here) and he looked at Dave and said, "Bravo!" 

 

 

 

This slide was super fun. While at this play area Dave took Quinn to wash her hands and I was holding Finley. Leo kept trying to climb on top of the monkey bars and I kept yelling, "no!" I could not get him to stop and so I was going to put Finley on the ground and grab him so he wouldn't fall on his head and a nice man came over and said "no" and grabbed him. He of course started crying and ran right over to me. I was thankful that guy came over and grabbed our little monkey! 

Some nice views of the lake. 

 

 

We piled on the train and had a wonderful ride. The weather that day was perfect and the train ride around the lake and up to a little mountain town was perfect. During the ride I asked Leo if he was having a fun time and he simply said, "no." I do think he had a great time! 

After we got back to where we got on the train, it was going back around the lake again (the part we missed earlier) so we asked if we could stay on and the man told us we could. We thought we were just getting a little bit of a longer ride. As we pulled up to the stop the people in front of us (who spoke English) told us that they thought this was the last stop for the day. They went and asked the driver and it was! We were not near our car and were not sure what we were going to do. We got off the train and strolled through town in the direction of our car. We ended up finding a path that went around the lake and to our car. It ended up being my favorite part of the whole day was walking back to our car. It was a great family day and I loved getting to spend time together at such a beautiful place. 

 

 

 

 

We couldn't stop and enjoy any wine or gelato in town because we literally had zero euro so we just walked through and admired the cute little town! 

On our drive home we came to an area where we had to wait for another car to pass so that we could go (this is pretty common here) but I was cracking up at the man walking that was hugging the wall so he wouldn't get smashed. 

On Sunday we got up and went into our town and enjoyed a cappuccino and croissants. We found a new bar (cafe) that had opened and bought some yummy apple juice. The kids played on the playground and then we went and found Charlie his new easily digestible dog food. The rest of the day was spent doing laundry (because it is cheaper on Sundays) and hanging out around the house. It was a great day and the perfect end to a fun weekend. They always go by much too fast. 

 

Finley found the coffee cup and I had to snap this picture before she broke it. Also, I left my keys in the front door Saturday night, so thats good. 

 

Leo loves to dress himself lately and also loves anything firetruck related. 

 

Enjoying some early morning ice cream because they think every time the grown ups get coffee, they get ice cream. 

weekend are good, life is good. 

Soave Castle

Today we went with our friends the Tolmans to a castle about an hour and a half away in a cute little town called Soave. I will tell more about that later but first, check out our little wino. We may have a constant supply of wine bottles next to the garbage can tower (I will share more about that in a post dedicated to learning the recycling system here) waiting to be taken to the large green community glass trash can on the street (see what I mean, confused already?!). I looked over the other day and I had to snap a few pictures because well, duck face and because those little hair whispies are the cutest! So far she has only managed to break one wine bottle that is laying on the floor so I think I will continue to let her play with them while I do dishes until there is blood (kidding, maybe). 

 

Also our town is having its big festival this weekend so on Friday we headed downtown to grab dinner and hopefully some music. Ends up our neighbor was playing the music for the evening but thanks to having children and Leo doing a headstand in the middle of the walkway because he was so tired, we got dinner, gelato and left before the music started. However, the food was good, we chatted (kind of) with some of our neighbors and had a good family evening. Quinn had an Italian version of a grilled cheese sandwich and it was pretty delicious. The food was so good and we even enjoyed caffes (coffee) and cake before walking over to have gelato at our favorite gelato place. We are getting pretty good at ordering in Italian!  

 

Today, we headed to Soave which is about an hour and a half away from us to check out a castle with our friends. We met them at a store before hand and when we pulled into the parking lot Quinn yelled, "this is my favorite store!" (because the first time we went she got a toy......) and Leo yelled "this is NOT a castle!" (clearly he didn't yell exactly that, but that is what he was trying to yell). John gave us our walkie talkie for the trip, seriously the most fun and convenient idea ever, and we hit the road (after getting Mcdonald's). Finley and Quinn fell asleep about 5 minutes before we pulled into Soave, so that was helpful. I loved that you drove through the outer walls of the castle to get inside the city center. 

 

 

We drove up to the castle and were pretty lucky because it wasn't very busy at all. Our first stop inside the castle was the bathroom. They were squatty potties and Quinn yelled, "I love squatty potties!" I think she was the only person that felt that way. I think they are a horrible idea but they get the job done. 

The castle was very cool and the views were amazing. I really should have read the brochure about the history of the castle so I could share it with you but it was hot and I was making sure Leo didn't fall off any staircases. I believe it was built in the 10th century originally to protect against Hungarian invasions. It is now privately owned and I am pretty sure they current owners sell the tickets to the castle out of the front porch of their home. We got a book about the castle so I want to read that and learn more about the history. The kids loved exploring and it was very beautiful. During our time at the castle we saw two different bride and grooms come for pictures. I can't imagine how beautiful wedding pictures would be with a backdrop like this one. 

 

 

 

At one point at the castle I volunteered to take a picture of a couple that was taking selfies and they happily gave me their camera. I took a picture and gave it back and they said "gratzie" (which means thank you) and I said "gratzie" (which also means, thank you) so my Italian still needs a bit of work. I was cracking up after I walked away because they probably thought I was crazy!  

Quinn was super excited we got to go to the castle with her friends Parker and Joey. 

   

  

 

Leo was actually very excited about the castle and the flag that was flying at the top of the castle. He had a great time. I love watching him become a little boy and learning all the things that interest him. 

 

 

The details on the walls and ceiling were hand painted. I can't imagine how long it all took but it was beautiful. My friend Shannon and I liked how they had a wardrobe about the same size as the ones we were given when we moved into our houses, so not much has changed in Italy in that department! 

 

 

 

 

I LOVE this. Leo was playing in the rocks at one point and he kept saying something over and over. I wasn't sure what he was saying but Shannon said, "he is saying thats my flag." And he was! He had made his own castle out of rocks and put a flag at the top, just like the real castle. I thought it was the sweetest thing. He also said his castle had a horse, one for him and one for Quinn. 

After the castle visit we headed back into town and got some gelato. Shannon ordered what she thought was peach gelato. Dave said, I think that says fish and we all thought he was joking. She tried it and said it was definitely not peach. After some google translate we are pretty sure it was "fish of the sea with aloe" gelato. So she pitched that one and got a different flavor. I keep cracking up thinking about that. 

It is still so cool to me to just walk through these little towns in Italy. They seem unreal. They are just beautiful and I love the little shops and the people eating and drinking on the sidewalks.  

 

 

Finley has figured out sippy cups and she is a big fan. She would not put her cup down for any pictures I was wanting to take. Leo is also the world's worst ice cream eater from a cone. One would think that with the amount of ice cream he is eating lately that his skills would improve but they have not. I am hoping to convince him that he would actually get to eat more ice cream if he gets it in a cup because with the cone method he loses half of it on his shirt and his face. 

We walked around town for a little bit and then Dave wanted to go to a winery before we left to grab a bottle of wine. When we were walking there, Joey just sat down in the middle of the road because he was so tired (poor guy!). I wanted to snap a picture of that because Shannon and I were just talking about how Italy with toddlers could be a little challenging. After getting in the car on the way home and looking through my pictures I noticed that down the street a little ways, Leo is falling on his face! I laugh every time I look at this picture. Really, Italy with children can have its ups and downs!!! 

We got a bottle (okay, 2 bottles) of wine and headed for the car. They had a bookstore right downtown and I still needed a few things for Quinn's school so Shannon and I went in there to get what I needed. The things she needs here for school are so different than at home. For example, she needs a bib, towel with a loop and a smock. After all the shopping for the evening was done, we hit the road to head home. We ate dinner at an Autogrill (an Italian rest stop type of thing) which was a first for us. Random but hilarious. We drove past several horse carriers on the autostrada (highway) today and they were being pulled by small SUVs which I think is very interesting. But on the way home (it was dark and kinda late) but as we approached one, Dave asked, "is that a rabbit?" ... wait, wait, WHAT?!  I was cracking up, I said "um, no that is a horse!" We both started laughing. I guess he was extremely tired (so probably should not have been driving us...) but really a rabbit? What kind of carrots is that rabbit eating?!! Also today, Dave learned that the red Red Bull in Italy is actually not cranberry flavor, it is "Red with citrus flavor". 

We had such a fun day and made great memories. I love that we have friends here we get to experience these new adventures with! 

Castles are good, life is good.