Right after school ended, we flew off to Italy to meet both sets of grandparents. What a fun and special way to start our summer. We rented a wonderful villa up on a quiet hill near the small village of Casole d'Elsa and took day trips into Florence, Siena, San Gimignano and a few other charming places. We're so thankful for grandparents willing to travel far to see us. A wonderful trip!
 |
| Water in the villa pool is a bit chilly - let's just get it up to our ankles for now! |
 |
| Meredith getting brave and trying to baby slide into the pool |
 |
| Anna, Jane and Gammy on the outdoor terrace sitting room |
 |
| Not a shabby place for a lunch |
 |
| Jake and Anna |
 |
| Jane with her bocce ball toss. |
 |
| We had a few pretty competitive bocce ball games here! |
 |
| Dinner |
 |
| Gaga, Grandpa Carl, Anna and Jane |
 |
| Walking tour in Florence - learning how these tiny doors in the homes were used to give food to the poor. |
 |
| Poppy and Meredith in front of Florence carousel. |
 |
| Our girls plus Abu Dhabi friends who moved away two years ago - so fun to reconnect in Italy! |
 |
| Florence |
 |
| Regan on one of the few streets in Florence with a top to bottom view of the Duomo |
 |
| Our sweet, growing up Regan |
 |
| Jane, Regan and Anna in the church that also was a grain marketplace - interesting combination! |
 |
| Anna and Jake |
 |
| Florence river bridge |
 |
| Emma and Jane |
 |
| Gelato! Yes, a real reason to visit Italy says Anna |
 |
| Finally getting to ride the carousel this time! |
 |
| Even Jane is having fun |
 |
| Our family |
 |
| Tallest tower in San Gimignano |
 |
| The grandparents, Jake and three of the girls (Regan couldn't quite make it to the top!) |
 |
| Square in San Gimignano |
 |
| More gelato |
 |
| Time for cooking school at the villa |
 |
| Making "Chocolate Salami" - a famous (and simple) desert from the WW2 days when the Italians invented a dessert from US soldier's rations (crackers & cocoa). |
 |
| Pasta making time! Raw eggs are fun. |
 |
| And messy! |
 |
| The pasta machine was a big hit. |
 |
| Oodles of noodles |
 |
| Friend dough and pig brains - yum! |
 |
| Farm to table lunch at Casanova winery - amazing lunch, wine and views |
 |
| Visiting the truffle finding puppy |
 |
| Grape juice tasting |
 |
| Swinging at a wine farm |
 |
| More swimming |
 |
| Love this photo of Anna - trying hard to tackle her big bowl of pasta - at Casole d'Elsa |
 |
| Siena |
Our villa
 |
| Anna could almost fit in the fireplace of our beautiful villas - Le Porceglia |
 |
| Living large - Lemoncella shots at lunch |
 |
| Gammy, too! |
 |
| Roman amphitheater near Rome |
 |
| Last dinner in Italy |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| More oodles of noodles we made |
 |
| So nice to catch up with an old friend! |
 |
| Snuggling with my best 7-year old in this amazing great room. |
 |
| Ladder and swing in the trees on the villa grounds |
 |
| Gorgeous (but cold!) villa pool |
 |
| Dan and Susan - had you been able to join us, the pool guest house on the right would have been yours! |
 |
| San Gimignano |
 |
| Voila! The homemade pasta ready to go into the pot |
 |
| Lynne and Carl - fabulous in-laws and not bad aspiring Italian chefs! |
 |
| Strolling down the villa road |
 |
| Carl, Barry & Phyllis (where is Lynne?). Thankful for super grandparents willing to come all this way to hang out with us |
 |
| Where we had a fabulous farm to table lunch |
 |
| Villa terrace - where we had a few relaxing lunches and did our cooking school. There was a great view off to the right. |
 |
| Snug outdoor gathering spot. Great place to curl up with a book |
 |
| More than enough room in the dining room to gather for meals (and for some fun games of Bananagrams) |
 |
| 2nd floor terrace off of Gammy & Poppy's bedroom |
 |
| What our villa looks like as you pulled up. Not terribly attractive from this side but amazing on the inside and terrific views from the other. |
 |
| Girls are off to the US with Gammy and Poppy (without Jake and me!) |
No comments:
Post a Comment