Fall Break: Part 2

I was in Italy about twenty years ago but I don't remember much (except that one pizza) so I've wanted to return to get to know it better. My goals for this trip were to eat my weight in dairy and gluten products, see the David and view some beautiful Italian countryside. All of this was achieved.

We took a no-frills Ryanair flight from Frankfurt to Pisa. Its incredible how a short flight crossing one or two borders changes so many things. In Germany the customs agents are dressed in sharp uniforms sitting behind glass in a booth. In Italy the agents (?) were a couple guys leaning against a wall wearing what looked like house loafers and orange smocks. So we're taking it down a few notches then? IT-lee!

The flight was slightly over one hour, thank goodness. We can do this.

Seriously? No movies? No free drinks?

Our Italian ride. A Ford.

It was only a fifteen minute drive from the Pisa Airport into the town. All I cared about in Pisa was seeing the leaning tower so we went straight there.

The Battistero. It has really good acoustics and they do vocal performances a few times per hour. Right behind it is the cathedral and behind that is the tower.

The cathedral right in front of the tower.

Inside the cathedral.

Wow! I never thought I would see this. It was not on my bucket list but we can check it off anyway!

Its really white. This is not the best angle to see the tilt.

Well, we saw it. Now let's eat! We walked around some streets and randomly chose one of dozens of restaurants with outdoor seating. Of course we ordered pizza and some pasta dishes. And thus began the steady stream of saliva dripping from my mouth. You guys...what exactly is going on in the kitchens here? The pizza was incredible. Just crust with a little bit of sauce and cheese was like heaven. The spaghetti carbonara was insane. I don't understand it. Marc told me to take notes (rude) and the only thing I can think of is large quantities of butter and heavy cream in everything. I've made crust before, but it doesn't taste anything like this. I've made spaghetti and sauce before! It's not that complicated. But in Italy a simple dish like spaghetti is pure magic. We topped that off with gelato (to die for) and went back to the car to drive to the guest house.

Driving out of Pisa and into the countryside we saw some normal Italian villages. We noticed the houses are mostly all squares with flat-ish roofs unlike the very angled roofs in Germany (for snow). Even the church bell towers were squared instead of the pointed spires in Germany. The houses were all painted beautiful earthy tones like sandy yellow, terra cotta and mossy green. And lots and lots of vineyards on hills, kind of just like the Rhein valley from Part 1.

I told him to make an Italian face. Hmm.

This is Italian for "Can you believe we're here this is so cool and its so much warmer than Germany omigod Eeeeeetaly!"

Our cute house on the hill. Our place is the windows on the left. They can serve drinks on the terrace including their personal wine. And they had a nice little breakfast in the morning.

Wine barrels in the yard.

SOIL!

Skinny Mini waiting for the soccer ball return.

There is a restaurant right next to the guest house with award stickers all over the door. It didn't even open until 7:30 so we looked at the menu for what to order. Ravioli stuffed with pecorino cheese, honey and balsamic truffle. Errrr, yeah, I'll take three. Now with the pizza and the spaghetti and the ravioli my head is swirling from cuisine rapture. What? Who? I think I was just unconscious for a few minutes.

The vineyard in the morning from our window. It makes me wanna put on a white dress, carry a basket of flowers and smudge a little dirt on my face, And have long, wavy brown hair.

For our first full day we drove about twenty minutes to Lucca. It's another old walled city. The wall/rampart around it is huge and surrounded by big grassy areas. The city inside is adorable and the tight streets are full of cute "moments" all around. We parked on the outside and walked in. We saw two cops questioning some guy on the side. The female cop was smoking on the job. So Italian!

We did the touristy thing and rented a surrey to ride around on top of the wall. These two had so much fun riding in front. I didn't have to do anything because Tobin really wanted to be the second peddler.

The passion. The tragedy. The amore! EEEEEtalia.

Looking out from up on the wall.

Between the three boys, there is always some issue. Someone is bothering, screaming, poking, complaining. Someone is hot/cold/hungry/has to go to the bathroom, you name it. It's very rare to have peace and harmony and just BE in the place. Gelato was our bribe of choice for this trip so we told them if they play their cards right they can get some. "Play your cards right, capeesh?" Poor Jonah was so confused. "WHAT CARDS??"

A popular square in Lucca where we lunched al fresco.

Itty bitty espresso take-away.

That afternoon we drove a bit north to Collodi to see the Pinnochio Park. We knew from a friend that it was a little rundown and quirky, but you know, we have to do this stuff for the kids. There were some play structures, the old-time basic rides, interesting sculptures from the story and a winding pathway to see each part of the park. The original Pinnochio is not what we're used to from the Disney movie. He's skinny and creepy.

Geppetto in his workshop.
It was this kind of dusty, old, creepy stuff. Mechanically animated figures were creaking and making slight, jerky movements. Totally horror movie material. 

One of the "rides". It was hilariously slow and went around a total of three times. Amusement parks have come a long way.

This one was also pretty funny. They got whiplash on every incline and again only three times around, but the dude let them go twice because he knows its ridiculously short.

They had fun, though, because its "driving".

Kind of lame so far. Ahh, but then we came to what would make it all worth it. Something that has nothing to do with Pinnochio - a ropes course with harnesses just for kids because they could easily fall into a ravine. Seriously. The lady showed us the pirate ship that they walk around (balance) on and then pointed to the suspension bridge they walk across to get to the other side of a canal. In her cute broken English she said, "Then they jump into the ree-ver!"

Excuse me, what?

What she meant is they jump off a platform and zip-line across the water/canal-thingy. Still, I'm thinking this is totally going to freak them out. What if they get across and are too scared to get back? What if the metal thing that slides along the rope falls off?? Well, it can't fall off and they totally went for it!

Hairnets, helmets and harnesses.

Off they go into the Pirate Ship. They're just balancing on beams with the metal buckle thing following them attached to a rope.

Now on the suspension bridge to the other side. 

And here comes Jonah jumping off the platform into the abyss!

He made it!

So this is what an adrenaline rush feels like.

Here comes Toby!

And then they did it all over again. They were so exhilarated and proud of their daring deeds!

Moving along...

Umm. Monstro. More random strangeness. It kind of reminded us of the rando-Korean theme parks.

The blowhole

A maze

In the craft hut

Yeah, I prefer the Disney version. I would not want to see this weirdo waving to me every time I leave my house. The poor people of Collodi.

The next day was all about Firenze (Florence). I wake up feeling like I'm sick, which seems to happen to me every time I go anywhere. Its hard enough being sick at home, but the whole point of traveling is to be out and about doing stuff all day. Getting out of bed is the last thing I feel like doing, but knowing that espresso, gelato and David are waiting for me, I summon the energy.

Instead of going into the city, we parked at a light rail station on the outskirts to take the train in. We went inside to use the bathroom and saw a totally modern, hip cafe operated by a bunch of gorgeous Italian twenty-somethings. The prepared foods in the display case started the drooling again.

Adorable mini croissant sandwiches. Me eats them all.

I saw this and had to have it.
Great Roman gods!! This simple piece of toast, tomato and mozzarella di bufala was seriously the best thing I've ever eaten. From a train depot, you guys. What are they doing in the kitchen???

One of the main attractions we wanted to see was the Leonardo da Vinci museum. The tickets are really reasonable and everything is hands-on.

They got to try out Leo's inventions and ideas.

Next stop: Accademia Gallery. Seeing The David was not something I felt like I had to do in life, but when you find yourself in Florence and a historical treasure is just inside that museum over there, you go and see it. There are copies but this one is the real deal. I was too late getting tickets online which was really disappointing. Fortunately, a scalper approached us and for a surprisingly reasonable price we were able to jump the huge line and get right in. It was totally worth it. Since art museums and my boys don't really mix, we literally went in, saw the David, looked at like three other paintings and walked out. Totally worth it.

Playing his cards right.

He's very tall!!
Fun facts: He's holding his sling shot. Historians disagree about whether this is supposed to be before or after slaying Goliath. From the look on his face you could argue either way!

The very cool nine year old was embarrassed to take a picture with the naked guy, but he came around. Mommy wins.

Firenze!

The Santa Maria del Fiore duomo. This place was HUGE. It just kept going on for blocks.

The streets were interesting. How long did it take the people of yore to hammer out all these dots??

The boys played their cards right, we got more gelato, played at a park and said goodbye to Florence. We went back into the train station to get take-out (because it was just as amazing as any restaurant) and brought it back to the guest house for our last evening.

Jonah: The agony! The romance! The pizza!
Doren: The women! The wine! The song!

The heat! The fury! The pasta!
Jonah gets it.

Gelaaaaatooooo!

Carbonaraaaaaa!

Espressoooooo!

This is Italian for: "Mama Mia, we leave in da morning e how'm I gonna getta ma pizza, ma pasta e ma canneloni?"

My overall impression is that it looks like being an Italian in Italy is really fun. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but the stereotypes are real. Cute little nonnas gossip arm-in-arm on the corners, fabulously dressed women dominate the streets on their Vespas and stout old men talk-argue with lots and lots of hand gestures in the parks. Kids run loose and dapper men look like they know for a fact they're God's gift to women. Everyone down to the tiniest baby has a head of thick curls and you know...I have issues. Its all real.

EEEEEETALIA. I come back to you.