tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46607854739532465882024-03-14T02:56:59.311-07:00Homeschooling in the NKYEmilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-37741718512049928522017-01-29T06:50:00.000-08:002017-01-29T06:50:24.917-08:00The UK Trip - Liverpool and ChesterSorry for the pause in blogging...spending time with the family takes precedence over this blog, tho. We had great holidays, but we missed our family and loved ones back in Kentucky. Much love to everyone back home.<br />
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After spending an hour at the park in the Lake District, we headed straight to Liverpool. We were hungry and a bit tired. At this point, we had been going for about a week. This type of trip is exhausting physically (lots of walking) and mentally (navigating and driving in the UK can be, umm, stressful). We were ready to find some grub and sit down for a few minutes.<br />
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In Liverpool, KK and I found this amazing salad bistro that made your salads before your eyes. I can't remember the name of it but they would put it all in a bowl, with the dressing, and toss it. So fun and yummy! The rest of the family had Subway. Hey, sometimes you just need something familiar, you know?<br />
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Liverpool is an industrial port city. It was nice enough...but very spread out and exhausting! Plus, the "feel" of it wasn't the same as other English cities. Case in point...before this point I felt totally safe wearing my backpack purse on my back. While in Liverpool, we walked through some areas that I didn't feel as safe in as other cities. I moved my purse to my front and called it a day. ;)<br />
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While in Liverpool we saw the Cathedral (and met the most informed cathedral worker of all time!), went to the World Museum, Pier Head in the dark and saw some statues and churches along the way. We did not do the traditional Beatles sites since Joe isn't a huge fan of the Beatles. I would have liked to have seen more (as I am pretty sure I won't be back to Liverpool ever again), but I didn't push it. I was already exhausted and ready to see a bed!<br />
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Liverpool Cathedral - very massive</div>
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After finishing our time in Liverpool, we headed to our accommodations in Chester. It was in a manor house just outside of the city. I loved it! Bonus, there was a Noah's Ark built on the site. How cool is that?!?! We asked for recommendations for food and were not disappointed. It was a chain, but super yummy and accommodating of people with special diets (like myself). We could also buy a pitcher/bottle of "punch" for the entire family for around $3-4. </div>
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The next morning, we headed to Chester to explore. We saw the Chester Cathedral, lots of Roman ruins, the riverside, churches, gardens and the falconry (well, from the Chester walls). It was a quaint, nice town. I really enjoyed our time there. Oh, and we had some candy. Hard candies in the UK are probably the best.</div>
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Bridge over the River Dee</div>
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<span id="goog_917249817"></span><span id="goog_917249818"></span>KK on bridge over River Dee</div>
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Rive Dee</div>
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Look at my sweet Boo with her arms around us</div>
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Altar in Chester Cathedral</div>
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Some artwork in the cloisters at Chester Cathedral</div>
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A different perspective - Chester Cathedral</div>
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Outside the Cathedral</div>
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Kids by the sign</div>
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This sign says "We are family hostile - no children" LOL</div>
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On the Chester city walls - sibling love</div>
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Chester Eastgate Clock</div>
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Most of the family with the clock in the background</div>
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Overlooking the city of Chester - it was actually a crowded city with much to do</div>
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Me and KK in a park. She was tired from walking so much the entire trip</div>
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In the Roman amphitheater - KK is on the side sitting on the wall. She was too tired to walk down the ramp. ;)</div>
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Here she is</div>
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Our Zen boy in the Roman amphitheater - still not sure where he picked up this habit</div>
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View from the boys' room of the manor house</div>
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St. John's Cathedral stained glass - getting a good picture of stained glass is more difficult than one might think</div>
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Traditional English breakfast!</div>
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We loved our time in Chester. It was a bright spot that we weren't expecting. I love finding little cities that have big city attitudes.</div>
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Up next: Worchester...a little city with a little city attitude. One of my favorite stops...</div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-17104033566883125932016-12-01T13:25:00.000-08:002016-12-01T13:25:33.781-08:00The UK Trip - The Lake District/ConistonBefore officially leaving Edinburgh, we decided to see Lauriston Castle. What can go wrong, we thought?!?! Castles are always open, we said. Boy, were we wrong. Apparently, this castle opens in the afternoon and takes reservations. So, that was out. We took some cool pictures of us there and of the North Sea, so we were happy. Here are a few.<br />
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This castle was pretty cool looking from the outside </div>
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Back view</div>
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KK and I in the gardens</div>
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The North Sea as seen from the grounds of Lauriston Castle</div>
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I love that this girl will still hold my hand...I hope it lasts.</div>
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From Edinburgh, we headed southwest toward the Lake District. The drive was spectacular! Little J started complaining of a belly ache. Oh boy. He can get some motion sickness, under the right (i.e., wrong) circumstances. We moved him closer to the window and to the front. Situation diverted.<br />
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We ended up stopping at a little church ministry for lunch, by pure accident. I must say, God provided us with some amazing, accidental eating locales. I love when he blesses us like that! Anyway, it was a small cafeteria building next to the church that serves food to raise funds for their ministry. We had yummy things like tomato (toe-mat-oh, not toe-mate-oh) soup, sandwiches, crisps, etc. They even had some lovely desserts, including a gluten free treat for me. I love finding little places like this!<br />
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Here are a few pictures of the drive.<br />
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Crazy boys at lunch</div>
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We headed back on the road and decided that we would do a long drive through the Lake District. Big mistake! The roads are narrow, windy, rocky-edged...also beautiful. We almost got a flat tire, hit by a lorry and lost our ever-lovin' minds. We could not check in until 5:00, so we still had to drive around the Lake District for a bit. The lakes are spectacular tho...</div>
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It was finally time to check-in at the lodging. It was a hostel that also had family rooms. By family rooms I mean it had 2 bunk beds instead of several. HAHA We ended up getting upgraded to 2 family rooms. The driveway to the hostel was, umm, treacherous. I felt my stomach tying in knots as we drove. The view upon arrival was worth the knots. The hostel is on the grounds of an old copper mine. It was lovely. There were waterfalls, trails, sheep, beauty galore. Here are some pics (I have to say, the pics don't even come close to doing the landscape justice...the colors were so vibrant.)<br />
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The hostel and our fan</div>
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Isn't that sky amazing?</div>
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We then had a homemade dinner made for us. We had tomato basil soup, Indian curry chicken and pudding for dessert. The adults had some beer and cider, because we were in England. After dinner, we played games in the lounge.<br />
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One of my favorite ciders...and it was pear! I don't even like pears.</div>
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The next morning, we got up early and headed out. We thought we would do a leisurely tour of some of the lakes. Yeah, the roads are stressful, you pay for every parking spot and many times have to walk to see anything but a parking lot. We only stopped a couple of times and headed for Liverpool, our next stop. Here are a few pictures from our few stops.</div>
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We ended up paying for parking and going to this cool park. It was a great time! One of those places that you wish you had an unlimited time frame so you could just stay all day.</div>
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See you in Liverpool...</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-50024399786798925852016-11-28T04:56:00.000-08:002016-11-28T06:58:01.455-08:00The UK Trip - Edinburgh (or my favorite city in the world...)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The North Sea as seen from Holyrood Park</div>
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We've finally made it! The beautiful Scotland...land of sheep, kilts, bangers and mash and my love affair with a city. Seriously, the majority of our family picked Edinburgh as their favorite city on the trip. I'd go as far as to say it is one of my favorite cities that I have ever visited. I love Florence (so far, my favorite Italian city) and I love Destin (my favorite Floridian city)...but Edinburgh sunk its teeth in and grabbed hold. I am already trying to convince Joe that we need to go back for our 20th anniversary. If you see him, put in a good word for me. ;)<br />
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In order to appreciate Edinburgh, I want to describe our drive there. We left Newcastle in the morning and headed north. I have to say, as you head north through England, the landscape gets more and more beautiful. It becomes more hilly, the grass turns a more vibrant green, sheep are everywhere...it reminded me of Kentucky, but with more of a pop. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the KY rolling hills and scenery. This was that, but more of it. And the sheep were a fun addition. And I have to apologize...pictures can't do it justice. They just can't.<br />
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Welcome to Scotland! (look at those cute shadows) </div>
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Scotland!!! The sun shines bright on my old...oops, wrong location</div>
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Seriously, you can't see Scotland without seeing bagpipes...and lots of them. Almost became old hat while we were there.</div>
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Edinburgh Castle...we stayed a 5 minute walk from here. We never went inside. :)</div>
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View from an Edinburgh street</div>
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The Hub - about 2 minutes from our lodging</div>
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The Hub, from the back?!?! I can't remember</div>
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2 cutie pies at the bottom of the Scott Monument</div>
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The Scott Monument</div>
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Scottish humor</div>
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View of the city from Princess Street Gardens</div>
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Another view of the city</div>
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National Museum of Scotland</div>
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My beautiful baby girl</div>
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This guy loves Carnival masks</div>
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His arch nemesis</div>
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Goofing around at the art museum<br />
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Queen's Gallery<br />
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Holyrood Hill<br />
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Holyrood House (someone was tired and miserable at this point)<br />
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Joe climbing the trail with a loch in the background<br />
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View from Holyrood Park<br />
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Protesters outside Holyrood Park<br />
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Confession time: half of us did not make the trek to Holyrood Park. We were tired, had sore legs and just wanted to take a nap or watch tv. So, we went back to the apartment while the others saw the spectacular views. Well, 2 of the others. One of them sat on a bench at the bottom of the trail. She also had a struggle when we went out for dinner that night. When in Europe, you walk. Everywhere. Her legs were sore for days.</div>
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Here are a few pics of the apartment we rented for the 2 nights. It was in the perfect location, just above the Jolly Judge pub. ;)</div>
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Kids' room/Living room<br />
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Master bedroom<br />
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NARROW kitchen<br />
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Boys' futon<br />
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View from the living room windows<br />
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View from the living room windows (sorry for poor quality...camera focused on the dirt on the windows)</div>
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So, the food we had in Edinburgh was the most interesting. LOL. We ate American food. Almost exclusively American food. We had American pizza for lunch the second day (sorry Italy...but it was nice having a thick crust and different toppings...we still love your pizza), American pub food for dinner, breakfast at the apartment, and our final dinner was at an English pub, of sorts. I am not sure what to call it. I had a jacket potato and Joe had some sort of meat pie. Pub sounds as good as anything. Joe and I also had a beer and cider at the Jolly Judge one night while J Jr. babysat. It is nice to have a teenager around. ;)</div>
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I never realized wings were attributed to Kentucky! We rock!! (at the American diner the first evening)</div>
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Goodbye Edinburgh...until we meet again...</div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-8892738384214622292016-11-18T02:39:00.001-08:002016-11-18T02:39:18.973-08:00The UK Trip - Durham and Newcastle upon TyneOn the York post, I talked a little bit about our new friends at Jacob's Well. From what I remember, this was part of the Holy Trinity Church. While we were there, we told them we were headed to Newcastle next. Well, we were in luck because one of the gentlemen was from Durham and suggested we visit Durham and its Cathedral on the way. Durham was not part of our plan, but we stayed open to "locals" suggestions. Wow, I'm glad we didn't skip this treasure!<br />
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So, most people will not go to Durham, nor have they heard of it. It is off the beaten path, is sort of small and mainly boasts a Cathedral and Castle. Well, and a university, but so does every other city in the UK. I think they have more universities than people. Also, there must be more sheep than people, but I digress. If you are ever traveling between York and Newcastle, stop in Durham, see the Cathedral (it was impressive and free! We didn't pay for York Minster because we knew we were going to the free Cathedral the next day...and it did not disappoint!), get some tea and sweets at Be Tempted, walk around and soak up the British ambiance. It was a lovely little city. I wouldn't want to spend a week there, but a morning was just perfect!<br />
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After Durham, we headed back north to Newcastle upon Tyne. This city was SUCH a contrast to the other cities we had seen. It was more industrial and had more modern buildings. We found this to be true of all port/river cities. The Tyne River runs past Newcastle (upon Tyne) and is close to the North Sea, thus lots of imports go through here. We did get to see the Discovery Museum (excellent...and free!), visited St. Nicholas Cathedral, saw the Black Gate and ate at a traditional English pub. We arrived in Newcastle much later than we expected, so we didn't get to see and do what we had wanted. Honestly, I think Durham was worth missing some things in Newcastle. I am a bit biased for the small towns. I grew up in one. ;)<br />
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Our accommodations weren't the greatest in Newcastle. Well, honestly, they were in Gateshead, across the river. The area was nice, the rooms were good for us, it just was a smoky building. With all my allergies, it wasn't the best situation...but we were there only a short time, so it worked well. Another note, there seemed to be many smokers in the UK. I was surprised by this. I don't know why, but it surprised me. I felt like there were even more than in Italy. I am pretty sure that people in one city were smoking something a little stiffer than tobacco...but that's a story for another day. ;)<br />
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Here are a few pics of Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne. We didn't get as many pics in these cities. Not sure why...<br />
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Our last morning in York...saying goodbye to the horses</div>
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What you looking at?</div>
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This little guy fell in love with this little horse.</div>
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Guess where?</div>
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Some grumpy pants did not want his pic taken most of the trip</div>
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Durham Cathedral</div>
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Lunch at Be Tempted...someone is happy with their Pepsi</div>
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Lunch</div>
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The girls by the River Wear</div>
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We missed seeing the castle...day late, dollar short</div>
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Although he didn't want his pic taken, a photobomb was perfectly acceptable</div>
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St. Nicholas Cathedral</div>
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St. Nicholas Cathedral</div>
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How gorgeous is this? The bell tower of St. Nicholas Cathedral</div>
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Well, I am pretty sure these pictures are all mixed up from Newcastle. I know we went to the Discovery Museum first. Everything else is getting mixed up in my head!</div>
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I had planned to post a couple of pics from lunch and dinner this day, but they are on Joe's cell. Remembering to tell him to save them to the laptop isn't on the top of my priority list, obviously. So, here are Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne without food/drinks pictures. ;)</div>
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Speaking of food, for lunch we had soups, crisps (chips for us Americans) and sandwiches. For dinner, we had a variety. I had BBQ nachos, Joe had a lamb pie, KK had some sort of chicken wrap, blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah means I don't remember the rest. ;)</div>
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Next will be my post on one of our favorite cities...Edinburgh!</div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-79825098487760417442016-11-04T07:29:00.000-07:002016-11-04T07:29:18.251-07:00The UK Trip - YorkI forgot to tell you on the Cambridge post about our exciting first night in a hotel room. We stayed at the Ramada Inn. Around midnight, we were woken up by an incessant buzzing sound. Turns out, another guest decided it would be great fun to smoke in their room. The fire alarm went off in the entire building, waking us up at midnight. Thanks for your thoughtfulness, jerk. Moving on...<br />
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I told you at the end of the last post that this was a favorite for many of the family, and that wasn't a stretch. For those of us that preferred a different city, this came in second, across the board.<br />
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We left Cambridge and headed north to York. We arrived in the afternoon, so no more time to sight see. Our rental was on a farm, so we weren't sure if we were in the right spot, initially. There were horses, we stayed in a little cottage, and we were only 10 minutes from a major shopping area and 15 minutes to downtown York. It was the perfect spot for us!<br />
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The first night we just went to the grocery store and made dinner. Sometimes, you just want to eat some homemade food. The full kitchen afforded us this opportunity to eat in a few nights. It was nice!<br />
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The next morning, we headed to York. It was raining, and it was Sunday. Basically, umbrellas galore and many places were closed. But we didn't let that deter us. We navigated the City Walls with umbrellas in hand, visited the Richard III and Henry VII experiences, went to Barley Hall (one of our favorite spots on the entire trip), ate fish and chips (even gluten free versions), looked at York Minster from the outside, saw a few other churches and invaded Jacob's Well. It was a great day! The kids were able to get hands-on at the experiences and Barley Hall, the butchers at Jacob's Well, that were part of the guild, gave us recommendations for the next day that proved to be excellent and I got to experience fish and chips in England! This trip, you guys. It was so great and so needed.<br />
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Here are some of my favorite pictures from York. There are a lot. The kids did so many fun things and dressed up at the experiences and Barley Hall...I will try to control my uploading.<br />
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Our cottage for 2 nights...and the Citroen Joe drove for 2+ weeks.</div>
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The kids fed the horses carrots for 2 days. They were fast friends.</div>
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A pic of the city wall from, well, the city wall.</div>
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All of us on the wall</div>
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I think this was called Robin Hood Tower </div>
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York Minster from the city wall</div>
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Monkgate Bar</div>
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KK outside the Richard III Experience at Monkgate Bar</div>
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Our prisoners</div>
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Have you ever seen someone so happy to be next to human remains?</div>
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Barley Hall - a feast for a king</div>
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Or a few princesses...we just learned that peacock was common on nobility tables and then we saw one!</div>
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Aren't they cute?</div>
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They loved dressing up</div>
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And the dress-up continued...</div>
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And continued... </div>
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And continued...</div>
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Holy Trinity Church Altar</div>
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Holy Trinity Church</div>
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Outside Jacob's Well Guildhall</div>
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Inside Jacob's Well Guildhall</div>
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And more dressing up at Henry VII Experience<br />
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York viewed from city wall<br />
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Notice a theme?<br />
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Mind your head...hahaha!<br />
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A knight in shining armor<br />
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There was a mighty battle...<br />
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Looking toward Mickelgate Bar<br />
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As you can see by the smiles, we loved York! The accommodations were great for our family. We, obviously, love dressing up and using our imagination. It didn't hurt that we learned about Richard III and Henry VII last year in school. I forgot to mention, Barley Hall focused on Henry VIII quite a bit. We also learned about this infamous king last year. They had a few hilarious videos to teach kids all about the selfish, overweight king. Not that he was the worst monarch, but he lived a colorful life. They still quote the short clips they watched! Learning is best found outside of a textbook. ;)</div>
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I am hoping I didn't forget anything like I did about Cambridge. We bought some amazing fudge in York (which rivaled Gatlinburg fudge, believe it or not), the grocery stores were wonderful and stocked with beautiful produce that we haven't seen since leaving the States, finding gluten free food is quite easy in the UK, we met some nice guys at Jacob's Well that recommended we stop in Durham the next day (which we did...info on next post) and I think I only got us lost a couple of times driving around York. For me, that is a win.</div>
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Stay tuned for our day in Durham and Newcastle on the Tyne...</div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-18893500196570748072016-11-03T12:52:00.001-07:002016-11-03T12:52:07.468-07:00The UK Trip - CambridgeI tried to come up with a proper title for the following posts, but The UK Trip was the easiest. We returned this past Monday and had a spectacular time! English was spoken, food and drink were consumed, we all gained weight, spectacular views were everywhere...it was my favorite vacation of all time. I plan to blog about each city, not each day. Some cities were allocated one day, some two, others were given a hefty three days of discovery! There were places we wish we had more time, some were perfect, others could have been reduced, dramatically. ;)<br />
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We flew in to London - Standsted airport on October 14. We were all in high spirits, despite the fact that the immigration officer had a small fit over the fact that I didn't have our Permesso di Soggiorno (permit-of-stay cards...what allows us to stay in Italy for an extended period of time versus getting deported). So yeah, starting the trip off with Mr. HappyPants wasn't the best way to begin, but it definitely got better from there.<br />
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Joe drove us to Cambridge, and we got stuck in traffic. It seems to be an issue around Cambridge and London. All other major cities were pretty clear, despite construction. We checked in our hotel, ate at the food court in the "mall" next door, and headed for downtown Cambridge. I fell in love, immediately. I felt like I had just stepped into the world of Harry Potter. We even saw a kid that was dressed exactly like Harry Potter, without the robe. The buildings were similar to what you'd expect in Harry Potter. I loved it! I could have sat on a bench for hours, just watching the people. Alas, I am married to the Energizer Bunny so sitting on a bench for hours was not on the agenda. I must say, seeing all the sights in Cambridge was worth the tired feet and legs! This is a university town, so there are colleges everywhere and young people to fill them. I might have felt a little old at times.<br />
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We saw many cool buildings in Cambridge, went to a candy store, visited the Fitzwilliam Museum and saw more churches than you can shake a stick at. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this beautiful city. Enjoy! Note: Most blurry pics were taken by my oldest child. I have included some of them since they have some of my favorite people in them.<br />
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All Saint's Garden</div>
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Inside the candy store</div>
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Outside the candy store</div>
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Joe and Little J by a mummy</div>
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More Egyptian artifacts</div>
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Little J with his little knight buddy</div>
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Creepy skeleton in chainmail</div>
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Joe always wanted to see a Guildhall</div>
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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, lovingly known as The Round Church</div>
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The Bible at the Round Church</div>
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My family outside the Round Church</div>
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Joe, KK and Little J at the gate to King's College</div>
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King's College</div>
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The Cambridge Market - they have the best gluten free brownies I've ever had in my life. Just FYI.</div>
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Heading in for some goodies... </div>
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Can you go to England without getting your pic by a phonebox? </div>
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St. Bene't Church</div>
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J Jr. with a tomb on the grounds of St. Bene't Church</div>
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Outside St. Bene't Church </div>
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St. John's </div>
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At St. Catharine's College gate</div>
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As you can see, the architecture was amazing. It was a feast for the eyes. The Fitzwilliam Museum was great, as were all the national museums we visited. Apparently, all national museums are free in the UK...or at least the ones we visited. ;) <br />
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And for my friends that want to hear about the international food...we had Mexican for lunch the first day, breakfast from the American diner the second morning, and lunch was at Pho (Vietnamese food - most of us had noodle soup while others had dry noodles. Bonus - everything was gluten free!!!).<br />
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What a great beginning to a great trip...stay tuned for details of our days in York. You won't want to miss it. Two members of our family picked York as their #1 stop. :)Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-88133963772117830082016-07-16T08:08:00.001-07:002016-07-16T08:08:32.013-07:00My view of VeniceI must preface this post with the old adage that first impressions are the most lasting. My first impression of Venice wasn't a good one. It just went downhill from there.<br />
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So, we arrived in Venice around 1:30 in the afternoon. The six of us started walking toward the apartment we'd be renting for the weekend. If you've never been to Venice, you have no idea what an ordeal this is. There are over 400 bridges in Venice! We all had backpacks, and two of us had pull-behind luggage. It was a nightmare! Every bridge is different, in some way. All that to say, it took us a while to get to the apartment. We arrived at the address they gave us and it appeared that we were in the wrong location. So, me being the impatient sort, I decided we needed to try my cell phone's map. Yeah, nothing there. Back to the original location we go! In the meantime, we noticed that the instructions guided us to press the bell for a certain name on the door. Back at the original door, there isn't that name anywhere! Are we lost? Joe checks email and finds that he has received an email from the owner. He calls that landlord to find that he has left the property and is on his way home! In Venice, that means he isn't right around the corner. He is on a water taxi, about 20 minutes away. He tells Joe to meet him at Ca d'Oro. Well, being an english speaker, we don't realize that Ca d'Oro is 2 words and is the name of a water taxi spot. So we start walking, it starts raining, I'm carrying a broken umbrella, we are still dragging tons of luggage, people are griping (ok, mainly this girl, right here), it wasn't fun. At some point, when we can't find Cadoro, my cell phone decides to be a blessing and show me Ca d'Oro! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! I was on the verge of saying, "Forget it! Take me back to Torino!" Ok, I might have said that. Anywho, we find the water taxi spot, Joe calls the landlord and he just so happens to be getting off the water taxi at that exact time. He takes us BACK to the apartment building we've been lingering around for the last few hours. I looked at the time when he left the apartment after showing us around. We had wandered around Venice for 3 hours! Can you believe it?!?! I wasn't in a loving mood at that point, not gonna lie. I was ready to crawl into the fetal position and eat some gelato. Alas, I have 4 kids and can't be totally selfish.<br />
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After everyone changed out of their drenched clothing (think wring-worthy), we headed out just to get a positive feel for Venice. We went to the Coop store around the corner for some necessities. We were staying in Cannaregio area of Venice. This is where the Venetians live. It was quiet and not touristy in this area, which we liked. There was a small produce vendor right outside of our door, which was nice. We went to eat at a local hot spot for dinner. Once again, this wasn't a positive experience for me. I have to eat gluten free or risk feeling like garbage for an entire week. On vacation, I stick to this strictly. The only option I really had at the restaurant was a pork chop in white wine sauce. It was expensive, boring and didn't even come with any sides. Basically we paid about 15 EU for me to have a bland pork chop that didn't fill me up or taste that good. Things were not going well. After this dining "experience", we went back to Coop to get me some food. I ate some Russian salad with gluten free crackers, buffalo mozzarella and spicy salami. I was pretty happy after that point. It is amazing what a full tummy will do for one's mood and state of mind!<br />
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The next morning, we decided to head to Piazza San Marco. Wow! This piazza is something to see. We went to Doge's Palace, which was pretty cool. I hate to admit this, but I seem to have "blocked" some of the memories of Venice. Everywhere we went was an unpleasant experience. Venice isn't like most Italian cities. They don't like kids and don't like tourists, at least from our experience. We were yelled at more times in Venice than in every other Italian city combined. We weren't allowed to sit, anywhere. The kids couldn't get within 10 feet of a piece of art without being yelled at and followed for the duration of our visit. I just didn't feel comfortable there. In almost every other Italian city, kids are welcomed with open arms and hair tossling. Italians love kids! Venetians, not so much. There aren't any "resting spots" in Venice and no parks. It really isn't a city for kids. Really. Really. Even with all of that, we were able to get some nice shots of the city and the Palace.<br />
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Piazza San Marco with basilica in the background</div>
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Same with other parent</div>
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Gondolas are cool!</div>
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He seems concerned</div>
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After lunch (my favorite part of the day...I was able to get liver and onions!), we went to Basilica di San Marco. Wow! I've never seen anything quite like it. We weren't allowed to take pictures, and being the American rule followers that we are, we didn't take pictures. It was so ornate and beautiful. It was a highlight of the weekend, for me. We then went to see some other churches. It is sort of like seeing the President and then seeing the Mayor. The Basilica was so exceptional, the other churches sort of paled in comparison.<br />
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We decided this would be the perfect night for a gondola ride. When in Venice, do as the Venetians do. Well, when in Venice, be a full-fledged tourist! I seriously doubt Venetians bother with gondola rides, honestly. This was another highlight of the weekend. Look at the pictures...we are all smiling!<br />
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Look at the smiles...we really, really enjoyed the gondola ride</div>
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We had J Jr. take our pic so we could get our gondolier in the pic. Sneaky!</div>
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Selfie</div>
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The next day, we visited about a million churches, at least that is how it felt to me. Boo and Little J were about done with everything indoors. So was their momma! We would have much rather sat and enjoyed the canals. We were able to go to Punta della Dugana after taking an unsteady gondola ride across the Grand Canal. Some people in our family love churches, art and tourist traps. I won't mention any names, but it might be the people not aforementioned. Here are some pictures.<br />
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Love this boy!</div>
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The last day, Boo, Little J and I were caught in a torrential downpour! We were all completely soaked from head to toe. Think umbrellas bending in several directions, rain pounding in your eyes so you can't see, no one on the streets. We dove into the Coop store before they closed the doors. It was so cold being in air conditioning and sopping wet. BUT, it was probably one of my favorite moments of the entire weekend. Some days, you just need something fun and spontaneous.</div>
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I must conclude by saying that I would have probably enjoyed Venice more if it had been just the two adults. I think the cruise ships have put a bad taste in the Venetians mouths for tourists. It was strange being in an Italian city with very few children around. Oh well! </div>
<br />Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-5919714228651816182016-06-23T04:43:00.001-07:002016-06-23T04:43:27.574-07:00More random pics from random days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We recently ended the 2015-2016 school year. We, of course, started this school year in Kentucky and ended it in Italy. I am so proud of these little angels for their perseverance, willingness and positivity. They have kept me sane the last 6 months! I must also say, homeschooling has kept us all sane. School having continuity kept us from getting extremely frazzled. We have even started a chore chart with math worksheets every week, just to keep us fresh, learning and busy!</div>
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He finished his 1st grade workbook! Yay Little J! No more phonics for this guy. :)</div>
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Every occasion deserves a silly face photo, don't ya think?!?!</div>
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KK delivering her report on the Plains Indians - specifically the Blackfoot Tribe</div>
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J Jr. is presenting the Five Civilized Tribes - Chickasaw in particular</div>
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Because they did such a good job with school, and because we hadn't been there before, we went to the Car Museum after church the next Sunday. I must say, it is a well-planned and laid out museum. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also enjoyed my kebab plate from the local kebab joint...but that is not part of the museum!<br />
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This guy never wanted to disembark from the ride. Trust me, it wasn't that exciting. I guess when you are 6, any ride is exciting!</div>
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Around this time, we also went on a hike to Casa Canada. This house was the house the Canadian team used for the 2006 Olympics. It is at a pretty amazing location where many people go to rock climb. While we were there, a helicopter came to rescue a man that had fallen and hit his head. They were afraid of a heart attack, so wouldn't allow him to climb back down. It was a pretty cool thing to see, especially since the man was in good spirits and looked pretty good when he passed us on the stretcher.<br />
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Sign for Casa Canada</div>
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A crooked, majority of the family picture...someone was itchy from the weeds</div>
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Do boys always have to do a fighting warrior pose? Yes, I think they do!</div>
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He fell in love with this tree. The itching was gone by this time.</div>
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One is in warrior/fight pose, the other is in "I don't want to fall off this rock" pose</div>
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This guy feels every rock is conquerable...so far, he's been right.</div>
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Casa Canada</div>
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Tired from the hike up</div>
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It is hard to see...but there is a rock climber on there. If you can zoom in, I think he's on the edge in bright clothes.</div>
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See above comments</div>
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Helicopter</div>
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Safe travels and get well to our injured fellow hiker</div>
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I'm not sure if I've posted this to the blog or not...but it is worth the viewing. The kids have become obsessed with Weird Al (my fault, totally my fault!) and came into the kitchen dressed like this one day. They were doing their rendition of "I'm Fat". HAHAHAHA<br />
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KK is the class clown but a little modest when it comes to pics...she was hiding behind Jacob in all of them!</div>
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I think that is everything from before our Venice trip. One of these days I will post about that trip. Today is not that day! Un abbraccio!</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-90871630466318645272016-06-21T05:22:00.004-07:002016-06-21T05:22:51.811-07:00It's been a long timeWell, the blog has been sacrificed for spending time with the kids, finishing up the school year, going on trips. Sorry blog, but I'd rather spend time with real people. I had no idea how much time and effort would go into a blog. From now on, there will be more pictures and less talk. I just can't maintain this and stay sane. Sorry everyone!<br />
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<span id="goog_795135170"></span><span id="goog_795135171"></span>Lunch and Egyptian Museum with great friends.</div>
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One exciting thing that happened this past month was the Giro d'italia went right through our village! We were able to go and watch the bikers ride by, which is pretty exciting considering this is a pretty big race in the bike racing world. I love that my kids are getting such amazing experiences. Most things can't be taught out of a book...<br />
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You can drive this baby without a license at age 16. This one had a "Big America" sticker on it. It was in the parking lot at the supermarket.</div>
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We went to watch Joe's coworker do motorcross. We all enjoyed it!</div>
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Another day, we went for a hike near the house. This was at the picnic area. The kids did not love being in this tree. :) We were actually in the clouds on our hike. It was so cool!</div>
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Hiking in the clouds</div>
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We finally, finally were able to see Palazzo Madama. We have tried 3 times prior to this visit. One thing I've learned is to never assume anything will be open. Always, always have a backup plan. These pics were all taken in the beautiful gardens.</div>
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He loves her...don't let that face fool ya!</div>
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Playing in the water fountain<br />
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I think I'll stop this post here. I have many other pictures and a trip to Venice to write about, but this seems like a good stopping place. Arrivederci!</div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-9218122556242808092016-05-27T02:31:00.000-07:002016-05-27T02:31:05.659-07:00Party like it's 1999 to the sound of music in one weekendSince we have 2 daughters with birthdays in April, we always do a joint party. Since even planning a party in another country is a boatload of work, I wasn't about to change up my ways this year!<br />
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We decided to invite many of the girls' friends from church to the party, plus a few neighbors that we have gotten to know since moving here. I didn't realize it when I planned the party, but it was the same weekend as a Monday holiday. So, yeah, a lot of people go out of town in Italy for holiday weekends. Despite this little kink, we still had 28 people show up for the girls! I felt so blessed to have such wonderful, new friends in the girls' lives. Seriously, how awesome is that?!?!<br />
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We decided to fire up the smoker grill and smoke some chickens and pork roasts. Oh my gravy, I'm still not sure what to say. Charcoal in Italy isn't the same as in the US. It doesn't light the same and doesn't want to stay lit. I spent an hour just getting the coals hot. I don't mean it took an hour for even temperature...I was out in the back yard, on the ground, feeding this fire for an hour! Once it was going, it was wonderful. It stayed in the ideal range of heat and was smoking those meats up wonderfully! Well, I took off the chickens, put the rest of the chickens on and came in the house. I started to smell a slight burning smell so went out and removed the pork, mopped the chickens and went back to cleaning the house. The next time I checked the smoker, I had a grease fire on my hands! Unfortunately, the last 2 chickens were sacrificed. I had to throw baking soda on them to put out the grease fire. Luckily, we had plenty of meat for the party and didn't need those two chickens. I also made some pasta salad, roast zucchini, garden salad, homemade ranch dressing, chocolate cupcakes and a lemon cake. I'd say it was a success. I didn't have nearly the leftovers I was hoping to have. ;) Just kidding!<br />
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The party was so much fun and I can't express how blessed I feel! We had friends from Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, Brazil, Italy, Finland, oh and America there. Side note: I am always amazed at the diversity of our church here in Torino. It makes you more aware of God's love for the nations in a real and tangible way.<br />
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Here are a few pics from the festivities. We are just horrible about taking many pictures. We get so wrapped up in being present. Sorry...<br />
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Some of the party goers...(we got the camera out after some left...sorry to our Finnish friends!)</div>
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Happy birthday girls! Carla, we miss you!!!</div>
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J Jr. can always find his way to photobomb. I'm not sure this was intentional.</div>
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Say what? You want the entire cake? Don't think so!</div>
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I love how their friend from church (I will just say N for the blog) made it into so many pictures. She loves the girls and they love her!</div>
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Sometimes Mommy gets as excited as the kids! Seriously, folks, anything new is exciting these days.</div>
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The next day was church and the day after was Liberation from the Nazis Day here in Italy. We celebrated Italy's liberation by doing a hike with another couple from church. The hike was easy enough for this bag of bones to make it, but the views were spectacular! Breathtaking! Awe-inspiring! No matter what I can say about Italy, I cannot say it is an ugly country.</div>
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I just realized I am a month behind on my posts, as I am finally finishing this post. Well, luckily May was pretty boring. You might see that post within the next month or two. ;)</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-18977477372907786052016-05-06T09:13:00.002-07:002016-05-06T09:13:52.809-07:00Birthday Fun!Having both of my daughters' birthdays in April has always been a bit of a challenge. Between having a joint birthday party for them, making their actual birthday special and buying gifts, it has made for some interesting Aprils. This April was no different...and maybe a little more complicated!<br />
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KK's birthday is always first. Ha! It will always be before Boo's birthday but confuses the mind since Boo is the older of the two. These days, lots of things confuse my mind so I should be accustomed to the confusion. I was at a loss for what to do to make their actual birthdays "special" while in Italy. I know all the fun places to go in Kentucky. I was clueless in Italy. Luckily, we have museum passes, so I just started searching for cool places to go around the area. I found Castello di Racconigi. This sounded perfect for my princess girl! We headed out early on her birthday morning, navigation tools in hand, and went to the castle. We only got lost a couple of times, which is quite good, honestly. I let the birthday girl sit up front and navigate. She loved it! Well, she loved sitting in the front. Navigating her spazz of a mommy might have been less than desirable.<br />
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We arrived in Racconigi and decided that we all needed a warm beverage to start the day. Then, we walked to the castle, which were actually hunting grounds for the royal families. We were put in a tour, which wasn't the least bit helpful for us English-speaking folks. They did give us a folder with some of the information written in English. Still, I think we missed quite a bit. It didn't matter to the birthday girl! She loved it all.<br />
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The front</div>
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Chandelier</div>
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The back of the castle....those little dots in the archway are my kids</div>
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Just your ordinary painted ceiling...no biggie.</div>
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Dining room</div>
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A picture of the little princes...don't ask me their names. I was struggling just to figure out when he said to look at the ceiling or the bed or whatever. It was probably a Carlo or Vittorio or some other such name.</div>
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I think this was one of the prince's apartments.</div>
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A bust of Regina Margherita - the queen that the pizza was named after! </div>
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One of the Oriental Rooms in the castle. What is that black thing?</div>
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The beautiful birthday girl - she has my heart</div>
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I want this kitchen! The only problem...it is bigger than my entire house in KY. :(</div>
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The man with the lanyard was our tour guide. He did not speak English until we were leaving. HAHAHA</div>
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After finishing the tour, we headed out back to the park. I assume this was the hunting grounds. They were beautiful! Since we have the museum pass, they were also free. I'd like to go back one day and just explore the park. We were hungry so only walked a small portion.<br />
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After this, we headed toward food! KK wanted pizza on her birthday. I mean, come on, we are in Italy! What else would a 10-year-old want? Well, this mommy did a horrible job. All the pizzerias were closed until dinner. We ended up at a little diner/cafeteria. Basically, you point at the food you want and they warm it up for you. She loved it, so I loved it. It always cracks me up when we end up in these hole in the wall places, that I couldn't find again if my life depended on it, and the kids say something like, "The next time we come..." LOL. I hope they remember where it was, cause I sure don't!<br />
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Some nests on a church - stork nests</div>
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The church with the storks and nests</div>
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Birthday girl! I can't believe she is 10. :(</div>
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Girl and her baby brother...they love each other!</div>
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We headed home right after lunch. We had some shopping to do, so I didn't want to get home too late. KK wanted tacos for dinner, so we did that. We also bought a cake at Ipercoop for her dessert. It was delicious! She got to open her gifts from us and loved that, too. What princess doesn't love getting princess dolls and a note that her mommy will take her on a shopping trip for some clothes?</div>
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Look at that cake! She picked it out.</div>
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Goofy girl! - Not many get to see this side of her. She is reserved and shy around others.</div>
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I think she likes them!</div>
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The next week, we got to celebrate our Boo turning 11. Yikes! Where has the time gone?!?! Anywho, I was desperate to find something fun and closeby. My friend, Tanja, was looking for ideas and asking friends. I was doing web searches. The best we could come up with was a trip to the Ferrero plant where they make Nutella. Sounds great for a girl that loves Nutella! It wasn't close, but it was ok. My kids are good travelers. So we headed out, that sunny day. We arrived at Nutella around 10:30, which was pretty good timing, if I do say so myself. We strutted ourselves right into the office to be turned away! What?!?! No tours for us. What was I going to do with 4 kids and no other plans for the day? We did a search for a pizzeria (oh boy, that was an adventure...passing it, not finding parking, trying another place to find out they don't serve pizza until dinner, etc.) and ended up at another small diner/cafe. This one had focaccia style pizza. Luckily, I had some cash on hand. This is not always the case, but I was fortunate this day. We were even able to get some "treats" after we had our pizza. Unfortunately, I have no pictures from the day. I took a few, but cannot find them now.</div>
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After lunch, we attempted to find a museum or something so the entire day was not a bust. Well, that was another bust. We ended up leaving Alba in the wrong direction, doing a loop 2 times before getting another navigation tool going, and just going many miles/kilometers out of our way to get home. Luckily, Boo is an easy child and just went along for the ride. I was a frazzled mess, but she was happy. That is all that matters! Once again, we headed to the store (Carrefour this time) and bought a cake and some other fun foods. The birthday girl wanted pork chops, mac 'n cheese and tomatoes for dinner. Asparagus was in season so I bought some of that, too. I was later informed, by the birthday girl, that she doesn't like asparagus. Oh well! I love it! Boo got a few Lego sets for her birthday and loved them! She said she wanted horses or Legos or stuffed animals. Getting 2 out of 3 isn't bad.</div>
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She looks pretty happy! No, that wine bottle wasn't for her.</div>
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Oh this girl! I'm pretty smitten.</div>
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The boy is everywhere!</div>
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horses and Legos...well pegasuses (or is it pegasi?!?!)</div>
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Well, I'm tired of typing and thinking for now. Will post more about their joint birthday party, hiking, etc. I just realized I never posted out Easter pics. Well, here they are. No time like the present, right?!?!</div>
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Happy Easter!</div>
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Buon fine settimana! Love you and miss you to our Kentucky/Ohio friends and family.</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-81864376954047386742016-04-28T00:24:00.001-07:002016-04-28T00:24:27.296-07:00A Little Bit of Tuscany - Day 3It has taken me 3 weeks to write about 3 days in Florence. Those aren't good stats. So, here is the final post about Florence. It is going to be short and sweet with more pictures than words. Sorry! I'm worded out.<br />
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We decided we had to go to the Duomo Museum while we were in Florence. Joe wanted to all along...and I thought we already had. Oops! After reading about it online, it turned into a must do instead of a want to do. So many cool, amazing things there. Here are a few pics to show them.<br />
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J Jr. pretending to fall in the supports for the Duomo</div>
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Goofing off at the Duomo Museum</div>
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One of the Baptistry doors on display at the Duomo Museum</div>
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Another door on display</div>
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There was a model of the sculptures on the Cathedral</div>
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Yet another Baptistry door</div>
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Guess what it is...another door!</div>
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Michelangelo's Pieta at the Museum - important sculpture in which Nicodemus became a self-portrait of Michelangelo himself. He became so frustrated while making this sculpture that he broke off Christ's leg. Yikes! The piece was finished by another artist (which is why Mary Magdalene is so small and looks different than the others). Regardless, it is a moving piece of art.</div>
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A cool view of the Duomo from the Duomo Museum</div>
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Next, we headed to the Palazzo Vecchio. Obviously, we haven't climbed a gazillion steps yet on this day. It was an amazing view from the tower. Not as high as the other two, but still impressive.<br />
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The white church is Santa Croce - which we will get to in a bit.</div>
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Cathedral, Duomo and Campanile</div>
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We then headed downstairs to the different floors of the palace. We saw the Room of 500, apartments, terraces, etc. We didn't take many pictures here. You start to become numb to some of these things. It is sad but true. OK, I just looked and we didn't take any pictures here.<br />
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After the palace, we grabbed a bite to eat. We found a local hot spot down an alley, quite by accident. It was on both sides of the alley and both lines were out the door! So we had our focaccia sandwiches, walked a few blocks away, and popped a squat on a bench.<br />
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We were close to Santa Croce at this point. The church has a lovely facade, which was captured in many other pictures we took from all our tower climbing. Here are a few pics from inside the church and museum.<br />
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I think this picture is in the wrong spot. It is probably part of Palazzo Vecchio. Sorry!</div>
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Altar</div>
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You can see the tombs in the floor. We figured they were more like memorial "tombs".</div>
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A view of one end of the church</div>
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Joe with Dante Alighieri - Writer of "Divine Comedy" and author of the Italian language</div>
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Poor Dante, lost his head!</div>
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My cutie pies!</div>
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Part of the Santa Croce Museum</div>
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Seeing the statue of Dante reminded me that we saw the stone he sat on to write and compose the Italian language. It was fun to see. You had to really look for it, but we had been told were to go. Once again, stepping the footsteps of history. How cool is that?!?!<br />
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Next, we walked for miles (it felt like it at least...after 3 days of this, I thought I might die!) to the Pitti Palace. We toured the gardens (well, part of them...see the comment about fatigue above), Modern Art museum and some of us toured the apartments. Some of us decided we'd like some refreshments and to sit on our derrieres for a bit of time. I won't reveal which members were in each group...but the croissant was delicious and so was the coffee!<br />
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The pond in the gardens at Pitti Palace</div>
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My boy at an overlook in the gardens</div>
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Porcelain Museum</div>
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People just hanging out at the gardens...a few of us are on that bench and hill</div>
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Yep, there we are!</div>
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There is nothing better than a hill to climb on when you are 6 and 10!</div>
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Oh no! He got stabbed in the head</div>
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Well, I guess some guys never learn. :P</div>
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Joe and J Jr. trying to be creative</div>
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Yeah, it isn't working</div>
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Walking the gardens</div>
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Me and my honey</div>
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Freedom!</div>
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A hollowed-out tree...oh wait, there's a head in there!</div>
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KK and me in front of a forbidden part.</div>
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I think he was drinking from the garden water. ha!</div>
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Youch!</div>
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Selfie with my baby girl</div>
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Oops! I think some pics are out of order!</div>
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After the gardens, we had a long, long walk back to the hostel. We saw some fun things, went in a few churches and got to see Michelangelo's Crucifix at Santo Spirito. I must say, I never had a favorite artist before. Well, Joe was my favorite artist...and always will be. BUT, Michelangelo is a close second now. ;) I can't say I've ever been "moved" by art. Every single one of his pieces was awe-inspiring and thought-provoking. J Jr. did not like the fact that Jesus was naked on the cross...which I had to remind him that the Roman soldiers cast lots for his undergarments. I think he was just tired of naked people and didn't feel a naked Christ was very reverent. Anyway, here are a few highlights. We did not get a picture of the crucifix. They were shutting the entire area down when we were there.<br />
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These little Fiats make us laugh...I keep telling Boo she should take one home with her for when she drives.</div>
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Arno River</div>
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My peeps on the Arno River overlook</div>
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That night, we found a fun spot to eat. It was raining and we wanted somewhere fast! The hostess of this restaurant would hunt you down and drag you in for some eats. She provided us with lots of entertainment. The waiters and waitresses even commented on her. She was fun to watch! The kids had a meter pizza, I had lasagna and Joe had ravioli, I think. The funniest part was, it was a Naples restaurant! All the food was based on foods in Naples. It didn't matter to us...it was delicious and filled our bellies.<br />
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The next morning, we went to the caffe bar on the corner, had some donuts and drinks, and headed out for some early morning shopping. Turns out, early morning is 10:00 and we had to check out by 10:30. Oh well! The kids were disappointed as they wanted to buy something from Florence. Maybe next time!<br />
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Hot chocolate, Florence style</div>
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Filled donuts can be messy!</div>
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After our strikeout at the shops, we drove up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. Well, it looked gorgeous, but we could not find a parking spot within a mile of it. So, after wiping the tear from my eye, we headed home. Here's a shot of the drive.<br />
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To say we enjoyed Florence would be an understatement. It was simply lovely, beautiful, cultural, welcoming, exhausting and wonderful! I am not sure if we will go back before leaving Italy, but I am so glad we went.Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-84300691691747207922016-04-20T08:18:00.000-07:002016-04-20T08:18:03.181-07:00A Little Bit of Tuscany - Day 2Well, it has been a week and I haven't posted anything else about our trip to Florence. Yikes! Time does fly when you are having fun.<br />
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So, I think I was remiss on the last post and didn't include pictures of the outdoor gallery outside of the Uffizi Gallery. The statues were, umm, interesting. I made the mistake of going to read the names of each statue to KK. Yeah, let's just say one was named after an infamous, not great, moment. I guess I should study my art history before I go on these trips! There are also some shots of us under the covered archways on the Arno River and with Porcellino, a pig statue near a market in Florence.<br />
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They were so thrilled to see more statues! So was the guy behind them, obviously.</div>
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On the river</div>
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River view, again</div>
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Cincy has flying pigs, Florence has Porcellino.</div>
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Porcellino and 2 beautiful, tired girls</div>
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This guy! We had to force him off the pig so others could get shots of it</div>
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Finally, on to Day 2 of our excursion! I have been thoroughly confused by the pictures of this day. I was lost, to be honest. I finally figured out why! Little J, Boo and I went back to the hostel for a break while the rest of the family kept sightseeing. </div>
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So, if you've ever been to Florence, you might be wondering...where are the pics of THE David?!?! Wait no longer, here they are! I have to say, sculptures aren't my thing. They are alright, but I'd rather see a beautiful painting most days of the week. David changed me. It was awe-inspiring. I talked about it for the rest of the day. It left an impression on my mind and soul. I have never, ever been so moved by art in my life. If you ever get to Florence, Italy, see it. You won't be disappointed. The shear size and magnitude of it are worth your time and effort. It is just spectacular. Did we get pictures? Why yes, we did. No flash allowed (ok, this is a rule just about everywhere...the Accademia even had other rooms that did not allow photography of any kind.)</div>
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Jesus being taken off the cross</div>
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The main attraction...this pic doesn't do it justice. BTW, that is all marble</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> A little bit of scale to show you the magnitude</span></div>
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Joe, the kids, and a couple hundred other people just checking it out</div>
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The detail was amazing...he even included veins in his hands!</div>
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Well, after the David, this room seemed sort of anticlimactic.</div>
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These were plasters of statues throughout the city. Impressive, but no David</div>
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These little guys were cute.</div>
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Some paintings in the Accademia</div>
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More artwork in Accademia</div>
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Well, that doesn't look good.</div>
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Next, we headed to the Duomo to climb the dome. I think I mentioned the amount of steps in Day 1's post...so not gonna go there again. Let's just say, the two older people in our group were feeling the burn!</div>
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Here we go!</div>
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Luckily, there were a few "straightaways" to keep you motivated...and to let you see the amazing artwork on the ceiling of the Duomo</div>
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Just another shot of the Duomo...no big deal</div>
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Looking down on the Cathedral</div>
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Pretty sure this was the Hell side</div>
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Up we go</div>
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View of the Campanile we summitted yesterday </div>
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Florence, Italy</div>
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Just a couple of kids on top of a dome</div>
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Another shot of Florence</div>
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Santa Croce Church...which will be viewed on Day 3</div>
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Joe and the kids in front of the Campanile</div>
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Several shots of the dome...for those of you that might be interested in such things</div>
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After climbing the Dome, we headed to the Uffizi Gallery. This is several halls, corridors, rooms, etc. I don't even know how to explain this place sufficiently. It is HUGE. There are more statues and pictures in this art gallery than be imagined. I hate to admit it, but my eyes started to cross and I started to lose interest in statues and paintings of the Madonna with child. Seeing Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera" were impressive. KK waited all day to see them since they had been moved for renovations. We also saw Michelangelo's "The Holy Family"...and somehow missed taking a picture of it. There were so many people crowded around it, we might have deleted it for the bad quality. C'est la vie! It is imprinted on my mind. It was gorgeous.</div>
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This little guy loved this bust</div>
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A pic from one of the windows...I think</div>
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Yours truly with a painting</div>
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I'm sure I was discussing art and culture with them...or asking if anyone needed a potty break</div>
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Joe, Jesus and Mary Magdalene</div>
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Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus"</div>
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Botticelli's "Primavera"Ja</div>
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This pic makes me chuckle..</div>
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Porcellino -not bronze and not touchable</div>
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On the plaza of the Uffizi</div>
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Some of those last shots were taken after half of us went back to the hostel for a break. That night, we had Indian for dinner! It was so good. KK said she wanted to eat there the rest of the trip. It was really that good...and a few of us needed something to eat besides pasta and pizza. J Jr. can eat pizza for every single meal and be fine. Some of us, not so much.<br />
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That concludes day 2 in Florence, Italy! We really enjoyed our time there.</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-39723913806384010112016-04-12T07:06:00.004-07:002016-04-12T07:10:51.596-07:00A Little Bit of Tuscany - Day 1We just returned from Firenze yesterday. To say this trip was much needed would be an understatement! I didn't realize how much my body, brain, mental stamina needed it until we were in the van to return. I kept trying to prolong the trip and then had tears in my eyes when I typed our address in the phone GPS. I wish I could live on vacation. Alas, I am not Rick Steves, nor am I even close. :(<br />
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We loved, loved, loved Florence! It was so full of art, amazing architecture, beautiful places of worship, yummy food and English-speaking people! It was the first time, in a long time, that we were spoken to in English more than Italian. Actually, I don't think we heard much Italian the entire weekend. In some respects, it was very nice to hear your native tongue spoken all over the place. On the other hand, we are supposed to be learning Italian! Firenze is the birthplace of the Italian language. We even saw the stone that Dante Alighieri would sit on and write/come up with the Italian language! Yet, we barely heard Italian the entire weekend. It was strange.<br />
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So, what do some crazy kids from Kentucky do in Florence, Italy?!?! Eat! See the David! Climb lots of stairs! Eat some gelato! Visit churches galore! See everything! Here is what these crazy kids did...on day 1. I started out thinking I'd type up our entire weekend in one post. That would be too long and too many pics. So, here is day 1.<br />
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First, we parked the van. Exciting, right?!?! Apparently, parking is a novelty in Florence. We paid a pretty penny to park the van for 3 nights. After the arrangements were made for pickup, we went on search for our hostel. We picked Locanda Daniel for this trip. It was perfect for our needs! It had a kitchenette, 5 beds, and a bathroom. What more could we need when we'd be exploring all day, every day? I forgot to mention the view. It was spectacular. I can't even describe it. Here are a few pictures, but they can't do it justice.<br />
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The kids on the balcony</div>
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The view from our balcony</div>
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This pic cracked me up...they still haven't figured out the tall people go to the back!</div>
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Zoomed in a little</div>
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How beautiful can one girl be?</div>
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What a cutie pie!</div>
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We were discussing all the cats running around on the roofs</div>
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Night view</div>
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After getting settled, we headed out. Our first stop were the Medici Chapels. Wow! This was not the place to start when you will be seeing a gazillion churches for the weekend. This was our favorite of the chapels.</div>
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Marble was everywhere! So were Albers' kids.</div>
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Part of the ceiling...Adam and Eve, Jesus and all that jazz.</div>
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Ceiling, again</div>
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They were doing some work there, as can be seen by the scaffolding.</div>
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Notes: Every chapel/museum/church had some sort of relic of some saints. There were several relics at the Medici Chapel. Generally, the relics are some bones. A few were mementos from said saint. I might still be having nightmares about seeing several of John the Baptist's fingers.</div>
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After the Medici Chapel, we headed to the Piazza del Duomo. It was overwhelming to see these amazing facades on the buildings. We saw the Baptistry first and were impressed. Then, we saw the Cathedral and the Baptistry sort of paled in comparison. Anyway, back to our excursion...here are a few pics from inside and outside of both buildings.</div>
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I think this is a door outside of the Baptistry...but not a bronze door</div>
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My peeps in front of the Cathedral with the Baptistry to the side</div>
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Front facade of the Cathedral (Baptistry is building on right, Campanile is tower next to Cathedral and Duomo can barely be seen on the left in the background)</div>
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<span id="goog_926951315"></span><span id="goog_926951316"></span>Duomo</div>
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Painting on Duomo ceiling</div>
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Creepy photobomber...it might look like a shot of the couple in the middle, but no. We are to the left.</div>
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Baptistry ceiling</div>
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Duomo Ceiling - sorry, we went back and forth. ;P</div>
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The ceiling of one of the arches - probably the Baptistry?!?!</div>
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J Jr. in front of the altar at the Baptistry</div>
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Baptistry doors - entrance for visitors</div>
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Same door taken with my cell phone - I think I got a few more panels</div>
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We then headed back to the Cathedral to walk through the museum that was in the basement. There was once another church at that site and this museum commemorated this church and its foundations. There were also several tombs there and an altar. You can see these in the pictures.</div>
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Hmm, a model of the old church and the "new" Cathedral, maybe?</div>
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Grumpy Boo, KK and Little J with the same model</div>
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Creepy boys having fun with tombs</div>
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Old altar</div>
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Beautiful cross</div>
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Parts of the old church that have been unearthed</div>
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After all this fun, we needed some sustenance. We went to this cool, local spot for cheap pizza. Well, we thought it would be cheap pizza. Pizza was cheap, paying for the opportunity to sit wasn't quite as cheap. Take note, sitting at a table is never free in Italy! Never! You also never tip in Italy, so there's that. Of course, we'd never tip $12 on a $30 meal in America, so I think the Italians are making out on the deal. ;)</div>
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Sitting in the basement eating our pizza</div>
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We loved the pizzas here and the atmosphere was fun. I think the kids would have eaten here daily, had we allowed that.</div>
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After lunch, we decided to climb Giotto's Campanile. Oh boy, am I out of shape. It was 414 steps up to the viewing area. I was pretty sure I was going to die. I didn't! I am going to go ahead and note here...we did the Campanile the first day (414 steps), the Duomo Tower the second day (463 steps) and the Palazzo Vecchio Tower the third day (223 steps...once you climb several stories within the palace to get to the tower steps). I did my year's worth of stairs in one weekend. BUT, the view was worth it for every.single.one. Here are a few shots from the Campanile.</div>
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Looking up at the outside of the Campanile</div>
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A shot of the Duomo from my cell phone at the top of the Campanile...not too shabby. ;)</div>
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The kids with one of the old bells</div>
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A shot of the top of the tower</div>
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KK on one of the platforms</div>
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My peeps, again. It was sunny that day. Can you tell?</div>
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Me with my crazies.</div>
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Wave to the people on the Duomo Overlook</div>
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Shot of Firenze...I think the white building is the Santa Croce.</div>
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A shot of the Palazzo Vecchio Tower</div>
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A shot of the Duomo and surrounding area</div>
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I think this is a shot aimed toward the River</div>
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A shot taken aiming down toward the Piazza</div>
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After this climb, we headed toward the Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio. I didn't understand the appeal of the Ponte Vecchio. It is a bridge with shops on it...but every single shop is a jewelry store. By this time, we were hungry, hot and a little cranky. We found a tiny market, bought some fruit and water, and had a little snack on some steps. The kids and I were ready to head back to the hostel for a little break before dinner. Joe was not. Joe lost that battle.</div>
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After our little break, we headed out to find dinner. Within a couple minute walk from our hostel was a quaint little pizzeria. We ate outside (and subsequently froze our tooshies off until Joe ran back and got some jackets for us...my knight in shining armor!) and had a fun time. KK was starting to get a migraine, so she didn't quite enjoy the ambiance and outdoor seating like the rest of us. I guess traveling for 4+ hours, walking around all day, climbing a huge tower and getting little water was a bad combination for her. The remaining days we made sure to always have acqua on hand! I know that migraines are no fun. I hate when my girl gets one. Here are a couple shots from dinner. You'll note KK with her head on the table. My poor girl!</div>
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Pizza, pizza and more pizza!</div>
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This guy is so animated! This girl, not so much.</div>
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That was the end of day 1. We really, really, really enjoyed Florence and saw as much as possible while there. Buona sera, for now!</div>
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Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-29503194628358728912016-04-05T08:00:00.001-07:002016-04-05T08:00:25.994-07:00The GrindCiao friends and family! We are stuck in a lull, so I thought I'd post our latest happenings, even though they are less than exciting.<br />
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Joe is picking up his car today! We have been a 1 vehicle family for the last 3 months. To say I'm ecstatic would be an understatement. Even though I'm not in love with this lemon of a van, it is fulfilling its purpose of being a mode of transportation. I guess I can't expect much more out of it. I took Joe to work this morning and, of course, lights starting flashing at me on the way back home. It appears we need an oil change...2 short days before we leave for a long trip. So yeah, GREAT news. Joe is attempting to get an appointment for tomorrow so I can take it in for service. I'm less than thrilled with this prospect since my Italian skills are still infantile. Oh well!<br />
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Speaking of my Italian skills...I had two separate instances of how delinquent I am in this language today. I "tried" to pay my cell/wifi/home phone bill today. To say that things are done differently here would be an understatement! First of all, you cannot pay your bill at the store you bought said phone and services. You have to either go to a bank, post office or little vending machine thing. No, I'm not kidding. I'm dead serious. I went to the local post office, which is usually quite empty. Well, it was quite empty when we arrived but had filled up by the time we left. The only thing I could figure out was that the computer was down for paying bills and I'd have to come back later. I think ?!?! Then, shortly after arriving back home, the company that provides these services calls the home phone and tries to speak to me in Italian. I try to speak to her in English. She laughs and says, "Oh dear!" Well, I at least understood that and the fact that she was either attempting to get me to fess up to knowing more Italian than I know OR she was asking for an Italian speaking person to get on the line. In either case, I just said, "Non capisco l'italiano." It was a short, sweet, unhelpful call. She did ask me for my telephone number...which I didn't even know! Sorry America! I am giving the whole nation a bad name.<br />
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Joe and I saw the chiropractor yesterday. We both have some weakening in our necks (ok, mine is more significant than that...arthritis is setting in and I'm starting to get rounded shoulders...ugh) and I have a weak lower back (it is shaped like an S, which would be fine if I were a snake!) and my arches are falling in my feet. Yeah, I'm falling apart. He did an adjustment and showed us some exercises, and boy am I sore! He wants me to eventually start Pilates. I'm ok with that...but am hoping we get this neck and back strengthened first! I could totally see my pulling something else out of whack.<br />
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OH, Joe and I had date night the other night! A neighbor watched the kids while we went out for dinner. She is 18 and lovely. The kids followed her around like puppies, I'm sure. She made them dinner and worked on her English while teaching the kids some Italian. Perfetto! Joe and I were needing a few hours away. It was very refreshing. Here's a pic of us in our booth at the restaurant.<br />
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Sunday, we slept in past the alarm. I think Joe turned it off and we rolled back over and fell back asleep. Anyway, we missed church which was a big bummer. It always starts the week off right to be with other believers and hear the Word. Alas, this did not happen for us. We did, however, get to the Cavalry Museum that afternoon. Can I just say, I either need to brush up on my Italian history or I need to quit visiting so many museums? I'm starting to feel like I've seen every uniform the Italian military has ever used. The pics of the training field were really cool...especially seeing the horses jump over such obstacles to look as if they were flying. They also had miniature replicas/models of the Battle of Waterloo. I must say, my favorite part was seeing the big tanks and the motorcycles. Maybe I should visit the Automobile Museum next?!?! Seems more my style.<br />
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We leave in a few days for Firenze. I am over-the-moon excited! We have a "plan of attack" and are sticking with it. LOL. Just kidding! We have a plan but are staying flexible since the weather seems hit or miss for the weekend. I would be happy just people watching, but I'm sure the kids would be "bored". The really amazing part about this trip...we just started learning about the Renaissance Period! Our book referred to Florence, Italy several times. God is so wonderful. I had no idea when we booked this trip it would fall at the same time we started learning about Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello...oh wait, that's something else! We didn't learn about Donatello. That one was just for laughs. We did look him up and discover he was an artist during the Renaissance. Those TMNT, such Renaissance Reptiles. :)<br />
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Arrivederci!Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-8253268719262940352016-03-23T10:34:00.002-07:002016-03-23T10:34:22.399-07:00It's been awhileI haven't been keeping up with this blog very well, and I'm a little sorry about that. Honestly, we've just been living life over here. It doesn't seem that exciting to me, but I know the grands want to read about what we've been up to these last few weeks, so here goes.<br />
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Wow! I just looked back at my last post to see where I need to pick up. So, yeah, it's been a long time! I will try to hit the highlights since then. I can guarantee I will forget something.<br />
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Our weekdays have all been pretty similar. Do school during the day, wait for Joe to get home from work, fuss and fume because he's always later than he says. Good times! Add in the fact that we still only have 1 vehicle, and things get tense. I'm trying to have patience, I promise.<br />
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The weekends are quite lovely and we always enjoy them. I wish life were just one big weekend, don't you? We go to church each Sunday, usually grab a bite after with friends and maybe go to a park or hotspot in Torino. One Sunday, we went to lunch with friends and then to the top of the Duomo Bell tower in Torino. It was fun but made me realize how out of shape I am! Over 200 steps and I was feeling it! The view made it worthwhile, at least. Here are a couple shots.<br />
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While in the bell tower, one of the boys we were with wanted to tap his pencil on a bell. Joe did him one better and hit the clapper against the bell. I'm surprised we weren't quickly kicked off the premises! Joe says he did it lightly. It was quite loud in the tower. Maybe it didn't carry well?!?!<br />
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The day before we climbed the bell tower, we visited Forte di Fenestrelle. This is a fort built in the 1700s, I believe. It is massive! We went on a bad day. It had snowed that morning, so most of it was closed. We will go back. We were able to see 3 museums. The kids enjoyed the animal museum (think taxidermy's Heaven), the fashion museum was pretty cool and we all enjoyed the tarts and drinks at the ristorante! I'm pretty excited about going back and exploring the entire grounds.<br />
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We had a dusting...they had a few inches. Well, maybe closer to 6". </div>
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Which is scarier? The boy or the buffalo?</div>
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Watch out! There's a puma behind you! Oh wait, that's just Little J. </div>
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He loved the gazelles. Joe got a good pic of him with a tiny one. It was his favorite.</div>
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Fashion similar to what was on exhibit at the Fashion Museum</div>
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The kids (and Joe) played in the snow while I sat in the van. They needed a good snow to play in while I needed a warm van to sit in. Mutually beneficial.</div>
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The next weekend, we hiked in Ruata. It was lovely, but snowy. Climbing a mountain in the snow in tennis shoes, yeah, not a genius idea. I knew I was in trouble when we arrived at the beginning of the trail and people had snow shoes and ski poles! I was unequipped for this terrain. It was fun and gorgeous, so we will return. I just want to wait until there has been a thaw, thank you very much.<br />
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Breathtaking views of the Alps</div>
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The wonder of God's majesty...seriously, awe-inspiring</div>
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After church this weekend, we went to lunch with a coworker of Joe's from Japan. He and his wife are also moving to Torino. It was lovely and they probably know downtown Torino better than we do. OK, that isn't saying much. We only "lived" in downtown Torino for a week. Whenever we go back to town, I remember how much I like it. It is clean, lots of things to do, I never thought I'd be a big city sort of girl. Well, we live in the country here, so I guess I'm not. It just makes me appreciate the big city even more. I don't want to live there, but it sure is nice to visit.<br />
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This past weekend, we went shopping on Saturday. We went to the local open air market. I was looking for clothes for my weeds, I mean kids. Turns out, I am not good at market shopping. I don't have the patience for it. We then went to look at a karate place for Big J. He liked it! There is also a dance studio and Olympic sized pool there. So KK can go to dance, Big J can go to karate and the other two want to take swim lessons. We were thrilled to find this. Add in the coolness factor of it being next to one of the Olympic stadiums from the 2006 Olympics and we were stoked! Once I get the van full-time, we are all over it.<br />
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Sunday, we went to church and then were invited to our neighbor's house for drinks and desserts. It was lovely. We were outside the entire time, there was loads of food and the company was wonderful. KK said the next day that she really had a lot of fun.<br />
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Yesterday, the kids and I had to go to Torino to start the process for immigration, now that Joe is a resident of San Pietro val Lemina. Since we were downtown, we went to the Matisse exhibit (yeah, the kids had never seen so many naked bodies before...lol) and the Risorgimento Museum (Italian unification). I think I need to brush up on my Italian history. I didn't know enough about the unification to understand much in the museum. Add in a 6 year old that was at the door of the next room before we all entered the current room, and I didn't get as much out of the museum as I would have liked. I did, however, enjoy the Amsterdam Fries we bought and ate before we went in...so there's that. Here are a few pics of the artwork and ceilings in the Risorgimento Museum. No photos allowed in Matisse, of course.<br />
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Just your typical, boring ceiling </div>
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Artwork in the hall...we were amazed at the detail in each painting. Some of the paintings were photograph quality. It was quite impressive.</div>
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Another boring ceiling. These people need to learn to be more decorative! ;)</div>
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My little Boo liked this one..it has horses!</div>
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The Chamber of Deputies of the Subalpine Parliament</div>
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I forgot to mention, a friend showed us a trail close to our house that we can "burn some energy". It is close enough to walk to and easy enough that I'm not feeling like an invalid after the hike. Here are a few pics from our excursion last week!</div>
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Hard to see, but that is Torino beyond the hills.</div>
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I need to sign off here! It is 6:30 and I haven't started dinner. Oops, it is 18:30 and I haven't started dinner. Buona serata! Manchi e ti amo alla mia gente Kentucky.</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-38460437106403988062016-02-28T04:58:00.000-08:002016-02-28T04:58:36.505-08:00Palazzo Reale, Filing Paperwork and the Big CityI am going to attempt to not be wordy on this post. I took some pics on our last day out and wanted to show you all a little bit of Torino and the significance of history. ;) You know me, trying to impart knowledge everywhere I go. Ha!<br />
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Excuse the quality of these photos. Some were taken with my camera, so they either have a glare or are blurry. I'm hoping you get the gist of the pictures from the Palazzo Reale, even if the quality is substandard.<br />
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So here's the story behind the excursion day...the kids and I have to go mail our paperwork for our residency application. We met our representative at a small post office, signed a form and off went the application. It was very easy and anticlimactic. I was really expecting to feel something when we started this process for the kids and I. I only felt ready to get on to the fun stuff.<br />
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We then walked to the tourist office to buy our annual pass for the museums! It took a long time to do that, so we headed straight to Soup&Go, KK's favorite Torino spot. It was yummy, like always. We need one in Northern Kentucky. One of my industrious friends needs to work on that. :P<br />
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After lunch, we headed to the Palazzo Reale. In English, this is the Royal Palace. It is huge! I am not sure which king it was built for...but I know it was for the Savoy rulers. See, you are learning already. It looks like Vittorio Emanuele II was the king of Italy that lived there when it was, I assume, abandoned. I'm not sure on this, so don't quote me! Here are a few pics of our tour.<br />
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I think this was a Throne Room</div>
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Look at this floor! Seriously. I "need" some hardwood floors like this.</div>
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So fancy...and bright. The chandeliers were amazing! I wish I had my Canon with me. Next time.</div>
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These were pictures of a ballroom.</div>
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The mural on the ceiling in the ballroom. I believe this was one representing the Olympics</div>
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The Oriental Room</div>
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The Dining Room - I think a few pieces of the place setting were missing. The table was enormous. This pic does it no justice.</div>
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The view from one of the windows. There is a fountain in the garden and the Mole behind it</div>
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Little J and Boo in the armory...in front of the horses</div>
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Somebody is tired...oh, and KK, too.</div>
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Big J with some armor and swords<br />
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Boo really liked this horse</div>
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After we toured the palace, the girls and I headed to get some chocolates and loose-leaf tea. We were successful in finding chocolate, not tea. Somehow, I lost the tea shop we had passed on our way to the palace. You just never know when a shop is going to completely shut down and even close the windows. Not only did we females imbibe in chocolates, we bought a cone of Amsterdam chips, i.e. french fries. We had them top them with BBQ sauce, but KK and I had Samurai sauce on the side. YUM! I don't think the clerk thought we could handle the spiciness...it was divine! We then walked back to Piazza Castello to await our boys. They were walking through an art museum while we enjoyed a little shopping time. The girls and I were able to watch them prepare for the 10-year anniversary celebrations of the Torino Winter Olympics. We were invited to go to White Night last night with Joe's coworker, but it was raining and sleeting at our house. We decided to stay in and play some games, instead. We woke up (incredibly late) to ice covering the yard. I'm glad we stayed in last night.<br />
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Isn't she lovely? (at Piazza Castello)</div>
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When did my Boo start looking like a pre-teen? I don't like it! (Piazza Castello)</div>
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I must say, the kids and I loved this day! We were able to explore, spend time with Joe and walk around downtown Torino. We really, really needed a fun day like this. Arrivederci!<br />
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<br />Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-55888226465081680812016-02-25T06:41:00.002-08:002016-02-25T06:41:46.940-08:00What's up, doc?As the title implies, we saw a doctor in Pinerolo this week. He is an allergist and was quite helpful to us! He gave us some meds for myself and Little J for his asthma. He also recommended a few specialists for my Boo. All in all, a good visit.<br />
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I also wanted to update everyone on the Albers's happenings. Our sea shipment arrived yesterday! I'm in Heaven, or what I imagine Heaven will be like. LOL. I have to admit, it might sound silly, but I was almost in tears when I pulled out my salt shaker. Seeing that lovely device from home, well, it almost reduced this grown woman to tears. When I saw my spoon rests, the same thing almost happened. Don't even get me started on once the bed was assembled! I haven't slept that well in a couple of months. I think I passed out around 9:30 last night and only woke up when Joe almost pushed me out of the bed in the middle of the night. Mind you, it is a king-sized bed. He has plenty of space. He thought my side was better last night, I assume. Anyway, I lived through almost getting the push and had a great night's sleep. Happy, Happy, Happy!<br />
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We went to lunch with a couple of families from church this past Sunday. The food was delicious (it was the best gluten-free pizza I've ever had, in my life), the gelato was scrumptious and the company was delightful. It was a great day! The kids would have been happy never coming home. Alas, reality struck and we had to start preparing for the shipment to arrive.<br />
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Besides the shipment, not much else has happened this week. We've settled in, gotten better adjusted, and are finding a new routine. Oh, and I started Italian lessons this week! My instructor is a great guy that was willing to let my questions dictate how the lesson went. I think that Joe and I will learn a lot and teach each other through this process. I've also enlisted my instructor's help for teaching the kids Italian. We will be bilingual when we move back, hopefully!<br />
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Funny story time...I made Borsch the other night for the end of our Russian "study"...that only lasted 2 days. Anyway, I found it ironic that I could not find Italian seasoning and had to make up my own. Skip forward a couple of days to me trying to find Italian dressing at the supermarket. No go! So, once again, I will be making homemade Italian dressing with a Pinterest recipe. Praying it works out. I guess there are benefits to living in a melting pot. Ethnic foods are in abundance in America. We've found most Italians just put olive oil and balsamic vinegar on their salad. Praying for a miracle in finding the items necessary for my recipe. :)<br />
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**Note - I can't find the cord for my camera to upload pictures to the laptop. I'm incredibly frustrated by this. I actually typed this post a week ago and have been searching for the cable ever since. Once I find the cable, I will load pictures.Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-17084394065122156782016-02-11T02:20:00.005-08:002016-02-11T02:20:59.724-08:00The Good, the Bad and the ItalianWe have been in our new house for almost 3 weeks now. It is weird to call it home, but that is exactly what it has become. I guess wherever my people are, that is home.<br />
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Lots of things have happened over the last 3 weeks! We got WiFi, lost it within a day and got it back the next week. Joe took two of the kids hiking on trails in the Alps, and they loved it! I had to stay home with two sick kids. Oh yeah, kids have been sick non-stop since arriving in the house. Little J has had an asthma flare, not cool. We think it is partly the dust, partly the gas stove and partly exposure to new allergens and bugs that he has never been exposed to before. All of the other kids have had runny noses and/or coughs for the past three weeks. Good times, good times.<br />
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Our cute little hikers</div>
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It finally rained here on Sunday! Torino has been in the middle of a dry spell for months. No rain, no snow, no precipitation. This rain was a blessing on the entire region! Not only was the rain good for the valley, the snow is pretty on the Alps. :) There have also been a few nights of high winds at the house. It has been a long time since I've been in wind storms like this. It was close to scary, especially being in a new house with half the family hiking in the Alps at the time. I'm starting to adjust to the sounds.<br />
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The Alps from our school room door, pre-snow</div>
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Same shot, post-snow</div>
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Speaking of sounds, every night there is a sound like a dying cat that seems to be right outside our bedroom window. There are many feral cats in the area, and we often see them dashing through the yard. We also see their droppings everywhere. OK, not sure if droppings is the right term for cat poop. It is disgusting, regardless of what you call it. Joe did say he saw a dead fox on the way to work today. Maybe the dying fox would come to our window to beg for help every night, only to be rejected by the crazy Americanos. Poor fox! He picked the wrong house. UPDATE: Joe saw a black cat sitting outside the bathroom window this morning. He thinks it is mewing for food. It is more like a dying cat sounds than a meow, but you get the point.<br />
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We are learning a lot about Italian bureaucracy. For one thing, doing anything is a series of steps, meetings and requirements that would make you believe that you were eligible for presidency. I won't go into detail, because it would bore you to pieces, but the steps Joe has to take to get citizenship here is beyond crazy. Granted, I have no idea what it takes to do this in America. I have to believe it is much less complicated. Even to get an Italian bank account is worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize! It was an hour-long appointment, it has taken close to 2 weeks for the debit card to even come in and we still don't have a PIN number. You know the saying "2 steps forward, 1 step back"? Well, I'm pretty sure it is 1 step forward, 2 steps back here. At least, that is how it feels. And we are not the only ones saying this! Never say the word bureaucracy to an Italian. Man, they hate it worse than we do! They will either just throw their hands up in the air in frustration or go on a diatribe of how awful it is here. Typically, Italians will not complain or say anything negative about Italy. Mention bureaucracy, watch out. Game on. Remember earlier where I mentioned the WiFi yo-yo? It has taken some American friends MONTHS to get WiFi. Bureaucracy.<br />
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Another strange thing, to this American girl, is the amount of paper sent just to give you information about an account. Electric company sent a 10-page information packet, all in Italian, thank you very much. The same day, we got an equally thick envelope from the telecommunications company. Granted, we have WiFi, my cell and our house phone through telecom store. Still, it is a bit excessive. Especially since we can't read a single line of it. :-P<br />
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We bought a vacuum! It is tiny, rechargeable and is not powerful enough for us...but we feel the house is already cleaner. I've been vacuuming my little heart out this week. Yes, it has taken me the entire week to vacuum this house. I think we picked the only Italian house with carpet upstairs. All the other spaces have many, many area rugs. I have cleaned the filter on this little piece of machinery so many times, it is insane. Our landlord hadn't lived in the house for at least 2 years before we moved in here. So, yeah, lots of dust accumulated in the rugs and carpet. We can feel a huge difference in the feel of the rugs and the overall aroma of the house. It is amazing how sweeping a house can be so rewarding. Trust me, I am not a clean freak. My house typically has more of a "lived-in" feel than "disinfected" feel. Still, it is nice to have clean floors.<br />
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Our cute, little vacuum.</div>
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We have been imbibing in the local custom of Bugie for Carnevale! It tastes like a crispy funnel cake and we are addicted. The chocolate ones are my favorite. It is awful and wonderful, all at once. My stomach hates me for what I am doing to it. Sorry, tummy. Hopefully soon we will find out what is wrong with you!<br />
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Yummy, flaky decadence</div>
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Joe is buying us year passes to the museums! We attempted to go to Stupinigi after church on Sunday. It was cost-prohibitive, to say the least. Now, we can go on our passes! I'm excited to see the museums and palaces around Torino.<br />
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Joe and the babies at Stupinigi - it was a dreary, rainy day</div>
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Heading to make a cup of hot tea! I've taken up the nasty habit of caffe lattes every morning. I can never get warm. Hot tea, hot coffee, lots of layers, blankets everywhere. Between the marble, hardwood and tile floors, my body is just zapped of heat. I try to wear my house slippers but don't always remember. This morning, the kids tried to make me a caffee latte with my breakfast, while I was still in bed. Umm, let's just say they burned up the coffee grounds and a moka pot. Luckily, no Italian house would be complete without multiple moka pots. It is the thought that counts, right?!?! LOL. Arrivederci!<br />
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Yep, we ruined one of these already.</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-26609286436898327912016-01-29T07:54:00.001-08:002016-01-29T07:54:44.662-08:00Wifi never looked so sweet...So, I have to admit a dark secret about myself. I have an idol and its name is technology. Over the past week, I've tried to slay this dragon of mine. I'm not sure I'm there yet. I've been reading "Gospel Treason" by Brad Bigney, who just so happens to be the pastor of Grace Fellowship Church, where we attended for 1 1/2 years, until we moved. I am seeing many things in my life that I hold as idols. It is eye-opening and scary. I really recommend the book, if you are ready to slay your dragons, too.<br />
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Back to WiFi...we are back online! I'm afraid I have already spent more time on the internet today than is humanly reasonable. In my own defense (because that is a totally unhealthy way to slay your idols...by defending them!), I have been out of contact with anyone but my kids and husband for almost a week. We have had no internet, my cell phone only made local calls and I don't have a vehicle. We are also in a location where we cannot easily walk anywhere. A vehicle is a necessity, unless you want to walk to get the world's best pizza. We haven't even had this pizza yet...we've just been told. I am basking in the glory of WiFi bars, and it isn't pretty.<br />
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Speaking of pizza, we've been consuming it in massive quantities. Is it full of gluten? Yes. Am I miserable from eating it? Yes. I've decided that I will use this opportunity to get truly tested for Celiac instead of getting tests run when I've been gluten free for 3 years. I'm hoping for more accurate results. Only issue, which is a big one, is we don't have national insurance yet. We need to look into this further. I'm hoping I can go to a doctor on our private insurance and bypass the whole other issue. Prayers sent for this to work out for us. I really can't continue to eat gluten for much longer. Every joint hurts, digestion is out of control, skin breakouts are worse than a teenagers, etc. I am almost in disbelief over how bad I've felt. Ugh! I was really hoping I'd be better on Italian wheat. Apparently not!<br />
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On to bigger and brighter things! We are in our house and loving it! It has so much room for the kids to play and explore. The yard (or gardens, if you're Italian) is spacious and fenced/gated. I can send the kids out and not worry about them escaping or someone kidnapping them. Yay! Our air shipment arrived last Monday, so we started back to book school on Tuesday. I'm pretty confident that learning how to maneuver an international move, exploring Torino, all our adventures on the way to Pozzuoli, exploring Pozzuoli, moving in the new house, etc. are all learning experiences. Still, it has been nice to get back into a routine and have some of our old stuff from home. I thought about posting some new photos to show you the house, but I guess I've been there, done that. I will post a pic of the kids. I think the grandparents will enjoy it. You're welcome! (Prego, in Italian.)<br />
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The kids in the homeschool room</div>
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I feel now would be a good time to send a shout out to our super-de-duper landlord, Ryan! He has been an incredible blessing for us. He took Joe to show him how to get me a cell phone, where the butcher shop, home improvement store, and electronics stores are, helped order a new washing machine, came to help us get our WiFi installed, etc. We have found out that this is not common. He speaks English, to boot! Once again, God provides. We would not have been able to do half of this stuff without his help. Or we would have been overcharged or waiting for months for these services. We have been able to get WiFi within a week of moving in the house! This is unheard of in Italy, especially for an ex-pat. Thanking God for a great landlord that is willing to help us with so much.</div>
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Another big shout out to my new friend, Marta, for helping navigate the homeschooling world in Italy. I still have some work to do, but she has helped tremendously! We are headed to their house tomorrow night for a dinner. I am so excited about this. Knowing my luck and past history, I will come down with the flu or something. Whenever something fun is planned, someone is sick. Praying for health and vitality tomorrow evening!</div>
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I guess it is time to start thinking about dinner. Tonight's gluten offering is tortellini with marinara and probably a side salad. Just a note...salad dressing here is literally a bottle of olive oil and a bottle of balsamic vinegar. The first person to visit and bring me a bottle of ranch dressing will get huge rewards. :) Buon appetito!</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-77878057294885222672016-01-18T02:15:00.001-08:002016-01-20T06:41:08.661-08:00What just happened?!?!**Update - I have added pics to this post but did not change any of the wording to reflect that. I pray you forgive me as I am exhausted from walking up the mountain to our room. Grazie!<br />
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Yesterday, we had the misadventures of a lifetime. Joe's work wanted him to travel to Naples area for support on an assembly. We decided we'd all go along since they provide a room, as long as we stay in Italy. We had no idea the exciting day we would have driving from Torino to Naples!<br />
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The day started like a normal day. Get up, make breakfast, get ready and head out. We've switched houses/hotels so many times already, no big deal, right?!?! Our new Cincy friends graciously agreed to allow us to store some of our luggage and stuff at their house. We thought we were set! Good intentions. Bad execution.<br />
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I think I need to jump back a step. We picked up what we thought would be our Italy vehicle on Friday afternoon. It was my first time driving in Italy. I did pretty well. I didn't have to drive far and just followed Joe to drop off the rental van. If I had faster internet, I'd upload a pic. Wifi here is very spotty and has gone out a few times since I started typing this. Maybe later!<br />
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So, we piled in the van, stuffed our bags in there, and headed out. The day was sunny and we were pretty positive about our journey. We went through a gazillion tunnels. Well, it felt like a gazillion. There were at least a hundred or more. The kids stopped counting at 14 and we went through several after that. We got to see beautiful views of the Mediterranean. God's beautiful handiwork...it is gorgeous.<br />
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We stopped to get a cappuccino, use the toilette and eat a little bit of cotta. Joe decided we should get some gas, since we were stopped. We aren't sure if that is the beginning of our problems or if they started way before that. Anyway, we left the gas station refreshed. Heading east, we were feeling pretty good and enjoying the view. Mediterranean on one side, mountains on the other. We were just outside of Florence when it happened. Joe looked at me and told me to look up a warning sign on the dash. He said the engine had shut off and he had no power. Luckily, he threw it into neutral and we were heading down an incline. We made it to the next pull-off (luckily, these are extremely common in Italy...a concept the US might want to consider) and Joe shut it down. Smoke was pouring out of everywhere, it seemed. Joe thinks a fuel line broke. We smelled diesel and are very lucky the car didn't catch fire. It was a tense situation! We contacted the emergency service for the car and they sent out a tow truck. Well, let me say, this was the first time I've ever ridden in a tow truck. Let me also say, the way we "rode" in the tow truck would be illegal in the US. We were in the van atop the truck bed. I don't think the tow truck driver liked it either...because he dumped us like some old trash at the first hotel he saw! He didn't speak a lick of English and just motioned for us to get out and take our stuff with us. I have some funny pics from the front of the van and sitting in the parking lot at the hotel. Alas, not gonna happen right now. I'll try again later.<br />
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View from inside a van on a tow truck bed</div>
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Another view from a tow truck bed.</div>
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Dropoff point - eviction point - point of no return</div>
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At this point, we were all a little frazzled. Sitting atop a tow truck bed while the van leaked diesel everywhere was stressful, to say the least. We made the best of it. We told Little J that he was having these adventures at 6 and I was having them at 39, for the first time. Hopefully, the only time. Ha! The emergency contact told Joe he'd call a taxi for us...or Joe thought that was what he'd do. Nope. We went into the hotel and asked them to call one for us. The taxi showed up in about 10 minutes and was huge! I think it was a 12-passenger and had plenty of room for us and all our stuff. It felt good to spread out a little, because we were going to be cramped the remainder of the day.<br />
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Our next stop was the Florence (Firenze) train station. Wow! So many people, so little time. I was convinced our taxi driver would hit at least 10 people on the way there. It was pure insanity. Anyway, back to the train station. We were able to get family passes for the train. We sat "sort of" close to each other. Luckily, Joe has experience on the trains and had been warned by his coworkers of petty theft. There were a couple of guys we were leery of when we boarded. Turns out, we were right. They tried to take stuff out of one of our bags while we were riding toward Rome! Joe saw them and looked right at them. Luckily, it deterred him. Unfortunately, we were on hyper-aware at that point. It is sad the levels people will stoop. We think they just wanted to steal to steal. They had all the latest gadgets and gizmos. They had paid to ride the train. It is almost like a hobby for some people, I guess.<br />
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We arrived in Naples (Napoli) and were completely overwhelmed. People, graffiti, opportunities to be ripped off abounded. Between lugging 2 huge suitcases, my purse, Joe's briefcase, kids' backpacks, bags of food and bags of dirty clothes, we were already exhausted. Poor Joe had to do all the lifting of our suitcases since I couldn't physically do it any longer. God sent a few guardian angels for us, luckily. The first was in the train station that pointed the way for us to get on the train. The second one was aboard the first train we got on and directed us to switch trains to make it to Pizzouli. This is the last stop and the closest and safest to our hotel. We were extremely leery of this woman. She appeared to, umm, well, umm, be a lady of the night. She kept trying to carry the kids' bags. Everything you see and read says don't let anyone "help" you. They will run off with your stuff. Turns out, she was just a Good Samaritan helping the crazy Americanos with all their stuff. We prayed for that woman last night. May God pour blessings on her like nothing she has ever known before, for her kindness. The thirds guardian angel was on the platform for the train to Pizzouli and just confirmed we were on the right platform. Being frazzled, not knowing the language and trying to keep 6 people safe is beyond stressful. I still feel like I have PTSD from yesterday. I am not taking it lightly. My head feels "shaken" and my stomach feels icky. It is not a fun feeling to have. I almost had a few meltdowns throughout the day. God kept me strong, prayer kept me sane and staying calm for the kids kept me straight. I will say, had it just been Joe and I, I wouldn't have been as stressed. We are big people...we can handle the situations. Dealing with all of that and having the kids along...well, it made me appreciate Torino and Kentucky. I, seriously, cannot wait to return to Torino! Getting in our house in San Pietro val Lemina will be even better. Pinerolo is such a nice area.<br />
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Back to my story...we exited the train station and there were 2 taxis waiting for us. We were a little skeptical since the hotel said it would be 10 minutes and it was 0 minutes. By this point, I just had to pray that these were the taxis we were supposed to get and trust God would keep us safe. We also knew that taxis are a way people steal from unknowing tourists. Luckily, these guys were legit. Thank you Jesus! We checked in, checked out our little suite and headed to the restaurant. We hadn't had "real food" since our small pre-lunch of cotta and nuts. It was good enough. Not the best Italian food ever, but it tasted good to us. Boo and I even had gluten-full food because we were desperate and beggars can't be choosers. I'm not doing so great with it. We will see tomorrow how she does. We also had gluten at breakfast today. Oh boy, my tummy is screaming at me. It usually takes a little longer for her effects to be seen.<br />
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Today, we woke up to the sun shining and a view that is spectacular! I really wish the internet would work better so I could show you guys. It is like a postcard here. Luckily, we are in a nice hotel and a very safe part of this area. We are going to venture down to the sea today, just to walk around and get out of this little room. The walk back will be interesting! It is straight up a steep incline. Hopefully my head and gut feel better by then.<br />
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Outdoor swimming pool - not open </div>
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View from our front patio</div>
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Front patio with some sweet urchins</div>
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Instead of Hotel Gli Dei, this place should be named Hotel Palm Trees. Not complaining! I love palm trees.</div>
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Well, a little misadventures for our family. So many "firsts" for all of us. The kids had their first tow truck ride, taxi ride, high speed train ride, regular train ride, car blowing up, abandonment by a tow truck driver, etc. All in all, we still love each other and are praising God for his faithfulness, love and mercy. Ciao ciao!<br />
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<br />Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-90850366087412118852016-01-14T13:04:00.001-08:002016-01-14T13:04:08.936-08:00Torino AdventuresWhat a week! I can't believe we've been here a whole week already. So many emotions, so many adventures, so many pictures.<br />
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This Monday, I made the first, of many, mistake. I decided it would be a good idea to stay in the suite and just let the kids have a mellow day. HAHAHAHAHA...that is me laughing at myself. Mellow days lead to meltdowns, sibling fights, wrestling on beds, lots of noise, etc. It turns out we shouldn't do home days at the suite. We were all frazzled by the end of the day. Lesson learned!<br />
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Tuesday, I knew we had to get out of this place. So, we headed to the metro to buy a week pass for the subway. Well, we did not know how to pay with a credit card at the first metro station. So we started walking toward the next one closest to Porta Nuova. Finally! I saw the card button on the screen! We were able to get week passes for the five of us on the metro. Yay! We even got on the subway successfully and went in the right direction. I was feeling pretty proud of myself. Do you know what they say about pride? That whole "pride cometh before a fall" was my motto for the day. We made it to Porta Nuova and headed to Palazzo Madama, again. Turns out, it was closed. So, we headed to Palazzo Reale. Either the lady didn't understand a lick of English or she didn't like the looks of us, but she just answered "no" when I asked about a year pass for the museums. Okey dokey. It was lunchtime, by this point, so we started walking. And walking. And walking. We ended up on a major street in downtown Torino. We ducked into a restaurant because of the plates in the front window. I am not sure if they were just not serving lunch yet or what, but the menu only had beverages on it. We left and headed toward the subway station. Luckily, we found a salad and pasta joint. Boo and I shared a small salad, KK and Little J had Baby Pastas and J Jr. had a big pasta. We all liked it. The kids want to go back. I was very fortunate that God still gave us a good day, despite my pride in my own abilities.<br />
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Statue in Piazza Carlo Felice</div>
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Fountain at Piazzo Carlo Felice </div>
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Twin churches at Piazza San Carlo</div>
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A photobomber </div>
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Via Carlo Alberto - the view of the Alps was amazing, but not captured on film </div>
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The next day, Joe had to do some stuff for our immigration process. We hung out at the suite until he returned and had lunch with us. Right after lunch, we headed to Parco Valentino to expend some energy. This park is perfect for the kids. It had a nice playground and an area to do some exercises. It was good to get rid of some energy, for the kids and myself.<br />
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Fountain of the months in Parco Valentino </div>
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I think July-December in the months</div>
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January-June</div>
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Waterfall feature in Parco Valentino </div>
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Some sort of person statue thingie </div>
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More cascading water </div>
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Medieval Village</div>
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Today, we headed to Lingotto Mall after lunch. We checked out the toy store, had some gelato, and played in the playpark twice. Yes, that's right, the mall has an indoor playpark. No, not like the Florence, KY play area. They have full-sized equipment in there. The kids loved it! I loved the energy being used. I must also say, we might all be addicted to gelato. It was fairly inexpensive at 10 EU for five of us. Oh man, it is yummy. </div>
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Some adventures, and misadventures, from our second week in Torino! And now I must bid you buona notte.</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-24062387475384755752016-01-11T05:25:00.000-08:002016-01-11T05:25:51.920-08:00Renewed ResolveBuongiorno!<br />
Today marks a week since our departure from Kentucky. There have been many ups and downs in the span of a week. We've had our stress levels reach epic proportions, we've done some amazing sight seeing, we found an amazing church that will be our church home while in Torino, and we've met friends from the Cincy area.<br />
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GE sends many people to Torino to work for Avio Aero. Joe currently knows a few people from Cincinnati here. One such family attends the church we attended yesterday. We went to lunch with them and then back to their house to fellowship some more. It was a great time of sharing information, telling fun anecdotes, and just having someone to share experiences.<br />
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While visiting with our new friends, I felt a peace come over me about our homeschooling decision. The mom of the family expressed much concern over the issues with the American school in Torino. I will be praying about the situation for her, but I have become much more resolved to homeschool my own children based on this. There have been some definite stressors for us regarding homeschooling. It appears our relocation specialist, online homeschool parents and the local schools all have different opinions of what is required and not required. I'm believing that the online homeschool parents actually have a better idea of what is required since they have been there/done that and have the scars to show for it. I feel like I've gone back about 20 years as far as homeschool liberties go. Honestly, it has made me extremely grateful for the laws of Kentucky governing homeschooling and HSLDA, the law organization we belonged to that provides legal support for homeschoolers. It is amazing how grateful one becomes when faced with adversity in another location about the same subject.<br />
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Unfortunately, I do not have many pictures from our last few days here. KK was our photographer and we can't find the cord to upload her pictures! It has just been that sort of day. I will give you a brief synapsis of each day, just for kicks.<br />
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Friday, we ventured out for lunch, like always. This day led us to MuUrgheria, a burger joint. We had bacon cheeseburgers and fries. KK has some good pics of our lunch. If we ever find her cord, I will share them. We then visited a local market. Not an open air market, but a small grocery. All these new experiences are fun and educational for all of us. I am convinced my children will be able to visit Europe when they are older and fit in quite easily. We didn't realize we would find a market, so we didn't bring our bags. So, we had to pay 0,05EU for each bag. Lesson learned! Our next excursion to the market would be better. We then headed back to the suite to drop off groceries. After getting everything put away, we headed back to Parco Valentino. This is the park that has Valentino Castle and lots of dogs. We were determined to find the Medieval Village. Guess what?!?! It is almost directly behind our suite! Joe and I must have been extremely tired when we drove to the suite from Milan. We thought it was over 1km away. Anyway, we walked through the village, colored some coloring pages about Pinocchio and had a drink in the cafeteria. We have not gone through the castle at the Medieval Village yet. It is a pay tour, so we were waiting to see if Joe wanted to go along with us.<br />
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Saturday, we had Joe back and no plans. So we drove to Superga, the church overlooking all of Torino and the Alps. I do have a few pictures from Superga, but the day was hazy and they did not turn out great. Here they are, regardless.<br />
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Superga - isn't it lovely?</div>
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Front entry</div>
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Altar</div>
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Nativity scene in Superga</div>
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Extremely hazy pic of Torino - you can kind of make out the Fiume Po</div>
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Can you make out the Alps? We could see them better with the naked eye.</div>
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After Superga, we headed back to the suite and the adults fell asleep. Seriously, when am I ever going to recover from this jetlag? I think the stress, food, different bed, everything is making it extremely difficult to sleep. That evening, we headed to Porta Nuova on the subway, again. This is a major hub of activity, shopping and eating. We did a little shopping since everything is on sale in early January. I almost bought a camouflage winter coat. I worried it wouldn't keep me much warmer than my current coat/jacket. After our shopping excursion, we headed to a gluten free restaurant. Turns out, gluten free is very popular in Torino. The first available seating for 6 was after 10pm! So we walked to a restaurant Joe and I enjoyed when we did our housing trip. The kids loved it! Boo loved getting gluten free pasta, they even had gluten free breads and we all enjoyed dessert. Overall, a good substitute for the other restaurant. </div>
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Sunday dawned and we knew we wanted to try out the International Church of Torino at our first opportunity. Everyone was so welcoming and made a true effort to ensure we were aware of everything happening. It was so nice. We have been in very large churches for so long, I sort of forgot what it felt like to attend a small, quaint church. I still miss GFC, but this will be a great alternative for us while in Italy. Bonus, most people that attend are from nations all over the world. We met people from Northern Ireland, Italy, Ghana, Asia, Great Britain, Cincinnati (our friends I mentioned earlier) and beyond. The kids even enoyed their Sunday School class, tho it was primarily in Italian. I think between church and the language classes we enroll them in, they will know more Italian than Joe and I ever will. I just have to ensure they keep with it until high school age. It would be great to get a high school credit by refreshing their Italian language skills! After church, our new friends showed us the playground at the park and invited us to join them for lunch. We willingly obliged! Afterward, they invited us to come back to their house and let the kids play. It was great for all of us! We loved chatting with the adults and commiserating about similar issues we're having, the kids loved having English speaking friends. I don't think our kids wanted to leave. I don't think their kids wanted us to leave. It was a great day, all around. We returned to the hotel to find the restaurant closed on Sundays. So we headed back to the pizzeria/ristorante we ate at the first day in Torino. Boo and I got some gluten free pizza. It was good. Not gluten-full pizza good, but neither of us can handle the gluten. Is it funny that one of my first phrases in Italian has been "senza glutine" meaning gluten-free? No, I didn't think so, either.</div>
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Have a great Monday! Since I know many of my readers are in the Tri-State area, enjoy your snow day!</div>
<br />Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-4386140997063764532016-01-07T11:21:00.001-08:002016-01-07T11:21:24.733-08:00Our first day alone, without JoeIt happened. Joe had to return to work. He has been off work since December 17. I'm dealing with it. You get accustomed to people being around all the time. Luckily, we had plans to explore today so it wasn't as huge as I thought it would be.<br />
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We woke up late. By late, I mean late. I did not wake up until 10:30, which is half an hour past breakfast buffet time. I finally woke the kids up at 11:00 so we could get ready to leave for our walk to lunch. They took it in stride. I guess when you get 12+ hours of sleep, you feel pretty happy. I wouldn't know. I got about 7ish hours. It was plenty, tho. I felt pretty good all day.<br />
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Around 12:15, we headed out. We walked through the park adjacent to the suite and it had many cool things. Here are a few pics.<br />
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Cool Statue #1</div>
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Kids at base of Cool Statue #1</div>
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Valentino Castle - looks like they are fixing the gate</div>
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We then headed to Poormanger, a baked potato spot that had many toppings of which to choose. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table.</div>
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They are even cute waiting patiently</div>
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The sign so I'd remember the name ;)</div>
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Did you know that many places in Torino do not accept credit cards? Yeah, me neither. I only had 12,90 EU on me and they wouldn't take my credit card...so I had to barter, slightly. My bill came to 13EU and I told him I only had 12,90 EU. He was gracious and allowed me to pay the reduced rate. Unfortunately, we were all starving. We missed breakfast, we had a light lunch, what to do with growing children? Lol. No worries! We had a snack when we returned to the suite.</div>
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From the restaurant, we decided to walk to a local piazza we could see from Poormanger. I think it was Piazza San Carlo, or not. Oh my goodness, we saw at least 4 piazzas today. Anyway, this piazza was under construction so I wasn't able to get good pics. Honestly, I can't even find the pic I took. I will say, Little J asked if there were going to be naked people on the statue yet again. This led to an interesting discussion about nakedness by the clan. If I weren't trying to educate my children on different cultures, I might have been in stitches. They come up with some hilarious things.</div>
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We headed south to see the next piazza. I'll name it Piazza San Giocomo val J-names. Yep, I like it. Honestly, this was likely Piazza Cavour. Yes, that's it! And I looked on the map. The earlier mentioned Piazza was Piazza Carlo Emanuele II. Here are some pics from Piazza Carlo Emanuele II.</div>
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First Statue Pic</div>
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Second Statue Pic</div>
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Oh look, another statue!</div>
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The Gandhi statue brings up a good point. Everywhere you look, there is graffiti. Buildings that have been around for centuries, graffiti-ed. Statues commemorating famous people (primarily Italians), graffiti-ed. Bus stops, graffiti-ed. It is so strange to us, as foreigners. We see these buildings/statues/etc as part of history. I think they might be viewed differently here. They've been around forever, so they are not seen as the treasures that we see them as. Just my two cents. On that topic, here is a really cool building that is graffiti-ed. It looks sort of Baroque style, right?!?! I'm not exactly an expert on architecture.</div>
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Look at the bottom of the building. Yes, that is spray paint. Lots of it.</div>
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Across the way was a cool park or piazza or something. It had fountains spraying around a statue. Of course, I missed taking pics of the fountain. Here are a few pics of more statues.</div>
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You can't see the fountains because this dude was in the way.</div>
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A cool church we could see from fountain park/piazza</div>
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We then headed toward the Fiume Po so we could try to find the Medieval Village we set out to find. Unfortunately, we never found it. Joe thinks it is farther north than we went. But here are a few pics of our time on the Po and in the park.</div>
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These trees look like candelabras. I like them.</div>
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Hey, look, a statue! Do we have this many statues in the States? Probably don't have enough history for it.</div>
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I like this arch. Arches are cool!</div>
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A wall of rocks is cool, too.</div>
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Some art with plastic water bottles.</div>
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A waterfall near some cool, old building. Forgive me, I don't know the names of all the interesting spots yet.</div>
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Overall, our first day without Joe was a success. The kids were so good, we found lots of cool statues and we didn't get lost. I'd call it a success!</div>
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4660785473953246588.post-11249716178272055272016-01-06T09:34:00.002-08:002016-01-06T09:34:25.296-08:00Journey of a lifetimeBuongiorno from Torino! We made it, we are safe and snug in our suite and I'm getting quite accustomed to having someone clean up after our 6-person family. Seriously, this is addictive. Also, no pics yet again. I really need to start writing my blog on the laptop. That sounds like work, so lazy me is just typing out these posts. Maybe I'll add pics later. Just an incentive to get you to come back for more. ;)<br />
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The kids enjoyed their first flights. Little J was all grins and laughs the first leg. My Little Boo got "bored" on the first leg so we did some coloring and playing to keep her occupied. After that leg, we thought we had this travel thing down. Ha! Who knew JFK was as huge as it is! We had to travel from Terminal 4 to Terminal 1 for Ailitalia. Oh boy. Going back through security in an international line lends itself to some interesting moments. The kids were troopers and did a great job. The meltdowns started once we were in the terminal. Hungry kids, lots of walking and fatigue all culminated in an unhappy little boy. He refused to eat anything and just put his head down on the table. Of course, once our food arrived, he was starving. All's well that ends well...we had a long layover and he got to order some food. I do feel bad for the little guys, tho. We had promised them a plethora of movies to watch on the flight, thinking we were flying Delta. Yeah, didn't happen. Most films were in Italian and there weren't many options. Oh well, I guess they didn't need to watch all of those movies.<br />
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As always, God has provided for our family. We were able to rent a van from the Milan airport to drive to Torino. Today, Joe was able to get a 5+2 vehicle. They didn't have a 7-passenger, but they did have a 5+2. One day I will understand, right?! Thank you to my prayer warriors for praying us through this trip/move. God is good, all the time.<br />
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I have to say, this suite is one of the nicest places I have stayed in, ever. The bedrooms are nice, it is very quiet, nice facilities, 3 bathrooms, modern furniture. I keep picking out things I want to install when we return home. It has one of those raindrop shower heads. Exquisite! Individual little reading lights. Perfect!<br />
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We also took a journey to the supermarket close to Joe's work. Well, I must say, it is a relief to know that grocery shopping is miserable with 4 kids, regardless of location! Granted, the kids had been going on only a few hours sleep. We're lucky they didn't misbehave so much as to get us kicked out of the store! Plus, we will be able to have a few home cooked meals while in our suite. Last night was thin pork chops, roasted potatoes and a salad. It tasted so good to have home cooked food!<br />
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Today we walked, took the subway and checked out an electric train. I must say, I'm proud of these little guys for their ability to adjust to all these new experiences. Escalators still cause some slight anxiety for Boo, but she's getting more comfortable with them. She's a pro on people movers and escalators with a pull-behind suitcase. Put her in front of an escalator by herself and she still starts to close in on herself. By the end of this week, that will change, I'm sure.<br />
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Lunch today was an experience. We went to Soup & Go. It is cafeteria style, which is a bit of a challenge for those unfamiliar with the language. We did alright, but spent more than we should have! Lol. We will learn. It was tasty. We then walked to Porta Nuova and toured that area. We went in the Palazza Madama to get pricing info. I will be taking the kids back there. I'm not certain but I think we saw some old Roman columns in one part of the palace. They were excavated out under the floor. Glass floors and no one freaked out! Well, no one but me. Ha! I'm not a fan of grates or glass floors. It was so cool, I managed. I can't wait to take the kids back soon. We will also see Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace) while we are there. I love America...but it is so cool and interesting to visit places with such a history. These kids are going to learn so much through living history these two years. Seeing a Roman arch is so much more impactful than talking about it. After walking around a bit, we had some hot chocolate and cappuccino. I'm not a fan of Italian hot chocolate, like Little J and Boo. So we have an even score...3 for Italian hot chocolate, 3 against. I ordered the cappuccino. I already knew my dislike of hot chocolate. Joe got to drink 3 hot chocolates. I think it was even a bit much for him! Lol. Oh, one more thing that I might have mentioned on my housing posts. When in Italy at a bar (they serve coffee here, not alcohol), you drink your drinks at the bar, standing up. You pay more to sit in a seat. Just FYI for all my traveling friends. It'll save you a few EU.<br />
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I must say, I feel incredibly humbled and blessed by this experience. I know God has big things in store for our little family. I can't wait to see what all He has planned!Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06638465005685885388noreply@blogger.com4