Tuscany, Day 2: going to Florence!!

On Monday of our Spring Break, we went into Florence. From our Villa we drove to Scandicci and took a tram into the city. This way we got to park for free all day and not worry about crazy Italian traffic. It worked out really well, and we were even able to fit the double stroller on the tram. Any trip started with a tram ride, makes the boys happy so we were good to go by 10am.

Our goals for Tuscany were simple: enjoy the sights, eat Gelato (it was rumored that modern day ice cream was invented in Florence) and make it to the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. While Florence has an amazing amount of museums, we knew that the four small people would not want to walk through museum after museum. Since this was their spring break to, we made sure they had fun as well.

Here are the kids in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, near the train station...

 View of Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the kids loved chasing the pigeons here!

After riding the tram, then walking to the Piazza to inquire about the Firenze Card (for €50 it gets you into all the museums without waiting in line, we decided to chance it since we only wanted to go to the Accademia but the Brocks got it and they actually went back to Florence for a second day to get maximum use out of it, we opted to stay near the villa) we needed to get lunch. The thing I love about Italy is while walking down this winding roads, you turn the corner and see sights like this:

Yeah, that the Florence Cathedral with Campanile front and center, the Duomo directly behind it.  And that little glassed in cafe? That's where we had lunch and gelato...the best gelato I have ever eaten since living in Italy was hands down this Strawberry Cheesecake flavor...to die for! The cappuccino flavor wasn't bad either!

After lunch we made our way to the Catherdral...it's even more gorgeous than you think!

 

We really enjoy the Rick Steve's books for traveling, and while the maps are no help (whatsoever, lol) the facts are nice. The Duomo in Florence is the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world! You can actually pay to go all the way up to the top but the line was ridiculously long. We passed and I don't regret that decision.

After admiring the Cathedral, we went on a quest to find the Accademia. It should have been a very easy find from the Duomo, but we went down the wrong side street then a vendor was blocking the directional sign, so we wandered for about an hour. I don't mind getting lost though, the sights you see on the way are incredible. (Unless you are Connor...then you find it all utterly boring, apparently!)

Finally after wandering, then asking several other people speaking English, we found it! We were really worried about the lines; it was the Monday after Easter and the Accademia is usually closed on Mondays but was open for the holiday. Add in we were later getting there than we wanted to be and we had decided not to do the Firenze Pass...I was so nervous that I'd be so close to seeing it but still miss out. But we got there and there was no line. In fact, I wondered if we were in the right place. It was €6.50 per adult for admission to the museum and kids six and under were free. We went got our tickets and entered all within a matter of minutes. After first you don't see the David. It's a lot of Renaissance art that is truly amazing but with the kids, I didn't really get to read/look that much. Using Rick Steves book, I mapped the route to David and as we turned the corner BAM! there it was. No line, no fuss at all. Maybe 15-20 other people milling around but it wasn't even crowded.

Now, photography inside the Accademia is forbidden, so I'm not saying how I got these photos just that I did and I didn't get caught :)

 

 It truly is breathtaking. When you think about that fact that this seventeen foot statue was built from one piece of stone...it's just amazing. Seeing it in person, cannot compare to countless pictures. It's nuts to think that I remember learning about this in middle school. I saw it in my Disney ''Wonderful World of Knowledge'' encyclopedia set when I was so young that it was just a silly statue of a naked guy! Being there with the kids, being able to explain to them about Michelangelo, how old the statue is and the challenges that Michelangelo faced, retelling the story of David and Goliath...I can't even put it into words. Bubba was especially interested; he kept asking how it stayed together. "How did he glue it?" He really couldn't believe that it came from one giant rock.

After the Accademia, we made our way over to the Uffizi gallery. Amy really wanted to see Botticelli's Venus. The line for the Uffizi was extremely long. So long, that we opted to skip it. Instead we hung around the Piazza della Signoria, checked out the Fountain of Neptune, watched the street performers and the artists.

There were several posed as statues but if you tossed change into their container, they would move or pose. Never talk, but they would change postions. Bubba and I did this with the man acting like Leonardo Da Vinci.

 

 

Sissy loved watching the Mime! She was giggling outloud and clapping while he did his show. B like admiring all the other artists work.

 We posed with the Fountain of Neptune, the boys laughed at seeing yet ANOTHER naked guy, and we made our way to the Arno river. The boys rested and colored in their Mickey notebooks that we got them at the Disney Store here in Florence, (they were THRILLED to see the Disney store!) I nursed Sissy and we just relaxed and people watched.

Here is a view of the Ponte Vecchio, meaning Old Bridge. It's lined with shops built on stilts(which we avoided).

All in all, Florence was fun. I don't think it's a place that I feel like I just *have* to go back to though. It was very, very touristy and crowded. I saw Subway, McDonald's, Disney store...just kinda took away from the Renaissance feel. Like a typical tourist place, things seemed overpriced and not worth the money they were asking. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing...the kids did great and I'm glad we went.

We're back from Tuscany!!

I was right, Tuscany was just as amazing as I thought it would be! It rained most of the time, and it was STILL wonderful

I have a lot of photos. A lot. Like 140 that I edited and deemed worthy of sharing. We stayed at a little Villa that was in the heart of Tuscany; about 22km from Florence. While there we went to Florence, Pisa, and Lucca as well as the tiny towns of Montelupo and Montespertoli. We drank wine, ate amazing food (best bruschetta of my life!), relaxed, slept in everyday and really just enjoyed the break from ''regular life''. I'm gonna have to split the trip into different posts. So here are scenic views from our Villa as well as Easter.

 

This is the apartment that we stayed in

....the place where we stayed, Podere Casanova, was the best! They have five different apartments and it's ran by two sisters. Lisa and Lara. Lisa thought the Ginestra apartment (video tour here) would be a perfect fit for us and she couldn't have been more right! Not only was it extremely reasonable, but they were more than accommodating to our little ones. They put in a bunk bed so Bubba and Pooks shared that, peanut had a single bed next to them, B and I shared a queen and Sissy had an oversized 'baby cot'. They had no problem with us bringing Rascal and our apartment was attached to the laundry room so we didn't have to overpack or schlep dirty clothes halfway across the property.

 They even have a small playground for the kids. This is the view  I got to admire while they played:

 Rough life, right? Ha! We went ''into town'' for dinner one night and we were not disappointed. Look at how cute Montelupo is:

Completely adorable, right??

The first night there, was the night before Easter so of course, the Easter Bunny still came and brought the kids' baskets. They were thrilled that the Easter bunny found them and that he brought American and Italian candy. (really it was German but to small children they just knew it wasn't American).

Mmmm...Kinder Eggs!

Sissy went straight for the M&M's

 So after they went through their baskets, we ran over to our friends apartment to see if they were ready for the egg hunt!

 The views from their apartment were amazing!

 And the egg hunt...

 The boys were very excited for Peanut, who found the **BONUS** egg with $5 in it! (courtesy of Nanaw)

On Easter we hung around Podere Casanova. A nearby restaurant was open so we had a fine Easter dinner of tortellini a ragu, spagetti a pomodoro, pizza and risotto with lots (and lots) of vino. We finalized our plans for Monday...we were going to Florence!

18 Month Milestone!

 Sissy you are officially a year and a half old! You are at that age where you are truly a little person rather than just a ''baby''. You are starting to talk more and more, though I don't know if anyone else besides us could really understand you. At 18 months you....

• weigh 20.5lbs by the doctors scale. While this is a big deal to us, percentile wise you still aren't even on the charts. You petite thing you! There is no cause for concern developmentally or anything, you're just a healthy petite little girl. 
• we made the switch to cloth diapers. You have eczema, Italy has crazy recycling laws and we decided that it would be best. So far, so good and your skin looks great! You also notice (and let us know) when you're dirty so I hope it makes potty training easier.
• still nurse. I don't see us stopping anytime soon. First thing in the morning, once in the afternoon/early evening and then again before bed. 
• are stringing together words to make sentences. "Where's Mom?" and "I don't know" are pretty popular right now.
• you can now climb up on, well everything. Chairs, sofa, your carseat, the kitchen table. Climbing is pretty much all you want to do and we avoid it at all cost!
• finally grew a little and now wear a size 5 shoe. 
• have attached yourself to a stuffed Monkey whom you call ''Mo-Mo". You sleep with it every night and pretty much drag it everywhere that I will let you. 

Happy 6th Birthday Bubba!

Well, Bubba's sixth birthday party{and first party with school friends} was a success! The kids all seemed to really enjoy themselves, Bubba had fun, the cake and goodies were devoured and the pinata was smashed, so all in all, it went as well as we had hoped for!

His party was last Saturday and luckily the weather stayed gorgeous. {If I had to give only one compliment about Italy, it would be the weather is amazing. For over 3 weeks now, it's been in the upper 60's, low 70's with clear views of the mountains. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing and there is a slight breeze. It is truly perfect.} It never did rain like the forecast showed. Saturday was spent with friends, Sunday was a lazy day at the house. We played with new toys, had a NERF gun fight and took it easy.

Obviously Monday and Tuesday he had school, then Wednesday was his actual birthday. They are allowed to bring homemade treats, so we opted to spend Tuesday evening making dirt cups. Wednesday morning I volunteered in his classroom; we ate dirt cups and talked about life-cycles of plants. Wednesday evening we had quesadillas with refried beans, nachos and grapes for dinner (birthday boys' request) followed by a Skype session with Nanaw and Papa while we sang Happy Birthday and dug into more dirt cake.

The birthday boy wasn't really sure what he wanted for his birthday but he ended up with a ton of cool gifts that were very ''him''. Games and accessories for his leapster explorer, a few nerf guns, a board game, several books, a scooby doo backpack and the "big" present from mom and dad: a new outdoor slide.

I get that this seems like a ''toddler'' present...but take a second look at how BIG this slide is.... for some reason, all the kid slides we see since being in Italy are this big. Rather that the typical Little Tikes slide with 2 steps and a platform, they have 5-6 steps, then the platform. This slide is taller than bubba at the base and it supports up to 176lbs! The kids love it!

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUBBA!!!

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in all honesty, it's a joint gift for Bubba and Pooks (whose birthday is mid May). All four kids wanted the thing, but we had to rationalize it a bit. While I love my kids and I would like to say ''Oh cost isn't an issue''...realistically, cost is an issue especially when outdoor toys here in Italy are so costly! Not a single place online would ship a slide (and honestly none of the US stores had such a big one to ship) so we bought one from a place just down the street. Because of the sticker shock, I'm just gonna share the price (tacky I know but we were floored!) This bad boy was €143....roughtly $185.00. FOR A SLIDE! Hence why it's a joint gift. Is it worth every penny? Yes it is extremely solid, made by a reputable world known Italian brand and the kids have a lot of fun on it. But it's definitely not something I would have just bought on a whim. Oh and here's another fun tidbit, the Chicco outside playhouse that the kids really, really, really wanted was €495 or about $645.

Much to their demise, that one stayed at the store.  We are however on the hunt for a gently used one (though as you can imagine, they sell fast over here!). So basically if you're reading this as somone who is PCSing to Italy...bring all your outdoor toys. If you think you might want some before you get here, buy them stateside. Even if you change your mind once here or you don't have the room, you'll be able to sell it in a heartbeat!