San Gimignano Oct 14-15 2007

On our way back we stopped for one night in Italy's most famous small town. In fact, there were bus loads of American tourists everywhere. Good for tourism I suppose, but kind of takes away from the romanticism of a medieval walled town in Tuscany. Although we did manage to find the romanticism by wandering through back streets, finding a tiny trattoria where they only serve bruschetta (and a pricey one at that; 2 glasses of wine and 3 bruschettas will set you back 40euro!!), and a great dinner of local pasta and famous tuscan meat, filetto, topped with porcini mushrooms. Buon appetito!

Isola d'Elba Oct 7-14 2007

We are now back from what was a spectacular first family holiday.

We did the usual as always when on holiday; hike, wander about, seek the path less taken (it is difficult as this small island with 145 km of coastline sees over a million tourists in August alone) only this time there was a different feel to it as there was Dario. This slowed us down (mostly me really), which was a good thing. I'm so used to always GO GO GO when on holiday; always have to wake up early in order to see it all and do it all. We had no itinerary, no plans, just went with the wind (literally speaking; there was a lot of it so we had to make sure the beach tent was safely pegged down so that little Dario wouldn't fly away in it like poor ol' Dorothy).

We were not alone in the water, although you could tell by the pastey white flesh that we weren't (really) Italian either, the other sun bathers being predominantly German (Marco wasn't able to work on his tan this summer in order to blend in with the other real Italians). Temperatures were around 23-25C which felt hotter under the blazing rays of the sun, and the water wasn't freezing as feared as the Meditteranean coast is always warmer than the Adriatic.

We packed in 5 days of beach fun, which even included a book! That has not happened in a long time!! Dario seemed to enjoy himself as well, or at least not notice the difference, although he would often act up in the evening right between the first and second course; I think he did this on purpose to be cheeky. Booby was always available so to him the difference was almost nil; we did however feel bad about dragging him around, and constantly taking him in and out of the car, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, I think he liked having the attention of mommy and daddy the whole day long.

All in all an amazing beach holiday (the first for us). It really does amaze me how many beautiful places this small country has to offer. The car ride took 3 hours and 1 additional hour by ferry ; we were on the beach by mid-afternoon. In such a short distance the landscape cmopletely changes, as does the accent and local cuisine. Some of the wonders of Italy that make foreigners from all over fall in love with it. As will you once you see these pics...

Going away on holiday!!

We're off on our first family holiday. The bags are now FINALLY packed; diapers, baby-wipes, and more changes of clothes than a contestant in a beauty pageant. Off to Elba Island and then one night in San Gimignano (in Tuscany) on our way back. Here's hoping the weather keeps up and that the little guy is cozy and happy.

Will fill you in on all the details when we get back!!