Pompeii

Now I can say I've been to Pompeii. It was so cool. I can't get over how big it is, and how deep they were buried. I walked pretty much the entire town, from the amphitheater to the grand theater, the house of vettii, the house of the faun, and the house of the tragic poet. It was all so amazing. I took a ton of pictures, so again, if you aren't on, you'll have to find someone who is to check them out.

Lazy sunday

Today was a day of hanging out at the villa and swimming in the ocean. I took a nap on the terrace and am now settling into bed there. It's so nice to listen to the water crashing on the rocks and smell the sea. Tomorrow we plan to explore Pompeii and mt Vesuvius. I'm really looking forward to that.

Villa Bougainville

We left yesterday at 9:00 from Volpaia and arrived in Massa Lubrense at 5:00. It was a long day but so worth it. This place is amazing. We all feel like we are living in Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. The house is enormous and you can get lost. The downside is the driving. It's awful. Huge busses and mopeds and bicyclists are everywhere and they drive like maniacs. Our remote dirt roads are a thing of the past. We plan to do a lot of walking or renting a boat if we want to travel this week.

Last day in Tuscany

Today is our last day in Tuscany. I actually slept in til 10:30 (haven't been sleeping well) and left soon after to head into Radda in Chianti, a littl town close by. We stopped at a place called Cennatoio for a wine tasting, then did a little shopping and grabbed some lunch. We had our last meal at La Bottega, another quaint place in Volpaia. We leave tomorrow morning for the Amalfi coast. I guess it's supposed to take about 6 hours to get there.  Not looking forward to that ride. I'll post more later.

Roads

I forgot to write about the roads here in Italy. They are the most horrible, windy, sickening roads I have ever experienced. The "driveway" to our villa is 1.6 miles long. And it's all "white roads" or dirt roads in our terms. It takes us about 12 minutes to drive about 2 miles. It's awful. Definitely not fun when you get car sick. And there are many here that have that problem. We have a long trip to the Amalfi coast on Saturday. Hope we can get some Dramamine.

As for our adventures today, we headed to Siena to sightsee. It's a beautiful city, not much bigger than canandaigua.  We visited the duomo, and the surrounding museums where we saw original sculptures by Donatello and Tedesco and others. We climbed a tower to view the city from high above. That was beautiful. We ate a yummy dinner in the town square, and enjoyed the scenery around us. It's all so pretty. I can't wait to put all of the pictures in a book.

Dinner at the villa

Last night we had the most amazing dinner made right in our villa by Daniela, a local girl who comes and cooks and cleans up. We started with a bread salad and fried sage.  I can't even tell you how yummy that was. The next course was penne al dente with rustic Tuscan sauce. The main course was chicken cutlets with ham and sage and peas. We've had the peas twice now and they are amazing. Not sure why but they taste divine. Dessert was peaches soaked in brown sugar. By far the best meal yet. Before dinner we went to a small town called Greve in Chianti. It had a cute market in the square (where I picked up some souvenirs), and some interesting shops. The butcher shop, where the meat was all hanging from the ceiling, some with hair on it still. It smelled terrible in there so I stayed just long enough to get a picture. We got pizza for the first time for lunch in Greve, and again, the pizza in Italy is way better than NY. Everything here is so fresh and light. On the way home we stopped in Volpaia and went on a wine tour. It was really neat to see all the old wine barrels and olive machines that they still use in Volpaia. Many places have gone industrial, obviously because it's faster, but not in Volpaia. They are one of the last places that press their olives with the old olive press. Very cool. It's been very hot, so we topped the day off with a swim in the pool while we waited for our dinner to be made. It was a fantastic day!  Today we plan to head into Siena for an afternoon tour and twilight dinner.

Firenze (Florence)

We spent a beautiful day in the city of Florence yesterday. We had a private tour and she took us all around the city to the major sights, like the Duomo, Piazza Della signoria, Mercato Nuovo, the Ponte vecchio, and so many others that I can't remember the names. We saw David (it wasn't the real one but an exact replica), the church where Michelangelo is buried, the bridge of gold (not really made of gold, just where it's sold). We went to the top of an old grainery and saw a 360 view of Florence. We also saw the original sculptures of famous artists (Madonna Della Rossa by Tedesco, San Giovanni Evangelista by Montelupo, San Luca by Giambologna).  She showed us the beautiful architecture of the buildings and the different styles from the years. So amazing how it's all still standing after thousands of years. We ate at a fabulous place for lunch and had amazing food. That's another thing, the food. It's so fresh and yummy!  Today we are resting at the villa by the pool. My feet hurt from walking so much yesterday. I wish I could post pictures but my iPad won't let me. If you're not on Facebook, maybe you can find someone who is so they can show you pictures. It was beautiful.

Rainy sunday

It's been raining all day today but we did get out to sightsee a town called Panzano. It was cute.  However, we realized that Sundays are not a good day to do anything. Shops aren't open and the restaurants close early. We did stop for some gelato though. Just been hanging out at the villa. We will go into Volpaia for dinner.

We made it!

After traveling 8 hours on a plane and almost 6 in a car, we have finally made it to our destination in Tuscany.  We are tired and dirty, but enjoying the fabulous view.  It's amazing country around here. I'll update more later, but wanted to post a few pictures before I hit the pillow. Sooooo tired.

hey whats up!? too all you guys out there, be cool, be safe, and bring me back something awesome. :)

Today's the day!

We leave today.  I have so many mixed emotions right now. Excited, nervous, anxious, scared, worried....I could go on and on. I know my kids are going to be well taken care of, but I am going to miss them to pieces. So Dom, Gabby, Gianna and Sam, if you're reading this, I love you all so much and will miss you a ton! FaceTime me, write on this blog, or call me. I love you!

Itinerary

So for those of you following, here is the itinerary for our trip (well, as much as I know...which isn't much). 

We will be flying into Milan and renting a car that will take us to the Villa Al Monte in Tuscany.  From their website...Set midway between Gaiole, with a single restaurant and shop, and Panzano in Chianti offerings a wider selection of shops, bars and restaurants, both about 8km/5 miles. A gentle stroll through vineyards leads to the 13th century village of Volpaia, about 2km/1 mile, boasting two restaurants and a bar. Within one of the most picturesque settings in the Chianti, perfect for wine lovers. Florence and Siena are both about 50 minutes’ drive.  During this stay we will be taking day trips to Florence and of course a wine tour (or two).  After our week there, we will be traveling south to the Amalfi Coast to Villa Bouganville, near a town called Mass Lubrense.  From their website... The villa lies in the residential area called San Montano, 4 km from Sorrento, in what was once a fishermen's village and is now an agricultural center renowned for the production of a particular kind of lemon. During this week we will be chartering a boat to Capri and visiting Pompeii (which I'm so excited about!) 

That's it for now.  I will definitely be adding pictures as we go. 

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3

Just testing to see if this blog actually works.  I'm getting ready to go to Italy on Friday, and I want the kids to see the exciting things I'm doing.  Hopefully this will help with the separation anxiety that we are all feeling.