Orvieto and Rome

On the last weekend of my parents' visit we decided to head to Rome, and on the way, made an impromptu stop in Orvieto--one of the great, walled cities in Umbria. Orvieto is what you think of when you think of a little Umbrian town--narrow cobblestoned streets, buildings with big shutters and flower boxes, groups of old men having coffee on the corner, and gorgeous piazzas--one in particular that boasts an amazing Cathedral! We enjoyed strolling the streets of Orvieto, stopped for what other than hotdogs--my folks were in the mood for them, admired the cathedral, and then headed on for another hour in the car to Rome.

In Rome, we once again lucked out with a convenient hotel which we found on Booking.com. It was near Termini--key to getting my folks to their airport hotel the next morning, and within easy walking or metro distance to other sites. Since we had toured Rome together before, I decided to take them to Trastevere, a charming, old Jewish neighborhood in Rome, away from the traffic and hustle/bustle of a lot of the other areas. The old, inner quarters of Trastevere are primarily predestrian only, so it's quite quiet and peaceful as you walk around the tiny streets by cafes, shops and restaurants. We had a lunch of pizza and vegetable soups and then headed back to the hotel where we got some gelato nearby and then decided to just relax and prepare for our good-byes the following morning.

The next day my folks headed to the airport hotel and Evan and I took the fast train back to Naples. My parents 5 week trip went by in the 'blink of an eye'! It was so fast, yet we had lots of great fun, and there was plenty of bonding time for Evan w/ his Nana and Papa. Can't wait for our next visit together!

Nana and Papa arrived, and Evan couldn't be more thrilled!

My folks arrived in April, and Evan is so excited to have new playmates. My parents have endless energy when it comes to playing with their grandson, and so it's been fun to watch their relationship grow, after so many months across continents. With a week left to go in their visit, I'm already wondering how Evan is going to cope with their leaving...it will be a sad day for all. But...since April, you may be wondering what we've been doing to keep busy, besides playing with an energetic 18 month old. Well, we've definitely been keeping busy, although relaxing a little bit more than on their first visit to Naples about a year ago where we spent a month going around to almost every notable church, piazza, castle and ruin within the Naples area.
This visit, we've been exploring new sites. Padre Pio, for all you Catholics who might be familiar, was born in a town about 2 hours away, called Benevento. Benevento is, in my opinion, a smaller version of Assisi. In this town we saw Padre Pio's childhood home, the church that he preached at, and other relics associated with him. He was a saint known for the stigmatas he had in his palms and feet, just like Christ had, and for various miracles. The town was very quaint, and we enjoyed walking around, looking in the shops, sampling some local treats, and sitting down for lunch. It was a perfect day trip, and a new town for us to all explore together.

Another Saturday was spent on the Amalfi Coast, specifically in the resort coastal town of Positano. This cliffside village is gorgeous, with the mediterranean on one side and steep cliffs on the other. The streets are lined with quaint shops, cafe's and restaurants. I met up with my friend Simonne who I had been used to seeing every day in Naples until she moved to Lugano, Switzerland about 7 months ago, so it was a great spot for a mini-reunion for us. The ride to/from Positano isn't for those who experience car-sickness, since the switchbacks along the cliffs seem endless, and although the views are unbelievable, they can be clouded if you become nauseaus, so you have to be prepared. Unfortunately, my father wasn't too used to sitting in the back seat, so his belly didn't necessarily all the twists and turns, however, he'll agree that the payoff in Positano was well worth the suffering of the drive:)

We also spent a day walking Spaccanapoli...the term given to some streets and thoroghfares, which combined, are said to draw a line right through the center of the city. Along this walk we enjoyed the architecture of the Galleria, the frescos of various churches, the vastness of large piazzas (Piazza Dante), the intimacy of small piazzas (Piazza Bellini),the smells of baking bread and pizza, the many shops selling intricate nativity scenes with so many pieces and varieties (buying them would be like buying a doll house that you can use your imagination to fill up) and the tastes of warm from the oven chocolate-dripping cornettos, sugared graffas and foamy cappucinos. Bellisimo!!

Directly in our neighborhood of Posillipo, we've been spending time at the park, visiting the waterfront restaurants of Marechiaro (the street next to ours) and the ancient Roman ruins and tunnel of Grotta di Seino--an amazing archeologial area that we can actually see from our apartment, but is only accessible via a huge tunnel which dates back to the B.C times. We've also been indulging in Neopolitan pizza about once a week, and enjoying other treats like dark chocolate profiteroles from the local patisserie and some good tastes of home like Duncan Hines cakes and brownies, thanks to a day of shopping on the NATO base! We've been playing cards, yahtzee and reading too...also nursing ourselves back to health after a week of all of us having colds, bronchitis and sinus infection type symptoms. Not fun, but at least we had good views to enjoy while we recuperated.

The biggest "excursion" while my folks have been visiting was our cruise aboard MSC Cruiselines. Our itinerary started in Bari (a 2.5 hr drive from Naples) and brought us to the Greek Isles of Santorini, Mykenos &Corfu, plus the mainland for Athens/Piraeus, Dubrovnik-Croatia, Venice, Italy and then back to Bari. My folks had a room down the hall from us, so we were able to wave from our balcony's as we sailed, and easily meet up for any of the on board shows or meals that we were going to participate in together. True to normal cruising form, we all had plenty to eat both on and off the ship...had to taste the local foods in each port, and we really enjoyed each and every port. We opted not to do too many of the ships' organized excursions, but instead did the "on/off" bus in Athens, so that we had a chance to see the famed Acropolis and Parthenon, plus Josh and I explored the streets of Mykenos, and we all took the gondola up the cliffside to enjoy the hilltop town of Santorini. Other ports we explored on foot, taking in great views, coastlines and local bites.

Red Light, Green Light....hello Amsterdam!

In March, it was finally time to explore Amsterdam. All I had ever heard about Amsterdam was that everyone smokes pot and that prostitutes dance in the windows of the Red Light District. Little did I know that this image and the reality of this, exists mainly on one small street, occupying a couple blocks of the whole of Amsterdam. Instead of the Red Light District, Amsterdam should be known for it's endless canal-lined streets that rival those of Venice, it's international offering of cuisine, it's gorgeous parks and green space, and it's 2-wheeled population since hopping on a bicycle seems to be the preferred mode of transportation used by locals and tourists alike to navigate the city. Although Dutch is the official language, English seemed to be spoken everywhere, so landing there for a weekend was easy, since we didn't have to worry too much about communication. I had rented us a small, but fabulous apartment in a perfect location along a canal and walking distance to the Museum Quarter, Anne Frank House, Red Light District, Dam Square, and tons of restaurants, parks and shops. There was also a great bagel shop near by, and after living in Italy for 1.5 yrs where I have yet to find bagels, the ability to get a toasted bagel w/ cream cheese each morning was a huge treat! I also didn't feel like I was missing out on local Dutch cuisine, since a couple locals had told us there really isnt' a quintessential "Dutch" dish to order off a menu....maybe Dutch Pancakes, but the bagel sounded better. Besides...wouldn't they have to use a 'dutch oven' to make a dutch pancake..I didn't want to risk that..sounds stinky (haha).

Each day we loved strolling along the tree lined, gable roof house-lined, canals. Although there was traffic, most of the traffic was caused by bicyclists, so the city is free of a lot of the loud traffic noise caused by big cars and trucks, making our strolls that much more enjoyable. We took a boat cruise one day which was a fun way to see the city sites while cruising the intricacies of the canals. We also were subjected to some fraternity boys having fun with a blow up doll in the window of a houseboat we cruised by. The group of guys were obviously performing for our tour group, and by the time we were fully past them, everyone on our boat was laughing...even if at first they tried to stifle their laughs due to embarrassment, noone could resist, and it did seem to be a very Amsterdam/RedLight type moment:)

We also enjoyed 2 of their over 50 museums--the Anne Frank House/Museum and the Van Gogh Museum. The Anne Frank House still seems to breathe the atmosphere of the time in 1944 when The Frank's hiding place was betrayed and tehy were deported to various concentration camps. Quotes from Anne's diary (and her actual diaries), photographs, historical documents, film images and original objects that belonged to the Frank's while in hiding are all on display. It was amazing to be in the actual tour, and I was actually moved to tears by some of the video footage. A definite 'must do' / 'can't miss' if you are ever in Amsterdam! The Van Gogh Museum was also very impressive. It houses the world's largest collection of Van Gogh works, but if pressed for time, you can likely make it through in under 2 hours, like we did since we had a tired little Evan with us that evening:)

We are loving having so many amazing cities within easy reach, and are looking forward to continuing our exploration of Europe. So far, Amsterdam, with its beautiful scenery and active lifestlye, may just be my favorite European city yet!!!

Enjoy some Fado and Port in where else? Portugal!

In February, we headed to Lisbon for the weekend. After having done little research on this city, but for some reason, feeling like I just really wanted to see it, we arrived and were pleasantly surprised. The first impression was that of a clean, organized city, with nice views even along the drive from the airport to our apartment. I found us an apartment in the Bairro Alto neighborhood...an old neighborhood, with narrow, cobble stoned streets, where locals live quietly by day, and out of towners and local university students party well into the wee hours of the night. The transition from day to night in this neighborhood was amazing. Many of the shops didn't even open during the day, since the streets were so deserted, but in the evenings, the same stores would quickly pull up their grates, unlock their doors, to serve the hundreds of people packing the streets of Bairro Alto as they lined up at Fado Bars, dined in restaurants, and freely indulged in cocktails in the streets. We were told by our cab driver that many taxis won't even come into Bairro Alto not only because the streets are so narrow making it hard to turn any corners, but also, the broken bottles that make the streets glimmer in the aftermath of the late night party scenes are just too perilous for the cabbies' tires, so many avoid the area all together. All that being said, we loved the neighborhood and were hardly disturbed by the late night partying thanks to thick, double-paned glass windows we had in our apartment. In fact, we kind of liked observing the scene below from our window, while Evan slept soundly in his crib.
So...what's there to do in Lisbon? Well, we walked the city at a relaxed pace, taking in the incredible black and white marble sidewalks and streets, enjoying the local pastries (not so much other cuisine), and visiting some of the main sites such as St. Jorge's castle in the ancient Alfama district which offered outstanding, panoramic views of Lisbon.There were also wide open piazzas where Evan liked to run and chase pigeons ...such as Praca do Comercio which bordered the coast.
Since we were in the Old City (as opposed to the New City where all the big named hotels and convention center are...but not any of the historical sites), we found the area very walkable, and going from neighborhood to neighborhood was easy. Having read about a resort town named Caiscais which was only a short train ride away, we decided to enjoy one day there, along the water. Caiscais definitely had a resort feel, and was quite international, obviously catering to the tastes of the vacationers who flock there from Ireland, England, etc during the summer months. The village was charming, with lots of shops, flowers, restaurants, and a beautiful boardwalk and sidewalk that allowed you to really enjoy the coastline.
We had a great, relaxing weekend and I would absolutely recommend Lisbon!

Weekend of exploring

After a fun Friday night dinner party at our place w/ a group of our Italian friends, we decided, on a whim, on Saturday morning, to take advantage of the sunshine and head out on a drive to Civita. Civita is a small..I'm talking only 2 year round residents in the whole place small...midevil village located 3 hours from our apartment in the region of Umbria. Because Civita is located in a volcanic area, and because it has succumbed to a lot of erosion over the years, the only way to access Civita is via a pedestrian walkway/bridge that leads from it's neighboring village, Bagnoreggia, up to Civita. As we walked over the bridge, we were taken back by the awesome scenery....Civita perched up on a hill, surrounded by dusty canyons..really cool place!

Once in Civita, we took our time meandering the tiny cobblestone streets and alleyways, took in the sights--quaint restaurants, lots of pretty cats, old world charm, antique olive presses--complete with samplings of bruschetta made with 'first press' olive oil, and our very own mini-soccer player...Evan playing in the main piazza of Civita..so cute!

Civita is Rick Steve's favorite of the 5 mideveil walled cities that include: Sienna, Orvieto, San Gemiagno, and Assisi (all of which I've visited and written about in previous blog posts). Due to the tiny size of Civita, it can easily be combined w/ Orvieto if you want to stay overnight to enjoy some dinner in the piazza or just the ambiance while visiting. A great way to spend the day!

On Sunday we did some more local exploring in the historical center of Naples. We took the train and bus into Piazza Cavour where our friends own a shop. After saying hi to them, and as usual, sitting down for a cup of espresso and a quick visit in their shop, we headed over to Piazza Bellini--a cute, popular piazza known as a place where poets and artists gather while sipping cappucinos or sharing a caraffe of wine. A short walk after Piazza Bellini brings you to Via Tribulani--Naples' street that is famous for the best pizza in town...and seeing that pizza was 'invented' in Naples, it's a street not to be missed, and a pizza lovers dream! We stopped at a pizzeria I had eaten in once before with a friend, and enjoyed the fresh mozzarella, basil, eggplant and tomato pizza before heading back home. Buono!!

January in Naples, reconnecting with Italia

Coming 'home' to Naples after 6 weeks in Boston was easier than we expected. Our little Italian villa felt like 'home', we hadn't been invaded by ants while we were away, and our Italian friends had missed us, as we had missed them. Josh was back into his work routine, with a New Years resolution/goal to see more of the local sites and experience more Italian culture (outside of his work commitments), and Kim was back to daily walks to the park, afternoons with friends and Evan with playmates, and a goal to try cooking at least one new recipe a week. Kim spends most days with Italian friends Claudia and Loredana, and their sons/Evan's best friends, Andrea and Allessandro, Mom's all within walking distance, and babies all within a few months apart. On the weekends this month we've been exploring--true to Josh's resolution, and spent time in Piazza Cavour shopping the local market, visiting Italian friends, 'picnicking' in the heart of Naples with fresh sandwiches from the Salumeria, at night watching the Napoli soccer team with Italian friends, dining together on pizza, picking the oranges from our orange tree, and recently even checked out an 'ecological site' that we can literally see from our villa but had yet to explore. It dates back hundreds of years, and after walking through a tunnel that takes about 20 min to 1/2 hour to get through, opens up to a park with sweeping views of the Meditteranean, old Roman ampitheatres and a ton of history. Due to politics, money that was given to continue excavation of this site has been blocked, so there is tons of land, within easy walking distance of our villa, that folks know has tons of additional archeologial treasures, but have yet to be uncovered. Pretty neat that we live so close.

I hosted a girls breakfast this week, serving up homemade blueberry muffins and french toast, an unusual menu for my Italian girlfriends but a menu enjoyed by all.

January has been pretty mild, with me wanting to wear white as if it is summer, but today, the rain has come in, and so we are planning a relaxing day at home. Who knows, maybe we'll look ahead to make a plan for next weekend...so much to explore!!

Wicked fun time in Boston and & Pittsburgh for the holidays

Josh, Evan and I took advantage of the long Christmas break to trek back to the East Coast for some fun times with friends and family, both in Boston and Pittsburgh. Kim and Evan made the flight to Boston 2 weeks ahead of Josh (thank God Evan cooperated on the long flight), and then Josh arrived to meet us for an additional week in Hingham before headed to Pittsburgh to spend actually Christmas day with the Blank side. We were excited to go to Theresa's wedding (Kim's longtime friend from Bentley, and 10 yr roommate). The wedding was not only a magical time for Theresa and her new husband, Mike, but also a great chance for me to reconnect with some Bentley and Seattle friends, while at the same time getting my groove on with lots of dancing, including a choreographed dance to Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is you" that all of us bridesmaids, and Theresa serenaded her groom with. So fun!

In Boston we had some great times visiting with my folks, Tom & Gwynne and Mason and Cassidy, all of Kim's friends, and all of Evan's new buddies..as lots of playdates were arranged with Kerrin, Tory, Shannon and Melanie's little ones. We spent lots of time around the house, just all playing games, talking and even tackling a furniture refinishing project that my mother and I tackled, with of course so extra painting help from my father. We also visited a little Christmas market, caught up on some dental and medical appointments and relaxed together. The time flew by (too fast), but it was great!

In Pittsburgh we hopped around spending time at each of Josh's brother's houses and his Dads place too. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Dara's, good planning, we all sat down for a family portrait session, and so as the family grows with new cousins/kids/grandchilden, we're getting the pictures done to chronical the Blank family growth:) It was fun to watch all of the cousins play together, and we had fun just hanging out, seeing Jason and Mandy's new house, seeing the progress in Ed & Dara's basement remodel with Josh getting his hands dirty with Ed a bit working on some baseboards, and the brothers even fitting in a night at the Steelers game. Christmas day was spent at Aunt Kay's complete with plenty of food, lots of presents, and a few rounds of Bingo. A fun and festive day.

On the day we were to fly back from Pittsburgh to Boston, we took Evan to the walk in clinic due to a stubborn cold that he had, and us wanting to make sure his ears were ok before the flight. Well, the doctor confirmed our fears that he did have an ear infection, and we were advised not to have him fly. Off to Enterprise we went to rent a car so that we could make the 10 hour drive to Boston in order for Josh to catch his Boston to Italy flight the following morning. Kim and Evan were 'grounded' in Boston so that Evan's antibiotic had time to kick in, and after a week's wait in Boston, and more family bonding time, Kim and Evan flew back to meet up with Josh in Naples. A whirlwind trip home and a greatway to spend the holidays!

Thanksgiving day meals in 3 places

What better way to spend the Thanksgiving holiday week then in Munich, Salzburg and Innsbruck. A 'side' of Germany and Austria with our turkey please:)

A flight from Naples to Munich is only about 2 hours, so we arrived in Munich fresh and ready to see the city. I lucked out again with a great apartment that I found on Booking.com, situated right by the "Rodeo Drive" of Munich, and within easy walking distance to lots of shops, restaurants, and the famous Hofbrauhaus--a huge beer hall/beer garden where you have to stake out seats in hopes of getting the chance to sample their huge, tall beers, and even bigger pretzels..yum! This time of year in Bavaria is cold but perfect for those wanting to experience the various Christmas markets (Kindermarkt) which you seem to stumble across as you walk around the various cobblestone back streets of the city, plus some of the main, more modern, thoroughfares. If you don't seem to just 'stumble' across them, than just follow your nose as the scents of roasting chestnuts, sizzling bratwursts and other 'wursts', plus gluewein (a local spiced wine served hot to take the chill away) lead you in the proper direction.

In addition to experiencing the local markets, food, and people, we took a serious dive into WWII history and rememberence when we toured the Dachau Concentration camp, located just 1/2 hour outside of Munich. The Dachau site is an unbelievably moving memorial. As you stroll through the camp listening to the audio guide with narratives by survivors and others who had been at the camp during the days that it was in 'operation' it is hard to believe that the atrocities that happened there actually happened...especially since it wasn't that long ago in our history. The tour takes you through a museam showing various memorabilia of captives...items that were confiscated as they entered into the camp, family pictures that they had in their wallets..before and after pictures..folks who were happy, family people reduced to starving shells of their true selves after years of being belittled, tortured and deprived of all the self respect they had at first entered the camp with. It was just amazing to see how these folks who were just like you and me, once they entered the gates of this camp, were stripped of everything they knew and believed..even about themselves. They were immediately called basically 'animals' and treated as such from their time of arrival, until their death or day of liberation. When you see how close this camp is to the normal 'neighborhoods' it is hard to believe that folks really didn't know what was going on on the other side of the barbed wire. If you ever have the chance to go there, I think it is a place not to be missed. It's depressing and hard to digest, but such an important place to visit in my opinion.

After a couple nights in Munich, lots of history and learning, and more than a couple bratwursts and super human size pretzels, we took a 2 hour train ride through the gorgeous, snow covered land of the German/Austrian countryside to Salzburg, the home of the Von Trapp family and the birthplace of Mozart. Our hotel was on one of the most popular little streets (the street Mozart was born on), full of quaint shops, restaurants, and little Christmas markets. An outdoor ice skating rink was set up within Mozart Square,and Christmas carols and other tunes bellowed from the speakers as kids skated and parents stayed warm with gluewein, scarves and mittens. Salzburg also had lots of outdoor holiday markets set up so we had fun strolling through them, tasting the apple strudel, chocolate covered pretzels, austrian goulash, and of course, more wursts. There is a huge castle that sits up on the hill, offering a great backdrop to Salzburg, so we toured that on foot, instead of opting for the touristy "Sound of Music tour"...although I had considered staying one night in the Von Trapp house which has been converted to an Inn, but then decided not to give into my 'inner tourist' and stayed instead in our historical hotel in the city center.

After a few days soaking in the beauty and chill of Salzburg, we hopped on the train again, for a another 2 hour ridet, but this time to Innsbruck. Once again, Booking.com was a success, and we ended up with a hotel right smack in the middle of Innsbrucks main,historical square. There was a Kindermarkt going on right below our hotel room's 'nook' area, so we were able to sit there all warm and cozy and people watch down below. Our view was so good that Josh literally watched one of the market vendors grilling some bratwursts, saw the one on the grill he wanted, told me he'd "be right back" and within 5 minutes had gone down into the market, bought the wurst he had been eyeing from our room, and came back up to eat it with us. There were also delicious frozen dough treats with mixed berries or sauerkraut poured over them, and also fresh and warm pretzels and 'bavarian cream donuts'...where else to get a bavarian donut then in bavaria!!

Innsbruck was like a winter wonderland, with the view from our hotel window including the snow covered Alps and a huge fir tree all lit up for Christmas. To get a better look of the mountains, we took the gondola up to the skiers lodge, but due to white out conditions, we weren't able to see much of the scenery, but could easily imagine it and it's splendor.

We also spent one day taking a field trip to Haldstatt, a 'can't miss' town that we had read about in a Rick Steve's book. We had to take a train ride and then a boat to access this postcard perfect town, but unfortunalely, we went on a day (actually within a month) that the whole town shuts down due to the weather. Upon our initial arrival, we were surprised to find it empty. Thinking the town was maybe full of late-risers, we enjoyed the empty streets until our suspicion kicked in, and we stopped in the tourist office to see what the deal was. Well, the town basically is shut down for the winter, with only one option for lunch, a small restaurant/cafe that stays open for some of the locals. We saw a Hallstadt Schmuck sign..not sure what the sign really was intended to mean, but that description fit the bill to describe us, as after a 1/2 day commuting to this, yes, picturesque little town, we truly did feel like schmucks to arrive when it was shut down. Who knew? Rick Steves surely didn't!