Red Sails...Er, Motorboat to Capri!

Good heavens. It's November and I'm still in May trying to chronicle our family adventures! Obviously something needs to give. I vote laundry.

So, when I last left you, dear blog, we had just spent a wonderful couple of days in Florence for Mother's Day. Our fearless babysitters, Anna and Alaina, had survived with our 4 youngest children, and they were agreeable to another day of sitting for us. We left the younger 3 boys with them and took Charis, Tobin, Arden, and Kenna along with our friends Shauna and her daughter Jasmine to the town of Sorrento, where we rented a boat and scooted across the sea to the beautiful Isle of Capri. Our destination: the famous Blue Grotto!

I realize now, as I look back over my blog posts, that 2014 was a sadly sparse year for blogging. I apparently did not get to record any of our adventures with Ted's brother Joel and his wife Sarah, who came with their two boys Anders and Cade along with Ted's mom in June. It was almost at the end of that visit that we 5 adults were merrily making our way to Sorrento to do this Blue Grotto adventure, a fun no-kids day. We had hired Charis and her friend Emily to keep the kids safe and occupied for about 8-9 hours! Unfortunately, our plans took a turn when the transmission blew on our Suburban. We spent about 3 hours waiting at a gas station right in Sorrento for our insurance to help coordinate a tow truck to come. 

I will spare you the details of my emotions as I rode with an older Italian couple in their non-air-conditioned truck going about half the speed limit all the way from Sorrento back to the Navy Support Site with our Suburban on the trailer while the others continued on to Capri and the Blue Grotto. There was really nothing else to be done--I would be living in Italy another year, and our guests had to leave soon! The situation definitely put a damper on things, but at least they were able to experience some of Italy's beautiful wonders. I was heartbroken to miss the fun, but Ted promised that we would return WITH the kids sometime before we moved.

As with Florence, this adventure had been put off until it was nearly too late! But arrangements were made, so off we went!

It was a gorgeous day, and being a Monday during the school year, it was not very crowded anywhere we went. The kids loved being in the boat and bouncing over the waves. We were so glad we had left the younger boys behind--it was rough going, and I'm sure they would have bounced right off the boat! Shauna and I were laughing so hard at the shrieks and yells from the kids. 

We went straight to the Blue Grotto and waited just a bit to be able to get into the rowboats. We had to split into two groups. Inside was truly amazing. I loved hearing the rowers singing in Italian at the top of their lungs, with the harmonies bouncing around the rocks. The blue of the water was so brilliant! Impossible for us to capture with our cameras, but definitely a memory I'll carry for a long, long time. (Postcards help with that!) Below is a pic of the boats swarming the entrance...Shauna and the girls are the ones right in front of the boat with the awning--that's where they pay to go in.

If you really want to see what the inside of the Blue Grotto looks like--short of going there yourself--just Google it, because our photos aren't worth squat! It really is gorgeous.

After this, though, we were more than ready for lunch! We made our way around the island to a restaurant where we could "park" our boat for free and enjoyed a delicious (though heavily over-priced) lunch with a beautiful view.

We decided to walk up to the town center to get gelato. There was much complaining, lol, but the reward at the end was worth the uphill hiking!

I adore Capri...we spent Thanksgiving there our first year in Italy, and the weather was so beautiful and the island so quiet. We hiked all over the place and made so many good memories. It seemed fitting and yet surreal for this to be our last Italian adventure before heading back to the States later that same week.

Excuse the finger...it was very bumpy in the boat! This is the view as we pulled away from the restaurant where we had lunch and also the starting point for our hike up to the town center.

Love this view! Goodbye, beautiful Capri!

Florence for Mother's Day

One place Ted and I really wanted to visit before leaving Italy was Florence (or Firenze, as it's called there). We had spent one day there in 2013 but left feeling there would be plenty of time for a return visit to do justice to the many sites in this beautiful city. Bwahahaha!! Two years later we had to scramble and make an effort to get there, but it was worth it!

I wish I could say we went as a family, with our children soaking up all the culture and being excited to see museums bringing to life the pages and pictures from art and history studies. But. Only one of our offspring was interested, even eager, to go to Florence! So we agreed that Charis would accompany Ted and me on an overnight trip!

Tobin and Arden (who I had really hoped would choose to accompany us) stayed with a friend. When they insisted they really didn't want to go, we decided we would take them at their word and not risk bringing along potential whiners and feet-draggers, lol. Our friends Anna and Alaina Z agreed to stay with our younger kiddos in our temporary living facilities and earn some extra spending money. (And I think they truly earned it, lol.) It was SO nice to leave early in the morning to catch the train and NOT be lugging little ones, strollers, diapers, pull-ups, extra snacks, and so on! FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!!!!!!

Ahem. Here are Charis and I on the fast train as it's pulling out of downtown Naples. You can tell it's early because we're both wearing our glasses, lol.

We arrived mid-morning and found our hotel fairly easily, dumping off our bags so we could be free to begin sightseeing. First stop: the Academia to see The David!! And other great sculptures and some early instruments...very cool for us.

Then a yummy lunch...followed by the baptistery, the palace, crossing the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) to another palace, capped off by an amazing dinner and a well-earned good night of sleep, and Day 1 = done!

Baptistery

Ponte Vecchio

We will miss mozzarella di buffalo!!

Mmmmm...bruschetta...

Day 2! Another full day trying to squeeze in as much as possible before we needed to catch the train back to Naples. We started with the bell tower at the Duomo before the crowds got too crazy. As we made our way there, we discovered it was a marathon day...good thing we started early! How fun would it be to run the streets of Florence?! At 7 months pregnant, I wasn't too eager to try it out! Hard to believe I had run a marathon 7 months prior...I huffed and puffed my way to the half-way point (approximately) of the tower, then rested while Ted and Charis climbed the rest of the 402 stairs to the top!

Then off to the museums...first the Uffizi...

...the Bargello...

Dante's house...

San Marco...

...and finally, the basilica of Santa Maria.

And then a dash to the train station (after some more gelato and shopping), and we were able to crash on the ride back to Naples! We packed in a LOT in those two days and made some wonderful memories. What a way to spend Mother's Day! I'm so grateful for the time and experiences I got to share with Ted and Charis.

Leather Factory Tour

Another place I wanted to visit in person before leaving Italy: the Sims Leather Factory! This factory is very close to the Naval Support Site and has been owned by the same family for several generations. Their leather is famous in that the dye goes all the way through the leather--it isn't simply sprayed on like most other places. It was fascinating to learn about the process, a great field trip for the kids who were able to go. (Some had to attend Missoula Children's Theater rehearsal during our scheduled visit, but my girls and younger boys came with me on the tour.) And at the end...shopping at a discount! Leather gloves for me, Charis, my mom, and my mother-in-law.

Blurry...it's an action shot! Zaden is helping place the wet pieces of leather onto the...thingie...!

Hands-on learning! We see how they measure and cut the needed shapes.

Montecasseino Abbey

About halfway from our house to Rome sits the abbey at Montecasseino, where St. Benedict established a monastery in the 6th century. Much of the building was destroyed in 1944 by Allied bombs and rebuilt after the war.

I don't know how many times we drove past the exit and said, "We MUST go there!" And because it was relatively close to home, we kept putting it off, thinking surely we'd get there easily enough...but time kept ticking away and we had yet to make the trip. So when we saw that our church was planning a May outing to the Abbey as well as the town of Roccasecca, birthplace of St. Thomas Aquinas, we immediately signed up so we could be sure to squeeze in this opportunity. The abbey was mentioned at least twice in Charis's history studies, and we always love bringing history to life!

It was an all-day affair, so we decided to leave Zaden and Seanin with their favorite babysitters, Hannah and Tuba. They even got to spend the night, since we weren't due to arrive home until late. We were so very thankful not to have to drag around the little guys, as there was a lot of walking and we were able to actually listen to the guides and enjoy the details of the day. The best part was sharing the day with dear friends from Il Faro! We miss our bilingual church family!!

Venice with a Friend!

After I got sick and had to sit out a day trip to Venice, Ted and my friend Carla hatched a scheme to get me to be able to experience this lovely city before our move back to the States. The weekend after Easter was really our only option when it came down to the wire, so we grabbed some cheap plane tickets and left Naples EARLY Sunday morning for a girls' trip to remember!

We arrived at our hotel around 9am, and the congenial proprietor allowed us to stash our stuff there early and gave us tips for navigating the city and finding his personal favorite restaurants. We had a full day of exploring, starting right after breakfast! Aaaaahhhhh....caffe e cornetti, how I will miss you!!!

We toured the Grand Canal listening to Rick Steves' audio guide, getting off to explore various places.

Inside the doge's palace. I believe they said this was the largest meeting room in Europe? It could hold 2600 people! Can you see Carla standing waaaaaaaaay over there?!

The palace is in the background to the left; this view is from St. Mark's Cathedral.

After an incredibly yummy dinner, we got to attend a Vivaldi concert with the musicians dressed in period costumes! It was fantastic!

Monday morning we went to the islands of Murano and Burano. I loved the colorful houses on Burano!

See my lovely glass necklace? One of my favorite finds! It came from Murano, famous for their glass-blowing techniques and products.

All too soon we had to head back home, but since our return date happened to be Tobin's 13th birthday, there was still a huge draw to get back to my family! I cherish the time I got to spend with Carla, talking and praying together as well as exploring this amazing, historical city. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to experience it for myself, not just vicariously through Ted's pictures!