Florence in pictures

Yay! It's 11 p.m. but I found that the internet will let me load pictures now and suddenly I am overcome with the impulse to Load The Pictures. I think it's because this way, even if I drop my camera or computer into a million little pieces tomorrow {spit, spit...or whatever ritual wards off bad happenings}, at least I'll have a few of the images to aid my memory of this sweet adventure.

But here's the process: select a photo to load, click "upload", then go away and read a few blogs, click on a few facebook pages, check back 20 times and then VOILA finally loaded. Something to be grateful for when I return to my home, poorer and fatter but with quicker photo loading.

^Lauren with the hat she bought at the street market.  Ciao bella!

At sunset next to the Ponte Vecchio

we split up today so mostly I have photos of the girls

^Beauty multiplied: the Baptistry, the Duomo, and the clock tower 

{and blue skies today!}

^I will never weary of this view

^ or this lovely, sinful little concoction

With love from Florence, days 2 & 3 & 4

Waiter: Would you like to order wine with your dinner?

Us: No, thank you. But can we have some bottles of water?

Waiter: You sure, no wine? (incredulous)

Me: No, we're kind of boring that way.

Waiter: Oh, no, not boring. Just....(struggling for words)...not a good life!

* * *

Good times:

Uffizi museum

Accademia (and Michelangelo's David)

Walking around (it's cold here, though!) & people watching

Amazing thick drinking chocolate with cream

Shopping at the street market (a hat, some ties, a sweatshirt, a tshirt, and some glass turtles were purchased)

Fun waiters: sat down with us, chatty, teasing the kids

Great food: gnocchi, linguini with lobster, artichoke risotto

Night-time walks

Mmm...gelato

Games and laughs with kids and my parents

Running into our waiter in the center of town...we have people we know here!

* * *

Trying to be a good sport about (flexibility! positivity!):

It's unseasonably cold here! And windy! Brr.

Spotty computer connection. I must have chanced on a fantastic window of photo loading last time because it's been impossible since. Stay tuned for photos...

* * *

All in all, we're having a blast.  Hope you're enjoying the wonderful between days leading up to New Year's.

Junior sleuths society

Veteran's Day 2008.

Lauren headed to Cambridge with three friends (on the subway! by themselves! huge rite of passage right there) to go to the Harvard Natural History Museum as part of a big Biology project.

Greg was at work, talking on his phone and doing what he does at work, where he is usually found on Tuesdays. (His company doesn't take those kind of holidays off. Moment of silence for absent G.)

That left the three of us (Maddy, Sam and me) for the day. I took a break from homework & projects in the morning and we decided to go letterboxing.

It's no secret that Sam loves everything to do with sleuthing and puzzles and mysteries so he loves it when we go on a letterboxing adventure. Plus it gets us out in the fresh air at the same time...just right for a day off from school. We hadn't been for a year or two (I know I've posted about letterboxing before but somehow can't find it in my archives) so we clicked here for a refresher.

[You could really make this two days of activities: the first day you could make your stamp notebook and even carve your own stamp from a rubber eraser. The next day you could follow the clues to the treasure. I'm just saying.]

Letterboxing is basically a treasure hunt arranged by kind and interested strangers. At each site, they bury a box with a notebook (for you to sign or stamp with your own stamp), a stamp (to stamp your own notebook like a passport book), and an inkpad. On the website, you can search for a location near you and download the clues to find the buried box. We chose the one in Sleepy Hollow cemetery in Concord.

Thank you, veterans.

There were clues like "go to Author's Ridge"
"you will pass a sphere on the right and a hollow stump on the right"

"walk 20 paces"

"...behind the tree you will see a partly buried rock.
The box is under the rock."

The thrill of discovery!

I was kind of concerned about the ethics of bringing Louie
to a cemetery
(would he want to dig anything up?)
but he was very well behaved

The stamp: "the earth laughs in flowers [Ralph Waldo Emerson]"

It was a good day.
{Let me know if you try this...I'd love to hear about
other sleuthing adventures}
p.s.
Lauren successfully navigated the city and the subway
and finished her assignment.
She came back spilling with stories of getting a bit lost
(she did some sleuthing of her own after all)
and loving the glass flowers
and the stuffed llama.

We will be off to the land of...

...pasta, bread, gelato, Galileo, Michelangelo, and naked statues.  Ciao, Italia!

Why, you ask?

~ when G started his new job this year, we decided to set aside the signing bonus for a family trip because...

~ when we first got married we decided to try to value experiences over things.  To love the old clunker cars but make memories.  Plus...

~ we feel the clock ticking as Lauren has only two and a half more years of high school until she leaves for college.  There's so much we want to still do as a family (before everyone splinters off to their own lives) so we decided to do our best to tackle one or two items on the list.

~ G's company closes during Christmas week.  Perfect time for travel but...

~ it was too expensive to fly somewhere warm and beachy...airline tickets alone would have eaten up the entire travel budget.  Thankfully...

~ a few months ago we found a great deal on flights to Italy, leaving on Christmas Day (cheaper even than flying to Florida) so we booked them, which was thrilling because...

~ we've always wanted to go to Italy. Part adventure, part culture, part eating extravaganza, part history lesson. To top it all off...

~ we invited my parents to come along if they wanted.  They wanted.  Three cheers for a three generation trip to Florence and Venice.

It's going to be chilly, not that warm, basking holiday we were originally thinking about.  And the economy's current condition (and the weak dollar abroad) means we'll have to be very careful.  But...we're doing it.  Gulp.  Decision's made and we're embracing it.

Thank you for all the guesses.  I had a grand time imagining going to each and every one of them.  In fact, I think the people have spoken and now we HAVE to go to Prague, Aruba, British Virgin Islands, England (twice), Scotland, Ireland, Denmark (several times), Mexica, Guatemala, Holland, France, and Cyprus.  How many times do you think G can change jobs and get a signing bonus????

Liz, you nailed it! Email me your address and keep an eye on your mailbox.

*Italy pictures via Flickr.

The good and the not-so-good

Last Week.

Good: We went on a Great Outing with Louie

Not-so-good: It ended with the need for a makeshift, plastic-bag doggie diaper

Still: We had a good hike through beautiful grounds
and have a funny story to tell.

Good: G and I went to the North End (Italian section) of Boston for an evening

Even better: We ran into a charming street festival 

(St. Anthony's festival. It seems like there's a festival 

every weekend there) 

with food, music, crowds, and this cute band (I want that backdrop!):

Not-so-good: The kids called and were spooked by a strange sound
so we came home early. 

{We found later that the sound was a bicycle helmet falling off a hook.}

Still: we enjoyed the time we had 

and strolled arm-in-arm in the perfect weather.

And our kids are old enough to leave on their own. Usually.

Good: We went to the White Sox/Red Sox game Saturday night.

Not so good: This (below) is the best shot I got of the night.

I think G enjoyed it a bit more than he's showing.

Still: The Red Sox won, we did the wave, Take Me Out to the Ballgame,

& Sweet Caroline & caught every green light on the way home.

Other not-so-goods: Lauren had several days of mysterious hives so we spent some time in the ER and doctor's office this week, I spilled an entire bottle of Febreze on myself at Target (and embarrassed Maddy in the process), and our beloved pond closed for the season.

Great: We *love* all our neighbors 

& got to know them better at a Labor Day cookout

{who knew that the guy down the street manages rock bands? 

or that the new couple on the corner both teach high school? 

or several neighbors had such great doggy advice?}

Good AND not-so-good: Tomorrow's the last day before school starts for the kids!

{And it's the first day of school for me.}