February 14th

Starting the day off right with chocolate! My mom always gave us kids hearts of chocolates just like this one on Valentine's Day. We've been doing the same thing since Wyatt was about 18 months. We give it to them first thing and they can eat them for breakfast. (The did have yogurt afterward as well, so it wasn't a completely unhealthy breakfast.:)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Sunday Morning

Since we have more time now before church starts on Sunday, I've been experimenting with Eva's hair. Usually it just gets put in a ponytail or pigtails with bows, but today we decided to curl it. It ended up a little fluffier than I was planning, but I still think it was adorable.

Once her hair was done I told her to get her shoes on so we could leave. When I came into the living room to make sure she was ready, she was standing by the front door like this:

On the Menu

Made this for dinner tonight and it's so good! I craved it and made it a lot when I was pregnant with Eva, but it's been awhile. I think this might be my favorite soup ever.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup
Yields: 9 cups

2 tablespoons margarine or butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup pepper jack cheese

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2minutes, stirring frequently.

Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10-15 minutes.

In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally.

Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

Enjoy!

Day 11: Rome Again

Day 11: Rome for the second time

We wanted one last day in Rome so that we could save any shopping for this day instead of having to carry stuff around the whole trip. We spent the morning seeing where Danny served and visiting a the biggest grocery store I had seen the whole trip. It was like a walmart (not quite as big) on the top floor and then a bunch of store, like a mall, on the bottom floor. Danny had this pasta sauce called Pesto Calabrese on his mission and has been wanting it ever since. He had a friend send some to us a couple of years ago but it didn't handle the trip here so well. Anyway, we found some in this grocery store and Danny had to have it. They had 8 jars and we bought them all. We couldn't find any cheap bag/backpack to put them in so Danny ended up carrying a grocery bag the rest of the day. (you can see it in all the pictures)

At Danny's old apartment

In the grocery store headed down to the mall area

To get to the area where Danny served we had to take this rickety old train. Or as Danny called it, The Ghetto Train. It was loud and it shook a lot and was covered in graffiti.

For the afternoon we decided to repeat Rick Steve's Night Walk that we did our first day in Rome.

This is at the top of the Spanish Steps. We didn't walk up them the first time.

Outside the Pantheon. Still amazed at how big it is.

One of the pillars in front of the Pantheon. The pillars are one solid piece of stone and they were rolled from Egypt to Rome. It takes 8 men with their arms out to go around one pillar.

We specifically wanted to go back to the Pantheon to get pictures of the Oculus, which we neglected to do the first time. It is completely open to the weather so when it rains or snows, they have to block off parts of the floor.

We ended the walk in the Piazza Navona just like the first night and even at at the same restaurant we did as our first stop in Rome. After dinner, we spent the rest of the night looking at art in the Piazza. The one thing I wanted to bring home from our trip was a painting. We looked for a long time and I actually ended up picking 3 watercolors. We took a picture with the artist but I can't seem to find it. :( The evening was the perfect way to end the trip.

I missed the kids so much while I was there that I said I didn't want to go back for at least 10 years, but looking at all the pictures makes me think I could go back a little sooner. Care to join me?

Days 10 and 11: Battipaglia

We spent Saturday and Sunday in a little town called Battipaglia. It was the last city Danny served in on his mission so he had a couple of families that he wanted to visit. Saturday was spent walking the city and doing some shopping, so we could have food to eat on Sunday. Danny showed us the apartment that he lived in and we even met the missionaries that were currently serving there. My mom got their information so she could call their parents when we got home and tell them she had seen their sons. The best part about Battipaglia was that it was so relaxing. After going non stop for days, it was nice to just mosey. We bought pizza (surprise, surprise) for lunch and ate it while people watching. Saturday evening we did a little shopping and some more wandering. It was like the town came alive at night. While we were out during the day we didn't see hardly anyone, but after about 6 pm. the streets were full of people.

Sunday we went to church with the branch. They have Sacrament last so we had split up for classes first. Only Danny had to stay with mom and I to translate because the missionaries were teaching Elder's Quorum so one of them translated for Dad and Kurt. I loved being able to go to church there. Even though I couldn't always understand what was being said, I still felt the spirit. I think we doubled the attendance that day. :)

Kurt with the de Martino girls right after Sacrament meeting.

Linda, Rosella, Kurt, Allessandra

We were supposed to be having dinner with the Barretta family but they had a family emergency and had to cancel at the last minute. The Mondelli's invited us over for dinner and it was so good! Sister Mondelli had like an hours notice and she made a 4 course meal for 5 extra people. For our main course we had homemade cannoli's filled with meat and cheese. I can still taste them. :) But the best part was the buffalo mozzarella with garden fresh tomatoes. If you are ever in that part of Italy make sure you try the buff mozz.

All of us with the Mondelli family after stuffing ourselves with some home-cooked Italian goodness.

Day 9: Sorrento and Pompeii

Sorrento

(My favorite city)

We went to Sorrento with two purposes in mind. To purchase a music box for Eva and to go swimming in the Mediterranean.

Sorrento is famous for their hand-crafted music boxes and, as we found out while there, lemons (I did buy a small bag of lemon drops and they were really good). A little back story to this city; Danny visited it while on his mission and while there purchased 2 music boxes. One for his mother and one for his future wife. I figured it would be the perfect gift to bring home for Eva, and for my sister, Shannon, who was taking care of the kids at home. (I also wanted to get 2 for my good friends daughters) When we got to Sorrento, I was the only one planning on getting music boxes, but after seeing them Mom decided to get one for each of her daughters, Dad got one for Mom and Kurt bought one for his future wife. 12 music boxes later, I think we made that shop owners day. We actually had to find a store that sold backpacks so we would have something to carry them in for the rest of the trip. After purchasing the music boxes and finding a backpack we headed down to the coast. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was! Sorrento was exactly how I pictured an Italy coast town.

Walking down lots of stairs to get to the beach.

Because it was overcast and a little chilly, and because we were stopping in Pompeii on the way back to our hotel, I didn't want to go swimming and have wet hair the rest of the day. So Kurt and Danny were the only ones that got in. Danny said he didn't care how cold it was, he was going to swim because he couldn't while on his mission. The water was so clear!

Under the water. (Taken with Dad's underwater camera)

I would love to spend a week on the Italian Riviera some day. Maybe next time we go. :)

Pompeii

Pompeii was buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Mount Vesuvius spawned a deadly cloud of stones, ash and fumes to a height of 20.5 miles, spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing. The ash itself was 482 degrees. By the end the city was buried in 16-20 feet of ash. Because it happened to quickly and the ash was so hot, there people had no way to protect themselves, many of them dying almost instantly.

Entering the city

At the main square

One person and a lot of artifacts.

The pregnant woman. If you look closely you can see that she's trying to cover her mouth.

The most preserved home, probably belonged to a merchant.

The main religious square.

Day 8: Naples

I know, I know. Only 4 months later. :) I'm not sure anyone even reads this anymore, but I'm going to go ahead and finish blogging this trip. Mostly because I was looking at the pictures today and saw some that I really liked. And I like to remember the trip. So here goes:

Since we took the overnight train to get to Naples and the conditions on the sleeper train weren't very conducive to sleeping, we were all very tired. We weren't able to check into our hotel yet because it was only like 8 am so instead we left our luggage with the concierge and set out to explore. We took the street right next to the hotel so we wouldn't get lost and came across this barber shop. The guys had been talking about getting a straight shave the whole time we had been in Italy but this was the first barber shop we had seen. It actually worked out perfectly because as we were sitting down I got a migraine (the only one the whole trip, thankfully) so I took a little nap while the boys all got pampered.

The barber was this cute little guy who talked the whole time. He even recommended where to get the best pizza. I'm sure if we are ever in Naples again Danny will make sure that we stop by here. I know Dad still wants Mom to cut his hair just like the barber did. :)

Waiting to get our seat at Sorbillo's to eat pizza. This pizzeria claims to have invented pizza so we were all looking forward to trying it out. By this point in the trip we were basically pizza connoisseurs. :)

And this pizza did not disappoint! We ordered 4 different pizzas (which I thought was too many, but was just right) and finished them off in no time. Now whenever I smell fresh basil it makes me think of this pizza. If you're ever in Naples make sure you try this place!

Naples is actually famous for their Nativity scenes and there is an entire street dedicated to just that. Since my mom decorates her Christmas tree with Nativities, we made a stop on this street. I have never in my life scene such detailed work. It was amazing!

The view from our hotel room. Since Naples has a little bit more crime then anywhere else we stayed we made sure that we got a nicer hotel that usual. It was right across the from the train station and close to everything we needed. And it was the nicest hotel we stayed in the whole trip. The worst part about Naples, was that the garbage men were on strike while we were there, so there were piles of stinky garbage everywhere! They had only been on strike for 3 days when we got there but it went on for like 3 months.

The last morning in Naples there was a seafood market on the street outside our hotel so we ventured in. I had a hard time managing the smell (gross!) but it was cool to see because a lot of the creatures were still alive.

Doing laundry! We only had to do it twice the entire trip, but the launderia in Florence was much nicer than this one.

The hotel served a breakfast buffet on the roof every morning. By far the best breakfast any of the hotels had to offer. And the view was amazing.

Naples was the one place that I was not looking forward to going because I had heard that a lot of people get robbed there, but I actually liked it and wouldn't mind going again. The shopping was great. :)

Days 6 & 7: Venice

Day 6: Venice with Everyone

(Danny's favorite city)

We rode the bus into Venice. There are no cars allowed, since there aren't really streets. There is just a main terminal where all the vehicles park. You then walk across a bridge and you are in Venice.

First view of the Grand Canal that winds through Venice.

Our goal in Venice was to cross the Rialto Bridge and end up the Doge's Palace on the opposite side of the island. To do this we just started walking in the general direction. Every now and then there would be a sign with an arrow but basically we got lost until we just ended up in the right spot.

Yet another cathedral entrance. We thought about going in but it cost money, so we just looked around outside and kept walking.

A skinny street that we thought was a dead end but wasn't. There were tiny little streets branching off everywhere! Notice the graffiti? It was everywhere! All over every city that we went to. Sad to see such beautiful old buildings covered in graffiti.

Yup, just another big door. :)

Another view of the Grand Canal right before we crossed the Rialto Bridge.

On the Rialto Bridge. The shops were all full of intricate Masquerade masks. I guess the Masquerade originated in Venice so the masks were everywhere! Kind of creepy, actually.

After lots and lots of walking we finally found Doge's Palace and the Duomo. The piazza was filled with people! Again, we could have gone inside but opted not to since we had already seen so many cathedrals. The outside was beautiful though.

The Duomo

A small part of Doge's Palace.

We reached the end of the island of Venice!

And of course, we ended the evening by going on a gondola ride. Our driver was really funny, probably because he was drunk. Yes, drunk. When we first asked him how much it was going to cost (we'd been told they are around 80 euro) he said it was going to be 120, but then Mar asked if he'd been drinking and he had. So he gave a deal. :) It was interesting to hear some history and to see the damage done by the big flood.

After our gondola ride we said good bye to Jen, Mar, Dusty and Julie. They headed to a hotel by the airport and went home then next morning. We headed back to our hotel with Dad, Mom and Kurt.

Day 2: Mestra and Venice

Since Venice was expensive we actually had a hotel right off the island in Mestra. We explored the city and found a market ( I LOVE the markets and wish we had something similar here). We wandered the market for a couple hours and then found some grass to relax on while eating lunch.

Since we had some time to waste before we had to catch the over night train we headed back into Venice. We wandered away from the tourist crowds and walked to the opposite side of the island from Doge's Palace.

We caught a late train to Bologna and then from there caught the sleeper train to Naples. The train was supposed to leave at 12:30 but didn't get in until 1:20. We were all very tired! I could use an entire post just to describe the old, uncomfortable train and the nasty homeless people in the waiting room at the train station, but I won't. I'll just say that if we go to Italy again, I will not have this exact adventure again.