La bella Italia
Today would have been the wedding party of our dear friends, somewhere near Lecce in South Italy, and were all so excited about it. My heart goes out to them, I know it' not easy for now, but we'll party even harder next year.
Since we can't make it this year, I decided to make up for each missed holiday by remembering past holidays, looking at pictures and videos, sort of reliving beautiful memories.
What a beautiful country Italy is, so many gorgeous places, so much culture, the food, the wines, the joyful people, it can never disapoint.
Our first visit to Italy was sort of by accident. In 2006 was attending my first international scientific conference in Rijeka, Croatia, with a colleague I was working with and our partners. We stayed in a villa in Opatija, and while we loved exploring the surroundings and the Istra Peninsula is absolutely gorgeous (so many Venetian influences), I couldn't help throwing the idea of taking a little detour on our way back home and go to Venice. And everyone was up for it - we must have been on a high after presentating our research, it was my first Machine Learning study, and I was damn proud of it! We then took another little detour on the way to Venice, to make a little stop in Piran, Slovenia, then headed to Lido di Jesolo where we spent the night on a nice camping site (we had no accomodation booked, as it's been all very spontaneous). Venice did not dissapoint, it was very close to what I imagined reading about years ago in Michel Zevaco's Bridge of Sighs. We just wandered around and got lost through the cobbled streets, it was such a special experience, and managed to do it on a very low budget (we were getting married that summer and were saving up for the wedding). Actually one of the ideas for this year's Italy trip was to fly to Venice for a couple of days, then fly back home from there.
Second time in Italy has left me with some of the fondest memories ever. Carried away by a moment of crazyness, we decided to take our parents to Rome for a short 4 days trip. All 4 of them! Yes, I know, crazy!! But as it turned out, such a fun time. We stayed in an airbnb house with a gorgeous garden where we could have drinks in the evening. March is the perfect time to visit Rome, it was beautiful with 16-18 degrees, and I was ready to be the guide for that lovely bunch. I spent weeks preparing for the trip, I had a spreadsheet, I had it all planned for each day, because let's face it, you need a month to properly visit Rome. Or you only need 4 days if you're fairly easy to please and you've got me as a guide. And your legs can keep up. Funny I'm saying that, because on our first evening there, I sprained my ankle. But that was no showstopper, I was going to have the best time even with a swollen and sore ankle.
The Vatican was probably the highlight of those days, we all climbed up to the very top of St Paul's cathedral, and we still laugh about it when we remember the last bit when there are some extremely narrow spiral stairs and a rope to hold on to, and Dan's dad was a few meters behind and heard us saying there's a rope, so he feared we need to climb on the rope. It was tough to get all the way up, but so worth it, sharing the beauty of those views with all of them will always be such a special memory.
While I started to be recognised as the perfect holiday organiser and loving to plan everything, 2010 had been the complete opposite. Feeling drained after a year of battling the reality of my dad's cancer and finishing my thesis, all I wanted was to get away from it all. So in the summer we went on out first ever trip where nothing was planned, no accomodation booked, living dangerously for once (I still have nightmares about the night when we got lost with a near empty tank while I was on the phone trying to find a place to stay overnight). Anyway, after visiting Salzburg, Ulm, Neuschwanstein castle, Strasbourg, castles on the Loire Valley, Lyon, Chamonix, our road trip finally took us to Italy. And what an entrance, through the Montblanc tunnel. We spent the night somewhere near Milan, to climb up the dome the next day (see a pattern here?) and explore the beauty of the city. Then we spent a couple of days at Garda Lake, probably the most relaxing days since the beginning of our trip. We were so close to Verona that it would have been a shame to miss it, and I am so glad we didn't. Then on the way back home we drove past Venice and thought how crazy would this be... Too crazy, so we didn't! Plus we’ve been away from 2 weeks and had to get back to work.
Early next year, we planned a Tuscany adventure. My kinda crazy adventure, seeing loads in a short amount of time. I know, it sounds shallow, but I've always felt like there is so much to see in this world and there's not enough time for everything. But then I got pregnant, and I wasn't feeling great, so I wasn't really up for it and we decided to cancel the plans. Ironically, we planned it the year before too, but then I had a tight deadline to meet and cancelled the trip. It looked like it was just not meant to be. But it was there, in the back of my mind, all planned and October 2019 saw the four of us finally landing in Pisa. We had the best time, packed light and drove around Tuscany, spending each night in a different location. Not an easy task, but the girls were perfectly behaved and we loved every moment. We've seen all the must sees (but also a few less known places) - Pisa, San Gimignano, Sienna, Monteriggionni, San Casciano in Val di Pesa, Florence, Pinocchio Park in Collodi, Lucca, a tiny bit of Livorno. A lot of places and sightseeing, a lot of walking and driving, and yet we found time to sit and enjoy each place.
San Gimignano was probably our favourite place, it's just such a different setting, feels like going back in time, and we spent the night in an apartment within a nearly 1000 year old tower. Florence was simply beautiful, although quite tiring for little feet. We did make use of our beloved Manduca (most likely its last time) and carried Emma in it, so she was quite ok. And Ariana was the perfect little tourist, loving to explore each place. I am convinced we cancelled Tuscany twice before finally getting therem because we had to share this wonderful adveture with the girls.
Beautiful Italy, so close to my heart! I will now open the bottle of 'Vernaccia di San Gimignano' wine we bought in Tuscany and drink for the next trip to Italy in 2021. And for health, happiness, love and friends. Salute!
Since we can't make it this year, I decided to make up for each missed holiday by remembering past holidays, looking at pictures and videos, sort of reliving beautiful memories.
What a beautiful country Italy is, so many gorgeous places, so much culture, the food, the wines, the joyful people, it can never disapoint.
Our first visit to Italy was sort of by accident. In 2006 was attending my first international scientific conference in Rijeka, Croatia, with a colleague I was working with and our partners. We stayed in a villa in Opatija, and while we loved exploring the surroundings and the Istra Peninsula is absolutely gorgeous (so many Venetian influences), I couldn't help throwing the idea of taking a little detour on our way back home and go to Venice. And everyone was up for it - we must have been on a high after presentating our research, it was my first Machine Learning study, and I was damn proud of it! We then took another little detour on the way to Venice, to make a little stop in Piran, Slovenia, then headed to Lido di Jesolo where we spent the night on a nice camping site (we had no accomodation booked, as it's been all very spontaneous). Venice did not dissapoint, it was very close to what I imagined reading about years ago in Michel Zevaco's Bridge of Sighs. We just wandered around and got lost through the cobbled streets, it was such a special experience, and managed to do it on a very low budget (we were getting married that summer and were saving up for the wedding). Actually one of the ideas for this year's Italy trip was to fly to Venice for a couple of days, then fly back home from there.
Second time in Italy has left me with some of the fondest memories ever. Carried away by a moment of crazyness, we decided to take our parents to Rome for a short 4 days trip. All 4 of them! Yes, I know, crazy!! But as it turned out, such a fun time. We stayed in an airbnb house with a gorgeous garden where we could have drinks in the evening. March is the perfect time to visit Rome, it was beautiful with 16-18 degrees, and I was ready to be the guide for that lovely bunch. I spent weeks preparing for the trip, I had a spreadsheet, I had it all planned for each day, because let's face it, you need a month to properly visit Rome. Or you only need 4 days if you're fairly easy to please and you've got me as a guide. And your legs can keep up. Funny I'm saying that, because on our first evening there, I sprained my ankle. But that was no showstopper, I was going to have the best time even with a swollen and sore ankle.
The Vatican was probably the highlight of those days, we all climbed up to the very top of St Paul's cathedral, and we still laugh about it when we remember the last bit when there are some extremely narrow spiral stairs and a rope to hold on to, and Dan's dad was a few meters behind and heard us saying there's a rope, so he feared we need to climb on the rope. It was tough to get all the way up, but so worth it, sharing the beauty of those views with all of them will always be such a special memory.
While I started to be recognised as the perfect holiday organiser and loving to plan everything, 2010 had been the complete opposite. Feeling drained after a year of battling the reality of my dad's cancer and finishing my thesis, all I wanted was to get away from it all. So in the summer we went on out first ever trip where nothing was planned, no accomodation booked, living dangerously for once (I still have nightmares about the night when we got lost with a near empty tank while I was on the phone trying to find a place to stay overnight). Anyway, after visiting Salzburg, Ulm, Neuschwanstein castle, Strasbourg, castles on the Loire Valley, Lyon, Chamonix, our road trip finally took us to Italy. And what an entrance, through the Montblanc tunnel. We spent the night somewhere near Milan, to climb up the dome the next day (see a pattern here?) and explore the beauty of the city. Then we spent a couple of days at Garda Lake, probably the most relaxing days since the beginning of our trip. We were so close to Verona that it would have been a shame to miss it, and I am so glad we didn't. Then on the way back home we drove past Venice and thought how crazy would this be... Too crazy, so we didn't! Plus we’ve been away from 2 weeks and had to get back to work.
San Gimignano was probably our favourite place, it's just such a different setting, feels like going back in time, and we spent the night in an apartment within a nearly 1000 year old tower. Florence was simply beautiful, although quite tiring for little feet. We did make use of our beloved Manduca (most likely its last time) and carried Emma in it, so she was quite ok. And Ariana was the perfect little tourist, loving to explore each place. I am convinced we cancelled Tuscany twice before finally getting therem because we had to share this wonderful adveture with the girls.
Beautiful Italy, so close to my heart! I will now open the bottle of 'Vernaccia di San Gimignano' wine we bought in Tuscany and drink for the next trip to Italy in 2021. And for health, happiness, love and friends. Salute!
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