Tag: Travel

Hold the Owl

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Do you ever find yourself holding back a little because of your kids?  Sort of deferring to their enjoyment?

No, you get up there, I don’t need to press my nose to the glass at the aquarium.  No, you go on the ride, I’ll watch you.

Some of these things make sense because I don’t really want to do them.

Other times . . . I don’t know.  Maybe a part of me wants to, but I’ve convinced myself I don’t?  Maybe I just worry what other people will think?

Maybe my default is just not to do the things now.

Hmm.  I don’t love that.

I do get a lot of enjoyment out of seeing my kids do stuff.  Tons.  Seeing them figure it out.  Seeing their little faces light up with joy.  Seeing them experience stuff for the first time.  It’s pretty special.

We were in Malta last week.  This trip we visited the Malta Falconry Centre.  We saw the 11:00 AM show.

As a part of the show, they offered to let us put on the leather glove and hold an owl.  The boys were excited, and I was glad they were able to do it.  I was worried they would be too small.

Then they offered me the glove.

My first thought was to demur.  No, I shouldn’t hold up the show.  No, I already had my fun getting to see the kids.  Nonononono.

Then I looked around and thought, “There are 12 people here.  They are all holding the owl.  You aren’t holding up the show.  Just do it.”

So I put on the glove, and the owl perched on my hand.  And I giggled with joy.  The same sort of giggle that escaped my mouth during the barrel race in Montepulciano.  Just an excitement that things like this exist in the world.

So this is me recommitting myself.   Enjoy the kids, but get in the game.  Heck yes, I want to hold the owl!

(Owl pic on my Instagram.  I’ve tried embedding it here 5x, but I can’t get it to work.)

ICYMI: Never-ending August Edition

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I wanted to steal this off the wall

I wanted to steal this off the wall

On the Blog:

I feel like we’ve been doing a lot lately.  No major trips, but plenty of little stuff.  Which has been good, but also contributing to August feeling weird.  (And hoping I didn’t make a mistake on our decision for school for the kiddos.)

I’ve taken my love of agriturismi to a whole new level.  Now instead of using them for overnight stays only, I’m treating them like destinations.  We did dinner at Agriturismo La Cerra outside of Tivoli before hitting the fountains at night at Villa d’Este.  HIGHLY recommend La Cerra.  We may hit up dinner again there some other night.  They have an awesome playground and animals to see with some darn tasty food from Cinta Senese pigs.  Molto affordable as well.

Meh on the Villa d’Este fountains at night.  We didn’t get home until midnight; it was a lot of hassle with the kids.  It could have been a romantical styles date night, but I think I like the fountains by day even more.  I think I expected colored lights, music, something.  Nope.

I also keep trying to make Abruzzo happen.  We enjoyed our weekend there, but the weather threw us.  Undeterred, we headed out for lunch at Il Timo, an agriturismo in Abruzzo, on a Saturday.  I thought the mountains would be cooler.  Nope.  Direct sun.  Very hot.  The grilled meats were pretty tasty though.  This place had pretty adorable cabins for anyone considering an overnight.

Last weekend we finally tried Podere Spedalone, a very highly recommend agriturismo outside of Pienza.  It is on the pricey side, but it did live up to the hype.   Picture sipping prosecco watching the Tuscan sunset before a fantastic four course dinner.  These guys have the creature comforts down.  Water bottles by the pool, soft towels, fancy wine gifted on departure.  They are also super friendly and helpful.  If it wasn’t more of a splurge, we’d be back there on the reg.

We picked that weekend to catch the Bravio delle Botti in Montepulciano.  Amazing.  We saw a bit of the medieval procession.  Then we got to see teams of two running barrels up the hill.  Incredible.  I couldn’t help but just laugh at the wonder that something like this exists.  (You can see a video on my Instagram.)

On the local front, we enjoyed the Banksy exhibit.  Highly recommend if you can squeeze it in before it closes September 4.  We squeezed in another lake day at Martignano.  Not too shabby.

The Cardinal of the Kremlin is dunskies!  Into Clear and Present Danger.  The Summer of Clancy continues.  I’ve settled into a new routine on this.  I have to at least touch the Clancy book each day.  Maybe only for two pages.  But it is enough to keep me interested in the story and not forget what is happening.  I usually read a few books at once so this works for me.

The kids are still funny.  And talk about vino.

On the Internets:

Could ride-on suitcases by the answer to travel with young kids?  I’m skeptical with the two yahoos, but I’m definitely curious.

So much for a link post.  I’ll get on this.  What have you been up to in August?

Things to book BEFORE you come to Rome

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7.4_Book BEFORE Rome

Getting ready for Rome?  Fine tuning your itinerary so that it runs smoother than a brand new Ferrari?

Of course you are.  Don’t forget that there are things you can book in advance to make your life even easier.

Keep reading for where to book and how.  Yes, you may spend a few euro in booking fees, but your time in Rome is too precious to spend extra minutes waiting in line if you don’t have to!

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Something different in Marrakesh

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5.25_marrakesh 1

“What are you most excited about for your trip?”

“Seeing something different.  I just really want to experience something totally different.”

We just got back from four days in Marrakesh.*  It definitely delivered on being something different.  Big time.

(*Just to make it easier, I’m going to stick with the Marrakesh spelling instead of Marrakech in these posts.)

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Typical Italy {Day Trip to San Gregorio da Sassola}

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This weekend, we had what I would call a very Italian experience.  Not always what you planned on, but interesting and fun if you are open to it.

As planned, we set off on our day trip to San Gregorio da Sassola for the Sagra del Cinghiale AKA the tasty boar festival.  We knew the weather looked bleak.  Rain predicted on and off all day.  We decided to chance it.  A warm rain feels different than a wet rain, right?  We armed ourselves with rainboots, jackets, and umbrellas and set off.

5.18_rain 2

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Just a few thoughts on Sicily

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Sorry for the radio silence, folks.  We just got back from a week and a half in Sicily.  I have all sorts of content planned for you, like How to Take the Ferry in Italy, an Itinerary for Adventures in Sicily, and even Media to get you in a Sicilian State of Mind, in the coming weeks.

But for now I just wanted to share some general thoughts and observations.  Overall, this was a pretty fun trip.  I’ve realized I adore island vacations.  A fixed set of points to explore and adventure in?  I am THERE.

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Why I Quit My Job to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom in Italy

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One of the fun things about blogging is that you get to meet cool people, at least virtually anyway.

I don’t remember exactly when I first discovered Hey Eleanor, the brainchild of Molly Mogren Katt, but I immediately crushed pretty hard.  The blog is gorgeous, the writing is awesome, and I adore the idea.  Trying new things is pretty much my definition of adventure, and you know I’m down for that.

Molly has a series on Quitters, and I realized, hey, I have an interesting quitting story.  Check out my interview over on Hey Eleanor here.  I’d love to know what you think!

P.S.  Another fascinating article on quitting: “The ‘quitter’s mindset’ could be the secret to success“

Goals for 2016

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New year.  New slate.  I know some people aren’t into resolutions, but I like the chance to step back, reassess, and commit myself on new paths.  I still need to do some wrap ups on 2015 (I actually hit some of last year’s goals!), but since we’re already (almost a month!) into 2016, might as well start there.

(Hmm, I also already seem to have used my allotted exclamation point quota up before the first paragraph.  I’d make it a goal to stop, but, yeah, no.)

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Two Things that are Harder than I Realized

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12.8_harder cover

So . . . we went to Malta last month.  I promise to talk more about it soon.  (Short recap:  it was awesome, surprisingly kid friendly, you should totes to it.  Oh, and I flew by myself with the chitlins.  What???)

Being there made me realize some things though.  Just like it is OK to admit things can be hard, I think it is OK to acknowledge that some things are tougher than I realized.

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