My mom, the totally amazing mother she is, volunteered to babysit Olivienne while we made our way around Europe for 2 weeks. We initially thought about taking the baby with us, but decided it's best to take her when she can at least walk on her own, and perhaps remember some parts of the trip as well. So she stayed behind with her Lola, getting to explore much of Kirkland, from the shopping trips to Costco and Asian grocery stores, to the many walks they took around the town. I don't know who wore the other out more! And every time we were able to call them via Skype, they were happy, talkative, and excited. We had absolutely no worries at all while we were away, which let us fully enjoy our time.
This trip was the much delayed "honeymoon" trip we had as a part of our wedding venue package. The wonderful couple, John and Luisa Fisher, who owned the bed-and-breakfast estate in Napa Valley where we held our wedding, also had a home in a tiny, tiny, tiny (did I mention tiny?) Italian/German hamlet at the base of the Alps in Italy. We were given a one week stay there at their guest house as part of our wedding. We were supposed to use this week within a year of getting married, however, I just didn't feel quite up to much traveling last year, being that I got nauseated just going from our bedroom to the living room. So they graciously allowed us to extend another year! Hurray for the Fishers!
Planning our trip was a bit of a challenge. We had to coordinate with my mom, the airlines to try to get a decent rate in the summertime, work around when Bungie would allow Mick to take a big chunk of time off, get all the places we planned on staying in Europe situated, and somehow find the time to unpack from our move and not leave Olivienne laying somewhere on the floor. With all the chaos, needless to say, I still had a great time planning it! My past 4 trips around Europe definitely helped in figuring out where to go and I wanted it to be super chill and super fun, especially since it was Mick's first time overseas there.
MAY in PARIS:
After a very long, cramped flight, after Mick's knees had practically fused into the seatback in front of him, we arrived wearily, but happily and safely in Paris.
To make the most of the time, we spent our first 4 days in the city, staying with Marie-Anne, our close family friend. She welcomed us early on Monday morning into her lovely flat near Sorbonne University, in the core of the old city. It was the perfect launching pad to explore all the touristy and not-so-touristy parts of Paris. During the day, we did just about every tourist thing we could manage -- from the Louvre, to a starlight Siene river cruise, to a double-decker bus tour of all the major monuments, to a kiss at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
EIFFEL TOWER (we walked up to the first two levels - that's 695 steps, according to wiki):
LE LOUVRE (Yes, we did some goofy posing. I know, I know, we're getting too old for this!):
And even though I only spoke a really limited amount of French, we got by just fine, and everything was truly perfect, even the little cold we both picked up from the late night cruise. (I am bummed though that I never had the opportunity to say something I learned from one of my French lesson cd's: "Je voudrais acheter un ticket de loterie." {I would like to buy a lottery ticket.} Maybe next time.)
At night, after a long day of sightseeing, we were able to enjoy delicious authentic French dinners cooked by Marie-Anne, who told us many, many stories and offered insights to life in France and all over the world. On our last night in Paris, Marie Anne's son, Silvio and his girlfriend, Juliet, shared in the meal and dined with us. It had been 9 years since I last saw Silvio in Paris, so it was great to see him again. As much as we loved seeing the sights and learning all about the history of paintings, buildings, and famous people, nothing was more enjoyable than sitting around the dinner table, exchanging tidbits of where and how we all ended up right there at that moment.
LUCERNE:
From Paris, we took a train over to Lucerne (Luzern), Switzerland. Mick couldn't stop staring at the gorgeous rolling hills of the French countryside and we were both enthralled with the mountains across the border. It's a beautiful city, not too big, not too small, on the banks of crystal-clear Lake Lucerne. We initially decided to stop there because of some show I watched right before I planned the trip -- a late night PBS infomercial by the European Travel Master himself, Rick Steves. What a genius this guy is! Seriously.
We met a man on the train ride from Paris who told us about the city's famous wooden bridge over the river, and how it was a big tragedy when it burned down a few years ago. So the locals decided to build it back up, careful to make it exactly how it looked ages ago. The New Old Bridge, he called it. I was happy about how solid this new old bridge was, because the river flowing through the town was awesome, but I wasn't ready to swim in it's freezing waters anytime soon. Lucerne was great and Mick ate horse for the first (and likely, last) time of his life. Don't get him wrong, it was good, but the idea of eating Mr. Ed kinda weirded him out. I ate the non-controversial wienerschnitzel (equally yummy).
JUNE in ITALY:
After spending one night in Lucerne, we trained it on to Milan, and from there, we rented a car and made for that tiny, tiny, tiny hamlet, Frazione Casa Capietto, just outisde Mollina, Italy. It took us about 2 hours to get there from Milan, and I didn't think the views on our trip could get any more gorgeous. They did, and how.
(Danita, the beer poster shot is for you!)
The guest house we stayed in was a part of the winter house of the Fishers. John travels to Italy every winter to lead tours, as well as visit his son and family, who lives there. They are amazing hikers and climbers, and also have their own company that leads climbing and skiing treks in the mountains (http://www.mountainsandmore.com/). If Mick and I weren't such "sea-level, beachy people", we just may have tried to go to Europe in the winter time to participate in this. But since we're not real climbers or true hikers, we were thrilled to make it there over the summer.
The entire house is a 400 year-old, solid stone structure, built to withstand avalanches and fires, and just about anything actually. The walls were nearly a foot thick and the roof was made up of giant stone tiles. But inside, it had all the amenities of home and we felt great being there. We didn't do too much but sleep in, stay cozy, enjoy the insane views, and recover nicely from the colds we had picked up in Paris.
We took a day to explore some of the dozens of tiny towns surrounding Casa Capietto, and happen to come across a festval in Mollina. It was a celebration of the independence of Italy.
VENICE:
From the mountains to the waters! After 2 nights at the hamlet, we hopped in the car and next headed off east to Venice. Venice was Mick's favorite city of the trip and it's so easy to see why. The weather was glorious: sunny, warm, nearly cloudless. The hotel we stayed at had a free shuttle into Venice proper, and THANK GOD for that! I didn't realize that a city built on canals really had no cars. Like really, no cars. At all. Duh. And one thing that they also didn't have -- lots of tourists! (Travel tip: Plan to go to Europe before [or after] the heatwaves of summer AND the mass influx of vacationing tourists.) Although we opted not to do the touristy gondola ride (Really? 70 euro?! That's like... canalway robbery), we did take the local waterbuses around the entire city and do our fair share of wandering and getting lost. That was the best part. Getting lost in the city like Venice was great -- because you really couldn't get lost anyway, and no matter where you found yourself, it was simply beautiful.
Seeing the whole city from the top of the Campanile di San Marco (the tall belltower at St. Mark's Square) was WOW. One day, we'd love to go back and spend a whole week just exploring Venice. And maybe, just maybe, take that gondola ride.
TUSCANY:
After 2 wonderful nights in Venice, we went on to my favorite city of the trip: San Gimignano in Tuscany. For me, this was by far the most peaceful and breathtaking part of Italy. From the gentle hills covered in vineyards, to the random castles dotting the landscape, I couldn't have been happier being there. Everywhere I looked, I found my favorite crayola color: Burnt Sienna. Terra cottas, sands, moss greens, charcoals-- they were everywhere too. It was like a magazine, and what I wish our apartment looked like. I wish the pictures of the bed and breakfast we stayed in did it justice. Just look at them and amplify their wowness by about ten thousand times. (To accurately imagine the feeling, may I suggest having a glass of wine nearby. And a fan blowing lightly onto your face. And maybe put on a swimsuit. And lounge next to a glistening pool. Under a trellis covered in Jasmine flowers. While listening to a cd of some people speaking quietly in Italian, with birds in the background. And maybe another glass of that wine.)
We spent the day exploring the town, which was tucked into the old castle walls. Each shop, each restaurant, seemed to grow from the nooks of the inner castle. The streets were all cobblestones and big courtyards sprouted from the narrow, winding pathways. Also, they had some decadent gelato. I mean, it was a little scoop of heaven (and I know my ice creams, trust me).
After a good night's rest in the restored Italian farmhouse, we decided to take a bit of an off-the-beaten-track tour. Literally. We rode horses through the Tuscan countryside -- around vineyards, forests, and hillsides. It was a great, sore, time! Mick's horse was huge, and although strong, looked old and a bit bony. She also had a penchant for heading sideways into the bushes and low-hanging branches. It looked like Mick got many mouthfuls of Italy's trees. And because I made the mistake of telling the guide I've ridden before, I was awarded the "crazy" horse. Yes, that was "fun". No, she actually was fine, but I believe she had some kind of paranoia, because she kept trying to look back and had a habit of trying to kick the horse behind her. Once we let go of our horse-personality anxieties, we really did enjoy this way of seeing the amazing landscape. One thing not so enjoyable? The three hour car ride to Rome after two hours on a horse.
Also, being in Tuscany made it easy to take a short drive over to Pisa to see their most famous tourist attraction. Here's a hint: it leans. Here's another hint: it's a tower. You guessed it -- Pisa Pizza Tower! Okay, it's not, but wouldn't that be yum?
Of course we had to do the famous shot. Everyone else was. If you took a picture of all of us without the tower, it'll look like we're all doing tai chi.
ROME:
Rome was the final stop on 'Mick & Gen's European Vacation'. It was such a contrast from the peaceful countryside of Tuscany. Traffic, traffic, traffic! Basically, there were no lines on the roads and all the tiny cars had to fight for space along with buses, bicycles and about a hundred million scooters. Red lights seemed to be some sort of suggestion or decoration, and I was basically white-knuckling it for a while. Thankfully, we had the sanctuary of staying at Beryl's home, Marie-Anne's daughter. She lives in a vibrant part of the city, near all modes of transport. Once we returned the car and got on foot, traveling around the city was actually much calmer. Beryl was extremely gracious and we felt a wonderful connection with her (she too is an Obama fan). She explained much of the city and gave us maps and ideas of things to explore.
Taking trains, taxis, and trams, Mick and I headed into the historical section of Rome to tour the Colosseum and Palatial ruins. It was so cool to see these REALLY SUPER ANCIENT buildings and think that the roads we were walking on were also once walked on by now REALLY SUPER DECEASED people. We learned so much history, from what the Colosseum used to look like, to what the Romans really did in all those bathhouses.
We also took a tour of Vatican City, the smallest sovereign state in the world, and the only state that is it's own capital. Bonus Vatican facts: The Pope really does live there [no one gets to see inside of his flat, but we're holding out hope for some sort of MTV Cribs]. The Vatican's population is about 1,000 people strong. Those 1,000 people are all Catholic. They really do call it the Popemobile. Leonardo da Vinci once stayed in one of the church apartments, but was kicked out because he was conducting secret autopsies (to better learn about human anatomy of course). And nearly all the marble and bronze that were used in building the ancient Roman ruins like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and emperors buildings, were stripped, taken, and "recycled" when the Popes built the Vatican buildings and some 900 churches throughout Rome.
Although we were too tuckered to tour St. Peter's Basilica and Dome, we were able to marvel at the wonder that is the Sistine Chapel (Mick was able to sneak in one shot of the ceiling!) From the frescoes adorning the walls, to Michelangelo's most famous ceiling masterpiece, the whole chapel was a work of art and beauty. The amount of time, detail, patience, and neck-strength it took to create the murals must have been incredible. It was awe-inspiring at least, and truly marvelous at best.
As we headed out of the Vatican, Mick and I almost ate at one of the Vatican pizza stands. Unfortunately, they didn't call it the Papal Pizza Place -- or anything to that effect and we were disappointed at the missed opportunity. So we chowed at Hard Rock Cafe instead.
The last set of pictures here (out of the nearly 1000 that Mick took) are of signs I thought were funny or strange or cute or just picture worthy. (I have a strange penchant for collecting pictures of signs.) So I thought I'd share some European ones. And tell me, do you think it's you or the garbage that the trashcan is wishing a good trip?
HOME:
There were so many moments in our trip that brought us smiles, but nothing brought me a bigger smile than seeing Olivienne again. As beautiful as Europe was, to me, Livvy is still more so. I know it wasn't a long time, but I couldn't believe how much she had grown in just two weeks -- 17 pounds already. And she grew more mobile too! At 6 months, she's not quite crawling yet, but rolling around like a funny little log. It's a really interesting mode of transport. She even more vocal than before, singing her own version of opera and laughing hysterically when you blow on her toes. She kept her Lola busy and tired, but happy. It was wonderful to see Nay, and though she was weary, she had made it two weeks alone with the baby and still in one piece. How would we begin to say thank you for that??
So now we're back home, settled in once more, finally again adjusted to English on tv. We do have another trip planned soon -- Lake Tahoe with Mick's sister and family for 4th of July. Thankfully it's a domestic flight.
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Mmm...beer. That sign is awesome. OH girlie - the pics are beautiful and I'm glad you guys had such an amazing trip. Who says we're too old for crazy pics? If we're too old then we're too boring. :) Hugs!