More family arrives!

Sorry we haven't posted in a while. It's been crazy here, trying to finish up work, pack our things, and see a few more places before the parents arrive. And in fact, I'm now posting after Wayne and Marnie and Jeff and Jenny have arrived, as you can see. We are thrilled to have them with us for the final two weeks of our time here. I am now officially on vacation, and have to resist the temptation to check the blackberry for news!


Here is a picture of our friends Roberto and Maria Paola, and their daughter Martina. We enjoyed dinner with them on Saturday night at Taverna di Bati.. a great local pizza place.


Finally I got a picture of Cami and me at the Esselunga grocery store. She has been my shopping buddy the entire trip, helping me keep the fridge stocked with food on our twice-a-week grocery runs. She steers the unwieldy shopping cart and keeps me entertained, while I feverishly try to find what we need and hustle us through the check-out counter, so that I can get back to work at a reasonable time! Love you, little darling!


We are off to the Cinqueterra today. We'll see when I can report in next!

Beach day!

Well, today it's rainy, but I finally am getting a few minutes to post pictures from our great day at the beach last Sunday. It was a beautiful day, with big puffy clouds and lots of sun. We bought a couple of beach blankets at Carrefor, the mini-mall, and also a few beach toys.

Most all of the beaches are semi-private here. That is, everyone has a right to water and a few meters of sand, but beyond that, private clubs organize their umbrellas (ombrello) and beach chairs (lettini) and charge a fee for use. When the water actually warms up, in July and August, the beaches are packed. We found this little club and a decent fee for entry, so we headed on in.


The girls had a blast playing in the sand, and wading in the water. A nice older couple had Maisie grinning and waving at them.


I bought Jessica a pair of AUTHENTIC(!!) Versace sunglasses from one of the many men who carried bags of goods along the beach. I talked him down from 25 euros to fifteen, which I thought was good. But I asked the old man next to us if I spent too much "Troppo caro?" and he said "si!" He managed to communicate to me that I can never spend more than half what the street vendors offer.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all you wonderful moms out there (especially our own, Marnie and Jenny). We hope you have a great day! I (Jessica) and my wonderful little family have already had a delicious French toast breakfast and we will be spending the rest of the afternoon in Lucca (again). May your day be full of blessing and relaxation...You are a life-giving, beautiful creation of the Lord and your value is immeasurable.

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb."
Psalm 139:13

"[We did not] seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children."
I Thessalonians 2:6-7

"A capable, intelligent and virtuous woman, who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far Above Rubies or pearls."
Proverbs 31:10

My Mother Gave Me The Moon - by Patrick Regan
My mother gave me the moon.
My mother gave me the stars.
My mother gave me the universe and all it's little miracles.
My mother gave me warmth.
My mother gave me security.
And all the while, my mother gave me room to grow
And the freedom to discover the world for myself.
My mother gave me the gift of countless sunny afternoons.
Of wheelbarrow races
and butterfly chases,
Bubbles of all sizes
and sweet surprises.
My mother gave me childhood,
pure and joyful.
My mother gave me friendship.
My mother gave me faith.
She instilled in me a sense of wonder
And the wisdom to be gentle with all living things.
My mother gave me dreams
And the courage to believe in them.
And she still does.
My mother made everday days seem special.
And made special days nothing short of magical.
She taught me to hold traditions dear...
And family close.
And long before anyone else did...
My mother showed me what love really is.

Driving in Italy

Some would say that drivers in Italy are a little bit insane, and I will certainly agree. But I've come to really enjoy the "flair" with which the Italians get around- driving is far more of an art form than in the U.S. In fact, I've come to prefer driving here, especially compared to the boring, slow-moving freeways and surface streets of Beaverton, Oregon.

I like the roundabouts. I like that lanes mean little. I like that you can pass whenever you want. I like that you can park *mostly) wherever you want. I like that many people use mopeds and motorcycles- it cuts down on the number of cars that are taking up space. I like the speeds on the Autostrade- sort of whatever suits your fancy.

Here is one fun little video about driving (and life) in Italy, and I've found most of it to be true. http://www.lifeinitaly.com/flash/

Loved Lucca!

Lucca was marvelous! I won't be able to write a lot about this great city because sadly I have to do a little work this evening. But I have included a map of the route we walked below, and a number of pictures from our day there. We had such a nice time that we'd like to go back. It was a perfect, lazy Sunday, with lots of Italians out strolling the old city. We found great food, fun shops, and the girls had a blast.











Hailey says, "I like to play fairies in Lucca. And I liked the bell towers." Cami says, "I liked seeing the horse drawn carriage. And I liked finding a four leaf clover!"



Here is a map of our day's adventure:

View Larger Map

Marble Day

On Saturday, we decided to go and explore the mountains behind us. I wrote about them when we arrived. They are called the Apuan Alps. See http://www.michelangelosmountain.com/excerpt.htm. Everyone said that it's good to go and see where the famous Cararra marble actually comes from.

We used our little AVMAP GPS unit to get us going in the right direction. There is a cut-through road between Massa and Cararra, which winds up into the hills a bit. Once in Cararra, we begun to head up into the mountains, on winding little roads. The first big tunnel we came to was full of traffic lights, but no other cars. All of the traffic lights were green, so cautiously I kept my foot on the gas pedal. I felt like I was doing something wrong, but eventually I came out of the tunnel into the bright sunlight.

Now we began to climb upwards, more and more. Lots of chunks of marble on both sides of the road, and switchbacks galore. We stopped for a quick picture at an interesting little "garden" of stone- all sorts of marble statues looking back at us from the road. One looked like caesar. Others might have been dwarves. Animals, too. It reminded me the White Witch's castles from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.


When we reached the little town of Colonnata, we had to ride a little bus the final 500 meters, up a very steep road. The driver was sure to pack the bus full. It seems like we could fall right off the side of the mountain, with such a tall bus on such a tiny road. But we made it to the top- now a captive audience in this little town.



We meandered a bit, and looked up towards the big marble mountain above us. Trucks were heading down, heavenly laden with rock- rumbing down the winding roads above. The sun beat down, so we looked for shade. We eventually found it in a little restuarant.

Now, Colonnata is known for it's "Lardo". Lardo is basically cured pig fat. My co-workers agreed that it is actually quite good. So I was game. We asked the nice waiter for a menu, but he spoke no english and only waved his hand, as if to say, "We have no menu". Who knows if he understood. He rattled off in Italiano, and I think I heard the words "bean enchilada", but I must have missed it. So finally, after he realized that I just wasn't following, he had me follow him downstairs to the kitchen. Three nice ladies were working away, and they literally showed me everything that was available. So I tried my best, "Un po di tutto!"- A little of all, hoping that we'd do okay.



We ended up with a huge spread, including no less than seven pig-derived products. Yes- I tried to lardo. It was surprisingly good. Read about Lardo.

We also enjoyed the pickled antipasti plate- that is, Jess and I. Cami enjoyed a few items. Maisie slept. Ellie just played with her straw, and dipped her bread in her water glass. Hailey didn't like the smell too much, and spent a lot of time peering out the window at another restuarant below.

So, I pounded down way too much meat and cheese. I didn't want it to go to waste-so I kept on eating. And it was good. Plus- I thought, "What will they think of us?"- that is, for not finishing more of the (good) food. "Come on, Jess- eat some more!" I pleaded. Finally, in some ridiculous attempt to make our spread look a bit more picked over, and lest we offend the kind cooks, I grabbed a bunch of meat and stuffed it in a little plastic bag! Jess said, "You will never see these people again in your life!" That didn't matter to me. I snuck the mt out of the restuarant, and threw it away in a garbage can on the main street!

We rode the bus back down to the parking lot, and then drove to the main marble (marmo) cave, at Fantiscriti. There was marble/rock dust all over, and the sun was now quite warm. I convinced Jess that I would always regret if we didn't go check out the quarry/cave, and she agreed- so we loaded up the bags, backpacks, and kids, and rode another little shuttle bus up to the quarry.

Of course, like much of our time in Italy, figuring out what to do, or where to stand, or how to get something done, is an adventure. We watched as some other families cut in front of us to ride the tour bus into the mountain, and eventually squeezed into one of the next tour buses. Deep in the dark mountain we went, all rumbling over uneven terrain. It reminded Cami and I of the bouncy Indiana Jones ride at D-land.

Inside the cave was very cool. We donned hard hats and actually had a semi-English-speaking guide explain the marble-harvesting methods. Huge columns of pure marble, 50 meters high and just as wide across, were left after the cutting, so that the mountain doesn't collapse! Apparently, engineers determined that columns of this size, and so far apart, is safe. How do they really know? Trial and error? What is remaining is a huge cavern, like the Mines of Moria from Lord of the Rings if you know that book. It was dark and damp and eerily expansive in the cave. Cold air meant the cave was consistently around 55 degrees. We got to yell as a big group, and then enjoy an amazing echo throughout the marble walls. These are the same marble fields where Michaelangelo selected pieces for some of his most famous works, such as the David in Florence, and the Pieta in Rome.



We rewarded the girls for good behavior with the usual helping of gelato down at the beach. The nice lady behind the counter now seems to know us and welcomes us back each time!

New feature on our site

Okay, we're way behind, but we finally started adding friends/family/favorite blog links at the bottom of our web page. Wish you didn't have to scroll all the way to the bottom to see them, but that's where they go with this blog template...

Hailey's Birthday - May 1st

Our very own Miss Genevieve turned five on Thursday- May Day. And May Day is synonymous with "labor day" here in Europe, so I had the day off from work, and the country celebrated the holiday.



Hailey received online greetings from family in Portland. She enjoyed watching the little greeting cards on dad's computer.

Jess baked a cake- which is tough, given that finding ingredients is a challenge, and the oven seems to cook unevenly, and we can't find measuring cups, etc. But the cake turned out great, and we had a fun little family party. The candles I grabbed were (accidentally) the kind that re-light themselves, which Hailey found only mildly amusing.

We loaded up our gifts, and headed down to the coast, because Hailey's wish was to play at the park and ride on the little coin-operated rides again. Once again, the weather was fantastic, and we had a wonderful afternoon celebrating this precious little girl.

Afternoon in Paradise

Trying to catch up here!

Here's a brief note about our incredible day visiting our friends, the Galloways, in Fiesole (prounounced Fee-ay-so-lay) on Sunday. This day was was absolutely MAGNIFICENT--we ate a delicious picnic lunch that Shandra prepared out in the middle of this old olive grove, beyond Fiesole in the Tuscan hills. We spread out our blankets under an olive tree--in foot tall grasses--on a hillside that had one of the most spectacular views I've ever seen.

Behind us were these old ruined buildings that were just above us on the road. The Galloways had dreamed of buying and renovating to live in, but for now enjoy the view for picnics and walks--without paying a cent!

The girls played with Shae and Shad while we adults visited..The boys were very accomodating and sweet to our girls, especially considering the big age difference between them. It was truly a dream to see our kids playing under the tuscan sun! Butterflies flitted past, and an occasional airplane left Florence and flew over the hills in the distance. Maisie enjoyed patting the Galloways dog, Primavera.

A perfect afternoon, forever now in our hearts. Thanks, Sean, Shandra, Shae and Shad, for being such kind hosts!

Castello di Massa

Another beautiful sunny day. I could spend my whole life in this nice weather! Puffy white clouds, seventy degrees, warm sun, gentle breeze, coast of italy in the distance, great mountains of marble just behind me.

Our little town of Massa is even more fun in the sunshine. I visited the big marble church while the girls tossed a ball on one of the "safer" (foot traffic only) streets. We meandered down the tiny streets near the main square, looking in shop windows and watching people walking past. Jess spent a few minutes in a store full of baby and kids' clothing. Too bad the dollar is so weak against the euro, or we would have probably bought some cute dresses for the girls! We found a little bread shop, and bought focaccia, pizza, and water. I kept seeing signs for some event called "Spina Fiorire" taking place this weekend. I finally figured out that it was some sort of special occasion, taking place at the castle- the same castle that we tried to visit the last day that Joyce was with us. (It was raining that day and the castle was closed. See how sad the girls looked!)

So after we went back to our apartment to freshen up (aka "everyone go use the potty!"), I went online and roughly translated the Spina Fiorire article on the Massa-Carrara website I found. The family that owns the castle- the Malaspina family, which roughly translates to Bad Thorn, has a spiny, thorny plant named after it. That plant/bush is found througout the many castles that the family owns. This particular castle in Massa was gutted by the Axis powers during World War II and is no longer full of decor. Nonetheless, the Spina Fiorire is an annual celebration of the blooming of the thorn bush, and the castle is open with free admission. Winemakers, cheesemakers and various other people from all around Tuscano and beyond come to the castle for a four day festival of sights and tastes. We could see red banners adorning the castle wall, even from our apartment.


Sounded like an adventure of us, so we loaded up the girls and drove just a few minutes to the parking area below the castle. There were so many cars jammed up and parked everywhere that we knew something neat was going on at the castle. We headed on up the cobblestone path, around the back side of the hill, and took pictures of the view along the way.



The castle gate was open, and people were coming and going. We found one passable English speaker inside the castle, who explained to us that we could walk throughout the castle and see the wares of the many artisans. I bought a wine glass, which entitled me to sample the free wines. There were banners, and people dressed in medieval costumes.


There were tables set up throughout the castle, and people constantly offering us cheese, olives, sips of wine, tastes of limoncello, and all sorts of other goodies, including pig heads






We couldn't have imagined a better afternoon. Jess found a great deal on a marble rolling pin, made right here in Massa-Carrara from the quarried rock. (Now I have to figure out how to get it home without breaking it!) The girls watched a man juggling swords and enjoyed some lollipops while we walked along one of the top walls of the castle. From way up that high, we could see our apartment and beyond, down towards Marina di Carrara and La Spezia.




Most of the time, I had either Ellie or Maisie on my shoulders or in the backpack. Climbing steps and slopes, I feel my legs getting stronger day by day! So far, this one of my favorite memories of our trip.