Going back!

As the saying goes,

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We are excited to announce that we will be traveling back to Italy shortly, with a quick trip to Malta and a week long visit to Spain!

I can’t wait to share our journey with you. We have many exciting things planned, including visiting Barcelona, seeing the Mille Miglia in Rome, racing down to Malta for a early morning, late night two day trip, and the boys running with the bulls at the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona.

We cannot wait to share, and I am thrilled to be blogging about our travels again! Thanks for joining us!

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On the road again… To Pavia!

On the 13th the family departed for Pavia/Portalbera, which is right between Turin and Milan. On our way there we took a very leisurely and relaxing car trip. We took mostly scenic routes to enjoy the beautiful countryside. 

On the way to Pavia. at Lake Garda, Italy

Look at that eyebrow!!

Family at Lake Garda, Italy

Family photo… It’s wonderful for all of us to be in there. Again this is courtesy of Backpack. He is really an excellent photographer. 😉

Lake Garda

We drove for a nice while around this lake, Lake Garda.

Hitchhiking at Lake Garda

How Andrew gets around. Hitchhiking!

Lake Garda

Standing around looking at all the beauty around us.

Lake Garda

A lovely shot of the water.

Sailboats at Lake Garda

Boats and water…

Pulling off while driving around Lake Garda

Many times while we were driving we would see a pretty spot and pull off, like we did here.

Eating at Lake Garda

Or we would stop to eat lunch…

Fake Ferrari

Andrew wasn’t exactly thrilled with dad’s choice of cars. He would have preferred something a little more…red…more…HORSEY. So he altered our black Ford Fiesta.

Aperol Spritz and chips  

That evening we got some aperitivs from the grocery store and some potato chips to eat at home. (also, not pictured because I’m a flake, a coconut. I like coconut! ;))

McDonalds wifi Using McDonald's wifi

What happens when the house you’re staying in doesn’t have wi-fi… 😛

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Bologna

On June 7th Dad held a course in Bologna. He had taken Mom with him the night before and they spent the night there, while the kids stayed back in Rimini. The next morning we all got up at 5 and drove to Bologna to tour the city. 

Bologna is famous for its University (the oldest in Europe), its food and its Galleries. They are covered walkways that have arches looking out on to the street. The longest one is the one leaving from the main church down into the town. It has 666 arches and is over 2 miles long. Because we are how we are, we ran until arch 333, over a mile before we hopped in the car and continued down to site see.The longest gallery, Bologna, Italy

The longest Gallery

Sanctuary of St. Luke, Bologna, Italy

Bologna’s main church, the Sanctuary of St. Luke. This houses a painting of Our Lady painted by St. Luke.

Portico in Bologna, Italy

Looking down the portico.

Sanctuary of St. Luke in Bologna, Italy

The view from the Sanctuary.

Inside the Sanctuary of St. Luke in Bologna, Italy

Inside the Church.

Inside the Sanctuary of St. Luke in Bologna, ItalyInside the Sanctuary of St. Luke in Bologna, ItalySanctuary of St. Luke in Bologna, Italy

The facade and the beginning of the covered walkway.

Drinking Birra Moretti in the main square in Bologna, Italy

Relaxing and having a beer in the main Piazza that afternoon.

 

 

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Osimo and Rimini Beach

On June 6th we went up to Osimo, which isn’t very far from where we were staying. Osimo is where St. Joseph Cupertino lived the last years of his life, died, was buried and was canonized. On our way up to the church dedicated to him, we stopped at an outlook to look at our surroundings. 

Overlook on the way up to Osimo, Italy

Alex

Overlook on the way up to Osimo, Italy Mom on the overlook on the way up to Osimo, Italy

Mom

Overlook on the way up to Osimo, Italy

Mom waaaayy at the end…

Overlook on the way up to Osimo, Italy

The courtyard of the church dedicated to St. Joseph Cupertino

The courtyard of the church dedicated to St. Joseph Cupertino

Inside the church dedicated to St. Joseph Cupertino

The inside.

 

That evening, Mom and Dad went to Bologna to set Dad up for a presentation job he had to do the next day. So the kids went to the beach that was extremely close to where we were staying.

Rimini Beach, Rimini Italy

Walking along the shore.

Sail boats at sunset in Rimini Beach, Rimini Italy

The sun setting slowly

Sunset Rimini Beach, Rimini Italy

More of the sunset, just now with me thrown in there.

Sunset at Rimini Beach, Rimini Italy

Alex looking out to the sea.

A baby crab Rimini Beach, Rimini Italy

We caught a tiny crab!

Lighthouse at Rimini Beach, Rimini Italy

 

All 5 of us got up in a lighthouse tower and got backpack to take a picture. In hindsight, getting up on something that people can LITERALLY see for miles around, even in the sea to take a picture is slightly stupid. Very stupid…

Lighthouse sign Rimini Beach, Rimini Italy

Especially after we saw a sign forbidding us to do EVERYTHING we did. Though in our defense, we didn’t see the sign till much later.

Wandering around the beach town we managed to come across a couple of cool things.

Fountain at Rimini Beach, Rimini Italy

Including this fountain

Ferrari F430 Spyder at Rimini Beach, Rimini Italy

And a FERRARI. 🙂

 

 

 

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Road up to Rimini!

On June 5th we left Rome and started our upward journey by going to Rimini.

We started the car ride up like this… 

Shoes on the dash

All our shoes went on the back dash

Road trip!

 

We were all crazy and excited.

But gradually it became like this…

Sleeping on road trip up to Rimini! Sleeping on road trip up to Rimini!

We had a wonderful view with mountains on the left as we drove along with the coast along the right.

View of the beach on our road trip up to Rimini! Driving on our road trip up to Rimini!

That evening, when we got in, we went to dinner with a priest friend and got some gelato afterwards.

Eating in Rimini

A dinner table picture.

Fried cheese and vegetables

What Big Al got for dinner. That is a big thing of grilled smoked cheese, surrounded by grilled vegetables.

Eating gelato in Rimini at night

 

Mary and Augustin enjoying their gelato outside in the pizza.

 

 

 

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Dicomano with Le Pera family!

On Sunday we got up very early and went to Mass on our way to The Le Pera family’s house. Mom and Dad first met Tommy and Erminio 32 years ago when they first moved to Italy-near Florence to be precise, weeks after getting married. We have remained friends with them throughout the years and we kids (they have two daughters, Eleonora and Gaia) have grown up together.

Driving up to Florence area

Our early morning faces.

Driving to Florence

The surrounding area

After a family dinner outside of Florence, Italy

One half of the table (the sweet one I have my arm around and the one Augustin is sitting on are Gaia and Eleonora. The rest are different friends)

After a family dinner outside of Florence, Italy

Other half of the table. Mom and Dad, Erminio and Tommy. 🙂

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It was also the day of a big feast day in the little town they lived in so the church was decorated with flowers. What you see above is all flowers.

After a family dinner outside of Florence, Italy with some friends

Another cute shot of (from left to right) Mom, Dad, Erminio, and Tommy.

 

I would like to apologize for not having posted anything on this site in such a long time. Our internet has been non-existent for the past little bit, except for data on the smartphones. And wi-fi is necessary to upload photos. However, I am going to try and catch you up on what we did!

 

 

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St. Paul Outside the Walls

St. Paul Outside the Walls is one of Romes four major (papal) basilicas. We were lucky enough to go visit it with some friends of ours. The Basilica was originally founded by Emperor Constantine I over the burial site of St. Paul in 370. In 386 it was renovated and extensively remodeled under Theodosius I. Throughout the years, St. Paul Outside the Walls has been damaged by natural disasters and human inflicted damage, including Saracen invasions in the 9th century.  

St. Paul Outside the Walls, in Rome, Italy

Panorama taken of the facade.

Mosaic facade of St. Paul Outside the Walls, in Rome, Italy

A closer look at the incredible mosaics on the facade of the church.

Columns up to St. Paul Outside the Walls, in Rome, Italy

A walkway up to the church entrance.

Columns at St. Paul Outside the Walls, in Rome, Italy

The intricate scrollwork on each column

Column at St. Paul Outside the Walls, in Rome, Italy

A shot from an interesting angle, again of a column.

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The main nave of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Boys at St. Paul Outside the Walls, in Rome, Italy

One of the side naves with a couple of little buggers (Augustin, Christian, and Antonio) posing for a photo. 😉

 

 

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Villa d’Este and Dad’s Birthday!

On Dad’s birthday we went to one of his favorite places in Italy, Villa d’Este. Villa d’Este was originally commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito d’Este. Cardinal d’Este had been lobbying for the papacy and was appointed governor of Tivoli (where Villa d”este is located) by Julius (who had been elected) to earn Cardinal Ippolito’s loyalty. When Julius started building a palace and gardens, Ippolito took over a Monastery and started building what is currently known as Villa d’Este. Hundreds of fountains are supplied with water from the Aniene River.  

Mom and Dad at Villa D'Este, Tivoli Italy. Outside of Rome

Mom and Dad right after we got there.

Fountains at Villa D'Este, Tivoli Italy. Outside of Rome Mom at Villa D'Este, Tivoli Italy. Outside of Rome IMG_2986

Mom and Dad acting like an old married couple (oh, wait, they are an old married couple. :))

Fountain over look at Villa D'Este, Tivoli Italy. Outside of Rome Moss covered fountains at Villa D'Este, Tivoli Italy. Outside of Rome View from above, at Villa D'Este, in Tivoli, Italy, outside of Rome. arch at Villa D'Este, in Tivoli, Italy, outside of Rome. View from above at Villa D'Este, in Tivoli, Italy, outside of Rome. Statues at Villa D'Este, in Tivoli, Italy, outside of Rome. At Villa D'Este, in Tivoli, Italy, outside of Rome. At Villa D'Este, in Tivoli, Italy, outside of Rome. IMG_2876 Fountains at Villa D'Este, Tivoli, Italy. Outside of Rome Fountains at Villa D'Este, Tivoli, Italy. Outside of Rome Fountains at Villa D'Este, Tivoli, Italy. Outside of Rome Mom in front of fountains at Villa D'Este, Tivoli, Italy. Outside of Rome

Momma looking like a movie star.

Fountains at Villa D'Este, Tivoli, Italy. Outside of Rome Fountains at Villa D'Este, Tivoli, Italy. Outside of Rome At Villa D'Este, Tivoli, Italy. Outside of Rome Mom and Dad at Villa D'Este, Tivoli, Italy. Outside of Rome

Mom and Dad on the stairs leading up to the Villa.

Villa D'Este, Tivoli, Italy. Outside of Rome

Please note Andrew being a creeper at the end of the bushes on the right hand side.

Staircase in Villa D'Este, Tivoli, Italy. Outside of Rome

A spirally stair case.

Villa D'Este, Tivoli, Italy. Outside of Rome

Alex

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Ostia Beach with the Family

Mom and Dad got back late last night, so today we all went as a family to the beach. It was very windy and rather chilly, so we didn’t do any swimming, just walking around. It was a very nice time just relaxing with the family.

But first. this is how we started our day… (you will probably see a lot of this little guy as he lives just below us)  

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Teaching him bad manners…. Crazy boys!

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Jakob taking a rest with Big Al.

 

On to the beach!

Ostia beach, Rome, Italy IMG_2394 Philly and Alex at Ostia beach, Rome, Italy

Me and Alex looking at something interesting. I can’t remember what.

Mom at Ostia beach, Rome, Italy

Mom enjoying the waves

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To be perfectly honest, this picture wasn’t SUPPOSED to look like this. Gus was digging in the sand…. Andrew saw a piece of wood….. I had a camera…. It just happened…. I am not sure Augustin actually knows we took this picture. We’re sneaky like that. 🙂

Andrew doing a handstand at Ostia beach, Rome, Italy

Andrew doing a handstand!

On the Rocks at Ostia beach, Rome, Italy

 

A cool picture of Alex. However, after I took that picture (I may have not warned him there was an enormous wave coming. I wanted a good picture…) His expression changed to….

Alex at Ostia beach, Rome, Italy

(actual picture, I continued snapping as he jumped down, his back soaking wet.)

Dad at Ostia beach, Rome, Italy

A nice picture of Dad.

kids at Ostia beach, Rome, Italy

The four kids. Unfortunately at this point our camera lenses were coated in water and salt.

Philly at Ostia beach, Rome, Italy

Me, no that is not a horn sprouting, that is a wild lock o’ hair!

Mom and Alex at Ostia beach, Rome, Italy 

Mom and Alex

The boys at Ostia beach, Rome, Italy

The three boys (again, wind, salt and mist made for a hard time capturing photos)

 Philly at Ostia beach, Rome, Italy

Me again.

The three boys also went across the street at some point during the day and have this gem to show for what they do in their free time! gelato

 

 

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