No Monsters in My Bed: Italy

9/8/17

Places to Go (Vacation) - Europe 2017 - Part II - Sardinia, Italy

After four days in Florence, we flew to Alghero, Italy on the island of Sardinia. I knew that by this point in the summer we'd all be craving a beach vacation and Sardinia did not disappoint. It's gorgeous. I wish we could have stayed longer and I really want to come back one day and spend more time exploring the island.

We rented a small house through airbnb, that had gorgeous gardens and a "grill" where Dan and T cooked pork chops. The beach and the cliffs were only 5 minutes away by car.

Anyone know what these are? We had no idea but they grew in the garden.

The house had bikes for us all of us to use and there were tons of beehives down the lane. T liked to ride down and check them out in the evenings.

Alghero is known for its beaches, there's even a "beach bus" that drives up and down the coast so you can check them all out. But the kids fell in love with Port Ferro, the beach closest to our house, and I could never convince them to visit any of the others.

Everyone warned us that the island would be crowded in August, but if you walked far enough from the parking lot, there were plenty of semi-secluded spots. Though in the future I would love to visit the island off season. A lot of people either rent or bring campers and vans and park on the beaches, which seems like a great way to spend a vacation.

Our days quickly took on the pattern of beach around noon and then night walks on the cliffs. And every night Dan would make a delicious meal at the house. I had hoped to explore more, but the kids seemed to need the easy days and everything surrounding us was so beautiful that I could understand why they didn't want to leave.

The water was perfect.

For our last full day on the island I talked everyone into driving to Bosa's castle (about an hour away). The road lined the coast, so I hoped we could get out and swim at different spots along the way. But that didn't quite work out as the road was much higher than the sea, making it the scariest drive of my life. It felt like we'd plummet into the ocean. On the way back we took the longer (but less stress-inducing) inland route.

Quirky flag, huh?

For the most part, the beaches of Sardinia were much prettier than the towns. But the views from the castle were pretty cool and we all liked walking on the castle's old walls.

Sometimes they got along and sometimes it was chaos.

After four days in Sardinia, we flew to Berlin, Germany. I'll have some photos up next week. In the meantime, have a great weekend!!

9/6/17

Places to Go (Vacation) - Europe 2017 - Part I - Florence, Italy

We started out this year's family vacation in Florence, Italy (unfortunately) during a heat wave.

We knew temperatures would be high in August, but 105 degree days weren't anticipated. Oh well, we tried to stay in the shade and make the best of it, but we also relaxed and napped.

Before arriving in Florence, we spent 9 hours flying to Vienna. Then a 4 hour layover. Then another 1.5 hours to our destination. Needless to say, by the time we arrived outside our airbnb, everyone was exhausted.

Florence street art . . .

We stayed on the less-crowded side of the river, so in the mornings we'd cross the Ponte Vecchio to see more of the city. The views were phenomenal. The crowds were not.

I had a great time people watching (well, until the crowds became unbearable).

We spent our first full day touring the Uffizi museum with Context tours (LOVE THEM!). We saw some great art and even more cellphones. SO. MANY. CELLPHONES.

During our trip, I read a book on the Medici family, which kept emphasizing how ugly they all were. But the sculptures still took me by surprise. It's hard to believe this was both a real person and an incredibly powerful man.

Dan talked the kids into wearing hats to help with the heat. Like an Indian Jones family. Sort of. Maybe.

More people watching.

Driftwood sculptures lined the river. Clever.

Loved this art gallery. I had to do a double take as we walked by.

In the evening, we hiked up to Piazza Michelangelo to check out views of the city.

And then we walked back down and caught sunset over the bridge.

I'm such a huge fan of airbnb, Dan made a wonderful dinner and then we stayed up late playing Code Names.

We spent our second day wandering the town and shopping at San Lorenzo Market, where Dan bought fresh ingredients for another absolutely fabulous dinner.

Heat wave downtime.

At night, we sat on our rooftop patio and watched the sunset. Gorgeous.

We spent our final full day touring the Boboli Gardens and Pitti Palace. The gardens were somewhat run-down, which disappointed us (especially since it was so hot while walking through them). Luckily the palace had air-conditioning.