Up to Mottarone

We've had a lot of people tell us that we needed to spend a day on Mottarone. This easily accessible mountain is nearby, and the views are amazing on a clear day. We took this Saturday to follow the advice.

We started in Stresa, a great little town that we've visited on a number of occasions. From there, we took the Funivia to the top of the mountain. Despite knowing that it will occur, experincing the difference in the temperatures is fascinating. In Stresa the weather was warm and spring-like, but there was snow on the mountain deeper than we are tall.

The views were spectacular. You could see several lakes as well as the tall peaks of the Alps. There are many ski slopes and several resturants at the top, as well as walking trails and lots of room for kids to play in the snow. Sammy and Thomas loved the snow, especially stumbling in it along the steep slopes. We had a fantastic multi-course lunch, and enjoyed wandering around (we weren't prepared to ski with Sammy) before heading home. All in all, it was another fun trip.

We hope to do some real travelling next weekend, heading south!

Italian Driving Arithmetic

Don Diego Goes to School

Friday was Carnevale day at school.  Since Haloween isn't really celebrated in Italy, this is the time of year for the kids to dress up and have costume parties.  All the kids got to wear costumes to Thomas' school today.  Thomas wanted to go as Zorro.  Of course, we couldn't send him with a sword, but he did have the cape, black costume, and muscles (see photo).  Happy Carnevale!

No Cheese, Gromit, Not a bit in the House

Well, not quite...
Despite being less than diligent about the cheese posts, we continue to eat the stuff. Luckily John remembered to grab the camera recently.

Aged Parmigiano-Reggiano with thick and sweet balsalmic vinegar is always a treat.

This hard cheese was spotted with bits of black truffle throughout. It's now one of John's favorites.

Soft and sweet, this was a nice cheese.

Another Nice Sunset

Road Trip to Castell'Arquato

The weather really improved this week, turning sunny and crystal clear by the week-end. This time of year is spectacular, especially the views of Monte Rosa and the rest of the mountains.

For a little adventure on Saturday, we hopped in the car and headed south, visiting the fortress-like medieval town of Castell'Arquato. 

It's a beautiful little town (built, it seems, entirely of cobblestones and bricks), located in the northwest corner of the Emilia-Romagna region. 

We parked at the base of the hill, and had a great time getting lost on the little streets while hiking up to the Rocca, a fortress that dominates the town. We took a tour of the tall tower, marveled at the views, visited a couple of museums, and explored a church that was 'rebuilt' in the 12th century. All in all, it was a fantastic outing.

We don't have much other news. Sammy still loves running in the grass (it never grows old), and Thomas is still thrilled to be learning how to read. For the rest, Ann and John are in the swing of the normal daily grind.

Also, happy Valentines day to all of our loved ones!

Happy Sam in the Sun

We don't have much exciting news to share this week. Since it downpoured on Saturday, we stayed home. Sunday was beautiful, however, so we had a chance to get outside. Sammy loved running around in the grass. We hope to take another trip next weekend, if the weather continues to cooperate. We had a parent-teacher conference for Thomas. The teacher reports that he's doing well in school. Nearly every day he brings home a few different books to read to us. Other than that, it's been a routine week.

Basilica di Superga

This week our lives got a little bit back to normal. John had a lot of visitors at work, so it was a long and busy week for him. With the entire family healthy again, Thomas was in full-gear at school (learning the maths and reading), while Sammy and Ann had a normal schedule.

This weekend we took a little excursion near Turin, to visit the Basilica of Superga. This church rests at the top of a tall hill, overlooking the city of Turin and the surrounding countryside. It contains the tombs of the Savoy family, which ruled Piedmont for hundreds of years as dukes, and later as kings. The inside of the church was under reconstruction when we arrived, but we did visit the tombs (which were simply amazing), the museum, and also climbed to dome. Our drive to Superga was through thick fog, which cleared as we drove up the steep hills. Unfortunately, the fog obscured the views a little, but it was nonetheless a great little day-trip.