Venitian Twizzlers

So there is also no licorice in Istanbul. We have yet to figure out why, but we can only find gummy things, not licorice-y ones.

In Venice we were happy to find these huge (everything is huge) licorice desserts. It was like a licorice tube stuffed with some sort of creamy, candy stuffing. To say they were delicious is not good enough. We got 4 different flavors and they were scrumptious.

We were also able to purchase a branded kind of the same thing at the grocery store made by Haribo -- a brand Turkey has, but not a product they possess. Bizarre.

Meat and Cheese

Warning: Vegans and Vegetarians may be upset by the content of this post.

In Milan, we were walking from our hotel to the nearest subway station, Pete and I passed a ridiculously crowded butcher shop with some of the most beautiful meat we have ever seen. Just loads of different, gorgeous cuts of beef and pork and even some chicken, we could not help but stare in awe of its beauty.

We stopped on the sidewalk and stared in. Too nervous to enter since we would stick out as tourists with our 2 kids and big backpack and camera in addition to our inability to speak the language.

We didn't enter the first time, nor the second, but we vowed that on our return to Milan we would enter that store and show them our money and purchase some meat and cheese. When we got back to Milan, our first pass was a bust since it was siesta time, they were closed, but on the second pass it was like 1849. We entered and we purchased.

A hunk of cheese big enough to feed a mastiff sized mouse and 2 huge chunks of meat equaling the pig's rump. To taste Parmesan and prosciutto together in Istanbul is worth the extra carry-on weight. Extra yum.

Home of the Happy Hippo

I did not know I was visiting the HHH when we first made plans to visit Italy, but was happily surprised to find my favorite chocolate (and hazelnut) friend in the grocery stores there.

With the Happy Hippo, anyone's travel nightmare can turn into a dream. It cures fevers, homesickness, and achy backs.

Amazon ships them to the US for 5 USD/package, but it seems more economical to fly to Italy. At least you can also see where they are born.

Too Small.

Florence was great since everyone was starting to feel a bit better. Pete had a bad day at the beginning of our stay, but by the end we were enjoying really good food (since we could all stand to sit in a restaurant together instead of ordering crappy to go pizza) and there was a merry-go-round for Calvin's enjoyment and of course delicioso gelato.

Florence is too small for all the art it has there. The churches have this beautiful green and white and almost pink facade that makes them really defined against any other buildings that surround them. We hit the Uffizzi and the Vecchio Palace and of course walked across Ponte Vecchio.



We had an awesome meal at this place called Garibaldi (thanks to our pension owner's husband who sweetly asked me to repeat my question when I asked him for a good place to eat -- thankfully he understood my hand motions and we struck gold - if food could be made out of gold - at this place). Pete had rabbit. He was like a mountain man tearing it apart. We ate there two nights. One where we ruined an Australian couple's romantic 6pm meal by having Calvin eat fussily and feeding Harrison 2 inches away from the coat hanger. And another where we successfully entertained Calvin with his gamut of toys but it didn't matter since we were the only ones in the place.

 

Too Big.

There is lots to see in Rome. I am thinking we will visit some museums the next time we go.

 

We kept trying to not go to the hospital with Calvin, but after his 3rd day with a fever we thought we should hit up some antibiotics and a trip to the hospital was the only way to go. They gave us the scrip, and they also gave us this awesome medication that made his fever disappear in minutes for as long as 10 hours. It was insane. The downside to the meds was that I had to insert it somewhere I did not really want to. My poor boy. Gelato every night helped a bunch.

Milan to Venice

This is where the sickness hit. Calvin was super sweet all morning and was very easy to manage. We thought he was just tired and wanted to nap on the train ride to Venice. Instead throw up was spewed all over my right arm and then a second time all over the train seat. Not so yummy.



What was yummy was my sweet boy snuggling with me for the entire ride and then him snuggling in bed in the hotel while Pete and I ventured out to see things like this.

 

Milan - the Duomo

Calvin and Pete are in the lower left of the photo below. We had the roof to ourselves mostly. It was great.




When I think of Milan I think fashion. I didn't see many models running around where we went, but this little church is certainly the most fashionable one we saw. (Calvin is looking at the "yucky" pigeon poo on the statue in the square - hence the squinty face). That flower looks so yummy. Mmmm...I can just taste it.

Yummy

The Last Supper lives here.

It is in a small side room. You can look at the painting for a few fleeting minutes, or seconds, depending on whether you have a 3 yr old on your shoulders (and there is another not so noteworthy painting on the back wall).

It moved me to think about the intense amount of art that was created in one country. I can not organize it all in my brain. I need a good curator. I do not know whether to organize it according to artist, years, or regions.

I also wish I was my sister. She loves this art much more than I do. I liked the building it was housed in though.