Ship It

Calvin played with the movers as they finished boxing/bubble wrapping our stuff. They played with his too. These sweaty, tired men who carried 22 boxes down a flight of stairs and then back up a flight of stairs, tickled Calvin with their markers and put tape on his arm and even gave him some bubble wrap to play with. I am not sure I can expect that kind of treatment from some American movers on the other end. They really really love children.

All we have left is what will be in our suitcases. Almost there.

Segovia

My favorite part of Segovia was the building facades. Most had some sort of interesting pattern on it that popped out at you as you walked by.

The aqueduct is awesome, even though it looks like it was built last week and has some refuse in it when you walk to find the source. The cathedral is beautiful and the Alcazar sweet. We were in the Alcazar with hordes of children which was actually quite enjoyable. They were really cute - taking pictures of each other and running around the place, trying their best to be respectful. I suppose it is like their "Waterloo Village" or something.

There was TONS of pollen here. Aimee is running in it in one of the pics. I think I have European pollen issues - I have terrible allergies over here.

We ate some delicious desserts and slept A LOT. Ah - Segovia. The place of rest.

Ma-drid

San Miguel Market

Aimee and I had a little Madrilena soiree last weekend and it was so necessary. Getting away from the kiddies and hubby and lojmanlar life in general is such a necessary thing around here. There is so much time spent together and with no one else but ourselves, we have to fly somewhere to socialize with the outside world. I know, sounds terrible.

The people were awesome, knowing Spanish was also awesome. It was sort of surreal being in the country that we always talked about in Spanish class. I had this realization that Spanish is a language that is not just spoken sometimes in the US - it actually has a country all its own.

Did I forget to mention food? We had these churros on the left dipped in a "hot chocolate" substance that I dream about. We had tappas that were insanely good and we had us some chorizo. The best chorizo was the stuff I brought home. Thank goodness a friend asked for some, so I brought some home for myself and it was so tasty.

Because we went during the San Isidro Festival there were stages set up everywhere we went and performances that were going on in the evenings. We just missed whatever show was going in the Plaza Mayor, but we did not miss the ped traffic on the way out. I told Aimee, this is when I feel safe in a city - when there are floods of people all over. It reminds me of NY after all the Broadway Shows let out.

Sol Metro Station

It was late and we were hungry on this very same night and we wanted paella. After sitting down to try to eat some and being denied since the "kitchen was closed" (it was only 10pm), we scooted into this little tapas bar on the Plaza and chowed down without asking price. Three tapas and 60 bucks later, ou bellies were full.

Expensive Tapas on Plaza Mayor

We visited the Botanical Gardens before heading in to the Prado museum (what a massive art museum). The flowers were few and far between in some areas, but where they stood, they were beauteous. It was nice strolling in some nature after being in the city for 48 hours. Us Jerseyans need us some green.


After the museums and an overnight in Segovia with some hiking, we hit the flamenco club to watch a little bit of the saucy moves. It was great. Relaxing, entertaining, more yummy chorizo-ish sausage. Yumminess.

Where to next sisters?

Obama Piggybacks Vacation Plans!

Unbelievable. It seems that Obama decided to do what the Clarks have planned.

Pete is going to Prague this weekend,
and so is Obama.

My parents are coming to Istanbul and we will be sightseeing next week,
and so is Obama.

Is he for real?

Who does he think he is trying to get in on our family time?

I hope I can find out where he will be so we know where not to go. Poser.

(Happy Travels everyone! ...even Obams)

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.

the return

Is it possible to eat an entire country, with the family included? I will feed you daily doses so you don't gain too much weight.

got the sickness

Italy is beautiful, we are not. I will tell you all about it when we get home on Thursday.

IS Beauty

The beauty of International Schools is the great travel advice right at our fingertips.

I went to a neighbor's house tonight and we stared at a huge google maps-like aerial photograph of Rome on his wall and he told me stories about walking his dog to the Trevi Fountain at 5 in the morning and walking to work past the Colloseum each day. He told me about the Trastevere neighborhood and that it is very quiet and tame during the day, but at night all the restaurants just open up and the best part of Italy is its people eating. He told me he thinks the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel are overrated and that he would not go to them (don't worry, we are still going). He told me about thin crusted pizza that we might not like. I asked him if it was the kind you fold, he said yes, and I said -- we know that kind and we will fold it and consume it.

He lived in Italy for 8 yrs.

You cannot get better advice about travel than this. Thanks to great friends who have lived all over the world and who love to travel every break they get.

Looking Forward to Pizza

Calvin has acquired a love of pizza. He calls most things he likes to eat "pizza" and even if he knows he's wrong, it is as if he uses it to show affection to only his most favorite meals.

There are only 3 kinds of pizza here in Turkey: Domino's, Papa John's, and Pide (which is not really pizza at all). We ate some pide when we first got here, but haven't had it in a while. We used to eat Domino's before and after vacations. But now we eat Papa John's (mmm...Papa John's).

Just the other day Calvin looked at the fridge and pulled down the Domino's magnet and said, "Pizza Mommy?" - as in, "Can we get some?"

And we are totally getting some. Not Domino's, not Papa John's, and definitely not Pide. We are going to the birthplace of modern pizza (okay - maybe not Naples, but just nearby). We are heading to Italy next Friday and all of us cannot wait to get our hands on some pizza. Some real, good, what Brother's used to serve, PIZZA.