Our first week in Italy is behind us and what a fun-filled week it was!
Obviously, we had to enjoy the gorgeous sunshine and warm November weather first and spend quite a huge part of the week – you guessed it – at the beach. It’s only a short walk from our house and the kids are having an absolute blast being able to just “pop to the beach quick” after school. This week alone we have spent countless hours either in the middle of the ocean waves or taking barefoot evening walks alongside them. Yesterday we walked for a good 2-3 hours and it didn’t even feel like it.
Oddly enough screen time doesn’t seem to be missed all that much either. Turns out our kids would take a day by the ocean over the Switch any day. (Sorry Nintendo.)
And they learn so much along the way. Just the other day we discovered an estuary. There is a fairly big park close to our house and one of the rivers that run through it flows right into the ocean.
Yes, you could let them read a schoolbook about brackish water and they’d probably remember for a minute or two. Or you can show them, let them walk in it, feel how it is much colder than even the ocean, and teach them while they are literally playing in it. The crazy part is they will probably remember that longer than any text in any schoolbook ever written. And they don’t even have any idea they are learning something.
On those rare occasions where we’ve made it away from the sandy beaches we did some, ok a lot of, grocery shopping to make amazing Italian dishes at home. I love you Italy. Thank you for having more, so much more cheese than Croatia did. Did I mention the pasta, focaccia, burrata, and so much more? Italian food has always been my absolute favorite, I could quite literally live off of pasta and cheese. The occasional piece of Tiramisu doesn’t hurt either.
So grocery shopping here is just a blast for me.
I realize most people travel for the sights, I travel for the food. I don’t oppose a beach either.
Earlier this week we also checked out the town of Pietrasanta, a town filled with tiny little art stores and old churches and buildings. The narrow old streets, filled with dim orange lights as soon as nightfall hits, were overflowing with tiny art studios of the most different kinds. Paintings, hand-sewn clothes, sculptures, the list goes on. Really adorable little town, whether you are into art or not.
Even if you are really, really not, the fat naked soldier with the erect um cough, well, you know… – more professionally called “The Warrior” by Fernando Botero at the city entrance should at least get a chuckle out of you. It sure got one out of our kids.
Today we are going to hit the beach again after school and work, take a little walk through the nearby park for St. Martins (shout out to all the Germans: “Rabimmel-Rabammel-Rabumm!”) and then be about as cliche as it gets.
Dinner tonight is at the local Pizzeria.
Did I remember to mention I love Italian food? 😉
The boss, the general, and the brains of the operation. Anya is the mom of this crazy group of misfits. When not traveling the world and teaching her kids to be decent human-beings, she likes to bake, sing, be goofy. Aside from all that she does for Five of a Kind, she is also a short term foster mother for infants in need.
She also enjoys unreasonably spicy foods and is searching for a hot sauce that is spicy enough and yet still has some kind of flavor to it.
