The first half of our Italian summer is nearly over. We have had quite a whirlwind of visitors and adventures in this last 2.5 weeks....
After a day to recover from jet lag and to get the house back in order Gio and I headed back to Bologna where we collected Papa and Maria who flew overnight from South Africa.
Wow was I happy to get my girl back!
Maria was so excited about her new dress from godfathers Tim & Jay and her new shoes from me!
Showing off the new look...
Maria spent the last 2 weeks in Pretoria playing football (aka soccer) with Nomsa and Paolo. She is obsessed!
First weekend and already at a party. This one at our favorite agriturismo to celebrate the baptism of Paolo's best friend's new son.
A baptism on the evening of the Italy-Germany EuroCup match means a TV set up in the garden and a pre-game warmup.
The next morning Gio and I headed back to Bologna to collect Uncle Tucker who flew all the way from Reno, NV, to see us! Gio was beyond excited as you can see as he waited at the arrival gate...
Immediately assaulted right at the gate!
Tucker brought some amazing gifts for the kids including Maria's new favorite thing- a pink skateboard!
Climbing shoes for Gio and this chalk belt for Maria who immediately decided it made an excellent "big pocket!".
Trying out the skateboard...
Notice Maria's new "babbit" shoes, a gift from her Zia Paola!
We had a fabulous visit from the Maher family who were with us in Kyiv (now living in Brussels). It was hard to say goodbye especially for Gio who adores their youngest daughter Juliet. They were inseparable for 3 straight days.
How I missed hanging out with my buddy Kirsten- she made my days in Ukraine so much happier. It was fun to catch up with her but I wish we had had more time!
Tucker came to visit us AND to climb the famous "Pietra di Bismantova" in our town. He did some serious climbing while he was here but also took time to teach Gio some of the basics.
They started with practice in our orchard.
Soon you will see Gio on a real rock!
We had an amazing hail storm and collected some evidence.
Perhaps the latest Christmas card ever received! All the way from Saudi Arabia.
Pizza with Zio Tuckerino.
Time to try out the rock.
Our excellent kennel in Pretoria sends us updates nearly every day. This time we got photos of our boys!
Pepperoni does not look too thrilled. He misses his freedom!
My climbing spider.
Meet Lorenzo (the baby baptized last week).
Maria fell instantly in love and wants to hold him constantly.
Fortunately Lorenzo is the most laid-back baby I have ever met and does not mind Maria's "extra" love.
Gio finally got a turn.
Here is the Pietra di Bismantova. Tucker did two days of climbing here.
More Uncle Tucker time for Gio on the Pietra.
And what to do after a big climb? Gelato, of course. Our final evening with Tucker. Sad for everyone. Lots of wine consumed!
How did we drown our sorrows after dropping Tucker at the airport? Chocolate croissants, of course.
It was an early morning airport run so Maria slept the whole way back home.
Still sad about having to say goodbye to Tucker so we did some of Maria's favorite things, starting with a haircut from Angelo the barber....
...then gelato.
The day after we said goodbye to Tucker we hit the road ourselves for a week in Tuscany. Maria napped for much of the 4 hour drive.
Yes, we still have US plates on our car. Still working on that. Meanwhile we get a lot of funny looks on the highway and even, at this gas station, the question: "Did they build a bridge?" And here I thought US geography education was poor!
First day under the Tuscan sun. Maria grew to love napping on the beach during this vacation!
Our hotel had a lovely pool.
One evening we drove around and found this amazing agriturismo on a real working farm (many of these places are "farms" in names only). There were 6 dogs hanging around under the tables and a field full of cows right next to us.
Check out the size of the steaks! Much of this ended up being fed to the dogs under the table.
Maria loved swimming in the sea and making "apple cake."
Power snacking.
Followed by power-napping.
"I woked up from baby seep!" (baby sleep = nap)
Toddler yoga.
Final day at the beach. Gio spent an average of 7 hours a day in the water surfing, swimming and searching for sea life. This is truly his favorite element! On our last morning we had to wake Gio 15 minutes before our 10AM check-out. I sent Maria in for the job...
Final hours at the pool.
And then our Tuscan holiday was over.
Hammock time back home.
Gio woke this morning with an ear ache (likely from all of the swimming). Maria decided she needed to call the doctor....
Paolo heads back to Pretoria on Saturday. The kids and I stay until August 4th. More from Italy soon. xoxo. Clara
