Month: August 2013

September 4th, Nicole, Dustin, Declan and I packed up my little red car and made our way to Rome. We made a few stops on the way…

Our first stop was in the land of Ferraris, where Dustin got to test drive a Ferrari. He was pretty much giddy. Declan considered trading in his ride…




Next we stopped at my favorite hilltop town, Civita Bagnoregio. Bellisimo! The town apparently has started charging entry (easy to do since there is only one way in) to try to do some repairs. It’s pretty much a ghost town right now because people got scared the whole place would fall off the cliffs after a big earth quake.

Declan enjoyed being tortured in the back seat by his Aunt Nicole. But she made up for it by feeding him chocolate chips when I wasn’t looking.

While Dustin and Nicole were here we did a cooking class in Vicenza. We learned how to make hand made pasta, carbonara sauce, bread, mixed meats (which included bunny rabbit, pheasant, sausage) and homemade gelato. I really should have taken more photos of the finished food…

While my sister Nicole and her husband Dustin were here, we all went out for a double date night. It would have been pretty much perfect if it hadn’t been for my screaming sidekick, little Declan. That kid was NOT happy. Nick showed them around all day (i.e. forced them to walk at least 20 miles, maybe more…the joy of Venice!) then I came in the evening after managing to rid myself of one minion (Jonah). We went out to dinner and then took a starlit gondola ride. Declan was a little fussy for those parts, but then the hour long walk back to the train station he pretty much just screamed at the top of his lungs. That kid does not like to sleep on the go. BUT, dinner was fantastic and it was fun to ride the gondola through the tiny waterways of Venice and watch the gondolier paddle while standing up, ducking under bridges and texting. And now we can check that off our bucket list, a romantic evening in Venice with a screaming baby. Ah yes.

Me and my minions took Nicole and Dustin to see the Romeo and Juliet castles, a castle by the lake (Sirmione) and finally to Verona, city of Romeo and Juliet.