Nick and Jen Lloyd

As one of our last trips to Venice we decided to go out to the islands of Burano and Murano. Burano makes the lovely lace that is on my favorite scarves and Murano makes the beautiful Venetian glass that Venice is famous for (millefiore glass is my favorite). Getting to these islands requires a longer ferry ride, but it’s totally worth it if you make a day of just these islands.

First stop Murano. Where we were able to find a beautiful glass wire cage lantern with the millefiore pattern. There were beautiful glass sculptures all over the island. And tons of shops with everything glass you can imagine.

Next stop, Burano. I was not as interested in purchasing any lace (I did get a little hand fan for when I want to look fancy). But what I really wanted to see was the infamous brightly painted houses. And they did not disappoint. This is definitely my favorite part of Venice! I wonder if they repaint different colors now and then or if they stick with the same color? The whole place is just so photogenic. I was wishing we had dressed up to do family photos, how fun would that be?!

In March I finished up teaching violin lessons (which I had been doing for over a year at this point) by holding a small concert for my students. They did fantastic and it was a fun way to say goodbye. (Oh and you will also notice I had my hair dyed red, I could not stand the blonde anymore, it matches my violin!)

I took a cooking class at Aeolias so that I could learn to make Nick’s all time favorite, pear faggotini. It was a 4 class course and I learned several other dishes as well. Never hurts to take more cooking classes! I’m not even sure how many classes I have taken here in Italy, I love taking cooking classes. Now if I can just replicate what they show me…I’ll be set!

This is sort of like creme brulee but it is served cold and has a hint of orange flavor. It is crema catalana.

We took one last trip to Verona, Nick’s favorite city.

Found a broken down old sports car that looked like it had been in this garage forever. Really strange.

We fell in love with this antique table at a market and decided it needed to come home with us.

Nick’s unit did a good bye lunch for him.

Went to a movie on post and Daddy was in the previews. It will be weird for the kids to not see Dad on TV anymore when we leave.

Took a photo to remind ourselves how much gas costs here. Almost 70 Euro for a full tank, that’s nearly 100 dollars! And Americans complain about the cost of gas…

The kids have loved watching the construction in our back yard.

Nick went to Garmisch, Germany and got to do a German weapons training and earned a German “shootsen schneer”,  I am sure that is not how you spell it. But it was a fun experience for him to get to try out some German weapons.

Day

In February I decided to go have the top half of my hair dyed blonde and chop it all off. This was my first time venturing out to an Italian hair dresser (I had used an Italian on base once and it was not a good experience. I used another American spouse once and it was the best haircut I ever had). It was a very nice brother and sister who have a hair shop here in Creazzo and came highly recommended. I have never had my hair professionally colored so I did not really know what to expect but I did think she would show me color samples to choose, especially with the language barrier. She did not however. She chose the color for me and it is very…orangey. He cut it and pretty much refused to put layers in it. I went back the next day and asked for more layers and he made a few tiny snips. Sooo…not my favorite hair ever. But I paid money for it so I’m gonna wear it for awhile and see if it grows on me.

We love going for bike rides. Typically this is how I bring Jonah to school. Sometimes he bikes, but it has been a little cold so they like to snuggle in. We get a lot of stares. Italians don’t use these things and they love to stop and ask me about where I got it.

Nick being silly at work with his bike leggings and  his suit. That’s just how they roll over at AFN.

While I was gone on my girls trip to France, Declan became obsessed with the oven mitt. And took it everywhere with him. This is the little park outside our building. The kids love playing there.

This is the trail that pretty much goes from our house to Jonah’s school. With a view of the Romeo and Juliet castle the whole way. Just lovely.

We went to the little arcade in the mall and they had a mini bowling alley.

Nick and I celebrated our anniversary at a local restaurant we’d been wanting to try.

This is my favorite vegetable ever. It is gorgeous and delicious. It’s called broccoli romano. But it’s more like a cauliflower.

Jonah dressed up as a ghost for Carnevale. He also dressed up on Halloween but upon arriving at school and seeing no one dressed up he took off his costume. So he was excited that there was a holiday that the other kids would dress up at school for.

The parents and teachers at Jonah’s school put on a really funny snow white play for the kids. It was pretty entertaining.

I had the awesome opportunity of taking a GIRLS TRIP! We went to Nice, France where we ran the 10 miles du Carneval, Rock n Roll run Nice. (Note, this is the furthest I have ever run and I have been training for it for several months!)

From left to right in our finish line photo: Beth, Vanessa, Me, German girl that I ran with for the last few miles and then she hung out with me while I waited for my friends to finish, Shuntelle. And Renee is taking the photo. Beth lives in Creazzo with me and has been my running buddy for several months now. She introduced me to these lovely ladies and invited me to come run this race with them.

We came across a lovely food market upon arrival. All the food at these markets is so perfect it looks fake.

 

These strawberries were adorned by adorable tiny snails.

Marscapone treats in all shapes and colors. Not my favorite taste but the look lovely.

Because we were there during carneval we got to enjoy the festivities including an AMAZING parade with the most incredible floats I have ever seen. We watched it in the morning and then again at night. We caught different floats both times and the floats were even cooler lit up at night.

I love this little dragon made of greenery! He jumped and frolicked so cutely.

There were some crazies in the crowd that kept us entertained.

This guy was shooting silly string all over everyone with a leaf blower. So much fun! There was confetti everywhere. Everyone was throwing confetti. Seriously, this was the best parade EVER.

We think this was the “american” float. Sadly. A lot of the floats were political or satire.

There’s Renee! Front and center. She keeps things lively. Beth and Vanessa and I flew here while Renee and Shuntelle drove. It’s about a 4 hour drive.

After our run we decided to try a local specialty, la socca. It is a savory pancake like thing.

The view from the hill looking over the bay that we ran around. We also had to run up the hill at the end of the race. Which I was unaware of before hand. I was quite angry when I saw where the route was going especially because it was towards the end of the run, but I survived.

Before leaving we took the bus over to Monte Carlo. They were having a little Chinese market where this adorable little woman was cutting these incredible designs using these tiny scissors. She cut so fast. She used a template but I am still amazed she stayed on the lines with how fast she was cutting. She even let us try doing one…it was hard!

We popped our head into the casino. It’s pretty fancy! Someday when we all make it big we will come back and just hang out in there, haha.

These girls were so much fun to spend the weekend with! I need more girls weekends! Thanks ladies! And thank you Beth for inspiring me to run.

We had some fun drama trying to fly out. Beth and I had bought some WWII shells that were made into vases and we only had carry ons. They said we couldn’t bring them in a carry on. But not for the reason you would think (that they were shells and might have gun powder or something in there still) they said we couldn’t have them because we could hit someone with them. Which I thought was ridiculous and I told them so…you could hit someone with your purse for heavens sake. But Beth and Vanessa herded me over to the counter so that we could check a bag to put our vases in. They did not like me arguing about a bomb shell in an airport. Too funny.

I’ve been wanting to do this bike ride for awhile, it’s a more local way to see parts of Venice. SO because we are almost out of time we have been trying do some of local things we have not done yet. We drove to Chioggia where we took a ferry to the island of Pellestrina, rode our bikes along it and then took a ferry to the island of Lido and rode our bikes along it as well. It was actually much easier than I thought it would be, I was wishing we had done it sooner. It was an all day excursion so we were exhausted by the end of the day, but it was a good day.

 

 

 

We made it to the beach on Lido island and hung out for a little bit. It was a cold day, so no swimming. But still a nice day on the beach.

The route of where to go was not always completely clear, but the island only take about 10 seconds to get across so you can’t go too wrong. They are LONG and skinny.

 

 

 

 

Declan managed to get a nap in, even in his bike seat. It’s amazing the positions these kids can sleep in!

 

 

 

On our way back we ended up smack dab in the middle of this tiny village’s carnevale parade. It was adorable. I think the whole (tiny) town was out for it. All the kids were in the parade. It was a really local event that we were lucky enough to stumble on.

I loved the small town feel of these islands. Nothing like Venice, and yet they are just across the lagoon.

 

 

 

 

See all the old men out for a stroll together? I love that they do that!

All day excursions are always tough with little ones that need good naps. By the end of the day they become a but grumpy. Thankfully Italians are super nice about this, they love kids.

 

 

When we got back to chioggia there were carnevale celebrations going on. See all the confetti everywhere? It’s like a carnival with the rides and everything but everyone dresses up and throws confetti at each other. SO much fun! Sadly we were too exhausted to join the festivities. We actually ran into Jonah’s teacher, Maestra Lisa at the carnival. It is a weird feeling to bump into a local friend in another country.

There is something about sunset and evening in Italy that is simply stunning. Love.

Family photos from September. Christmas cards did not get sent out this year, once again. But we still love everyone and hope you had a great year, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

For Nick’s birthday we  decided to check out some Italian hot springs at Villa dei Cedri. Italians LOVE their hot springs.  They believe they have healing qualities and should be indulged in frequently. None of the hot springs around are super hot though, I have been to one before and it was essentially a warm swimming pool. So I found this one that was supposed to be “hot” and more “natural”…it’s still man made, but it feels a little more natural. It had this glass green house looking thing where you would get in and out of the thermal lake (wouldn’t want to catch your death with a cold breeze!) and sit in lounging chairs quietly relaxing after a dip (yeah, my kids were not so good at the quiet part). We had a fantastic time though…everyone except Declan, who was not at all a fan of getting in the water and mostly stayed in the glass house, so we had to take turns taking Jonah (aka our little fish) swimming.  Declan has been learning to walk and takes more and more steps every day. It could not be more adorable.

A few days after Thanksgiving we held a Thanksgiving dinner for some Italian friends. It was so fun to introduce them to something from our culture. Our friends Flora and Luciano from the pastry shop and Jonah’s Maestra Lisa and her husband Berto and cute little one, Kat. They loved it and even joined us in saying what we were thankful for this year. I am not sure that they ate the appropriate amount for Thanksgiving though. We Americans really like to stuff our faces for this holiday! Flora was married to an American and lived in the States for many years. She has expressed to us several times that our friendship is very special to her and helping Luciano understand American culture more, and thus understand more about her.

Jonah continues to be a great big brother and is so sweet with little Declan…most of the time.

This is my wonderful friend Rachel’s house, well just the living room (the rest is just as beautiful). Amazing right? Are you as jealous as I am??? It’s built into the rock of a cliff and has these secret tunnels that connect to all the other villas in the town (which there happen to be a lot of in Longare). It has beautiful frescoes and statues and an amazing garden. I drool every time I go to her house. This is the house you dream of when you find out you are moving to Italy (for most people it doesn’t happen this way, but for the lucky few like Rachel, they land a “villa” a real and true one.)

We were lucky enough to get an invite to Thanksgiving dinner at her house. Not only does Rachel have a beautiful house, but she is an amazing cook. I spent the day with her learning some of her tricks of preparing Thanksgiving dinner and helping her.

Since this year Declan’s birthday ended up on Thanksgiving, we brought some cupcakes and candles to celebrate after the big feast. So lucky little Dec got to have his first birthday party in an Italian villa with TONS of people singing to him. I mean really…you can’t top that. Sorry Declan, we set the bar pretty high!

I can’t believe this sweet boy is ONE! It passes so quickly. He’s pretty much the cutest baby ever. The Italians always say “Che biondo! Che occhi azzuri!” (How blond he is, what blue eyes!). It takes us twice as long to get anywhere because every little Nonna has to stop and admire him. And he just eats it up. He smiles and coos for them and even seems to enjoy all of the cheek pinching. We love this boy!

 

Every year Jonah makes the best faces when he has to pull the slim out of the pumpkin, he is not a fan.

This year instead of dealing with the craziness on Villagio (on post housing) for trick or treating, we decided to just do the ward trunk or treat. It was much more pleasant.

My parents’ last few days in town we stayed local. We explored a little bit of Vicenza (while waiting for the next train the Venice, as we missed the last train before reposo). Then jumped on the train to Venice in the late afternoon for a quick walk through Venice and a boat ride back to the train station through the grand canal.

La Rotunda (below) is said to be the most perfect building ever. It is beautiful, even from a distance. And it’s in my hometown. Amazing. 

 

 

Venice can be very exhausting (i.e. the time Nick made Nicole and Dustin walk probably ten miles all over it…) And I’m pretty sure I had already run my parents ragged. So we simply walked to San Marco square, then jumped on the grand canal and called it a day. It is so amazing to me that we live close enough to Venice to just spend a half day there on a whim. I’m not sure I could count on both hands the number of times we have been there now. I think my parents enjoyed it, it is a unique experience. I got them to kiss under the bridge of sighs almost at sunset. (It is said that lovers will be granted eternal love and bliss by doing this, granted I think you’re supposed to be in a boat actually under the bridge, but I think this counts.) This bridge is said to be the most beautiful bridge, which is interesting given it’s history of leading prisoners to their death.

A ride on the grand canal at night is my favorite. You can see inside all of the beautiful villas by the light their glowing Venetian glass chandeliers.

And on their last day with us, we went to our favorite olive oil place and then took an easy hike on the Grenadiers loop up near asiago. This is like a mini version of the 52 tunnels. It also includes tunnels built during WWI, but it’s a much less strenuous hike, and still gorgeous.

And since we were near Asiago we of course had to go see it and buy some delicious cheese! YUM.

My parents were troopers! They dealt with a lot of fun kid issues on this trip (not so much a vacation when you’ve got kiddos along). They were so patient. We really loved having them here and exploring some new territory in Croatia with them. Ciao for now, we’ll miss you!