Little Tour of Italy

Buon Giorno
A long awaited blog entry, but it's a good one!!! A tour of Italy - and it was gorgeous!!!! I want to send a huge thank you, all our hugs and kisses, and all my warmest and deepest affections to my sister in law Jenny (our host and tour guide), her AWESOME boyfriend Andrea (my kid's new best friend) and Andrea's parents for a wonderful visit, a life changing eating experience and for all their generosity of time, care and effort given to myself and to my children!!! We loved our trip!!!!

On to Italy.....................we arrived in Bergamo (via airplane from Greece) on Wednesday the 17th of July. We toured for 5 solid days. Jenny and I literally (at times) dragged the kids all over the Lecco/Lake Como area. FYI: Gelato cures child exhaustion!! (at least for a few minutes anyways!!)
Here was our itinerary:

Wednesday July 17th - tour of Bergamo
Thursday July 18th - quick visit to Milan (my favorite city in Italy)
Friday July 19th - boat tour from Lecco to Bellagio & Varenna (Lake Como)
Saturday July 20th - view from mountain tops of Lecco, afternoon visit to Como
Sunday July 21st - Amici della Rata, 1600 countryside/vineyard lunch with Pelucci family
Monday July 22nd - fly from Bergamo to Kavala (back home in Greece)

Jenny, my sister in law, gave us a wonderful tour of cities & sites, the tastes of amazing food and spending time with her and her boyfriend Andrea! The kids fell in love with Andrea who they have only had a "skype relationship" with for 3+ years now. They loved his playfulness, humor and best of all his Playstation/Xbox system where all 4 played together.

The special portion of the trip for the kids was that they each got to spend the night at Jenny's house (away from Mama who was at the hotel). They each got one-on-one time with Jenny and Andrea and then a morning together. It was a very special time for each child and they each loved their first sleepover! (ever)

The special portion of the trip for this Mama was returning to Italy (my birthplace) and feeling yet again the feeling of "being at home". It's a strange sensation not living in a country and upon getting there feeling like you belong there.

We had a wonderful trip. I will definitely return to this part of Italy again (Lombardy region) and explore more, or maybe just find a spot and sprout roots and relax a while..........maybe find me a small little place by a vineyard, eat handmade pasta, drink a sparkling type of red wine from the region and feel right at home!!!

Enjoy our Little Tour of Italy!

Bergamo
 
 
Ascending the old stone paved hill to the main gate


 
Hilltop view overlooking Bergamo


Old streets of Bergamo where every doorway was special, each featuring a unique and antique knocker....the trick is to look but not touch, the kids wanted to knock at every door!

 
I could spend hours walking the streets looking for details like this one.......old old remains of what would have been a beutifully painted building and Bergamo was full of these little treasures.
 
 

 
As I was standing there this old car literally drove into the picture and parked......so appropriate for the feeling of age that the streets of Bergamo give you as you walk around.

 
The main Piazza of Bergamo

 
The Bergamo Analemma
We are standing on a wonderful projection of the Sun's analemma in the old town. A hole in a metal disk causes a dot of sunlight to be projected on the ground and the path of the Sun throughout the year is recorded by keeping track of the position of the Sun at local noon. The path of the Sun is an analemma. In Bergamo the position of the dot has been permanently engraved in the stone work. Here everyone is standing on their birthday month.

 
Doumo of Bergamo Marble

 
In the lower portion of Bergamo city with the old city behind us

 
Mommy standing on February on The Bergamo Analemma
 
Milan

 
The Duomo
Kids loved this big church, very impressive!!!
 
 
Everyone got their very own and blessed rosaries from the Duomo, now at school each of them have their own rosaries!! They were very excited to pick their own!!

 
The old streets of Milan, "exhaustion Gelatos" in hand as we walk towards the ancient Castle.
 


 
Theo in heaven at the Ferrari store...........and yes he got to sit in a Formula One Ferrari car and this kid literally was in love!  We spent a lot of time and a lot of money in this store!! Everyone outfitted with shirts, toy cars, hats and of course pictures in the car!!! Well worth the smile on this child's face!
 
 
 
 
Panzerotti - a Milan staple since 1888, and I have to tell you, if you are in Milan and close to the Duomo this is a MUST MUST MUST and you MUST MUST MUST order one of each flavor. It is a calzone that is basically fried, but in a heavenly Italian miraculous way!!! The kids literally sat on the curb like the other Italians did and ate! They were so happy.
IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!! I can't say enough about them!!!!

 
 
Lecco - Bellagio - Varenna Boat Tour

 
Lecco - lake view from Jenny's apartment!!







 
Our new family home on Lake Como!!!!









 
Varenna


 
 
Seriously the cutest little Italian Greek girl.....she literally took her shoes off and cooled off in the water! It was the cutest moment to watch!!!

 
 
Mountain top above Lecco
 
We ascended via tram

 
Sound of Music kids literally running free in nature!!


 
Biggest wish ball ever!!!

 
Beauty in Nature

 
Naturally you climb a tree stump!!

 
 
View of beautiful Lecco from up high on the mountaintop!!! The mountains are the lower Alps!

 
 
Ana's new boyfriend Andrea (sorry Jenny, hehehaha)
Family time playing video games!!

 

Como

 
Theatre
Main Piazza in front of the Duomo


 
Duomo of Como


 
Sushi dinner in Como - it was actually delicious and also the coolest where we sat in a room full of Japanese style Pagodas and sat and ate on the floor, Japanese style!!!


 
Funny picture taking took place all over Italy!

 
Random balcony on one of the streets in Como.....the streets in Como are a must to just walk and look, every detail more magical than the last!!!

 
Como Piazza by night!!!

 
Just a taste of my 500+ photos from Italy! I literally could have stayed longer and just roamed all these cities, all these beautiful lakefront towns, all these old streets and soaked up every bit of beauty ever single step provided!!! The kids were impressed and it is great fun to hear them recount the things they saw and the things they liked! I am so happy and thankful that we decided to venture out of Greece and visit Theo Jenny (or Zia as they say in Italy!)
 
Ciao
Buona Sera
Val
 

 
 

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