The Countdown Has Begun...

I will be home in less than a month! I can't believe it... I was asking the kids the other night what were the most important things that I need to teach the new au pair and Pietro answered, "I like your mashed potatoes and your hugs!" So sweet.

Next weekend I'm going to Prague with a friend for my last weekend trip! I've never been but I hear great things about the city. If anyone has any recommendations of restaurants or places I shouldn't miss, please let me know. The weekend after that, I will be flying to Ethiopia with the family. They support a center for street kids there and we will be spending a week with the children and helping out around the center. I'm really excited about going since I've heard so much about it this year. I know it will be an experience.

I took another day trip this week, I went to the city of Arezzo. It's about an hour and a half train ride from Florence. It's a beautiful city and worth a few hours if you're ever in the area, but that's about all you need. I got there pretty early and by noon I was considering taking an early train back to Florence. But I ended up staying for lunch and walking around their park instead. It was a nice change to get out of busy Florence and I was just trying to enjoy having nothing to do instead of trying to fill every second of my time doing something "important." Sometimes we just need to calm down, go slow, and enjoy it. It's fine.

View from the park in Arezzo. It doesn't get much better than Tuscany...


Piazza Grande


Inside their beautiful cathedral


It's fall!



I think I've decided that fall is my favorite time of the year when it comes to what food is in season. I mean, the markets could bring me to tears right now. Pumpkin, artichokes, broccoli, mushrooms, chestnuts, clementines, apples, pears, figs, pomegranates... Everything is so delicious! I can't wait to get home and try to re-create my favorite dishes. I think my family is going to get sick of being my guinea pigs, sorry Cal!











I also wanted to say that my heart is still breaking for the friends and family of Anne Mahlum. You are all in my thoughts and prayers constantly. I know that God is bigger than us and has much better plans than we can even imagine, but it's still hard to understand sometimes.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween weekend. And if you're going to Georgia/Florida, be extra safe and have extra fun! Go Dawgs!!

Lately

I know, I know, I haven't been very good about updating lately. I sincerely apologize to all of my 48 followers. The first thing I have to update on is my trip to Munich. My friend in Florence, Stephanie, and I went to Munich, Germany last month. I have a friend from Georgia, Hillary, who is being an au pair there so I have been wanting to make the trip over to see her and we conveniently planned it for a weekend during Oktoberfest. We got to town Friday morning and met Hillary for a little walk around town, lunch, and dirndl shopping! Stephanie and I both bought dirndls, the typical German beer girl dress, and wore them right out of the store. Now we finally fit in with all of the other thousands of people walking around town in their Oktoberfest outfits, it was so fun to wear! We made our way over to the festival that afternoon and walked all around. I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't prepared for what it really is. It's like a huge fair with rides, games, typical fair-type food stands, and of course, lots of beer. There are all of these huge tents set up along the perimeter and in the middle of the fair that are packed with people. The inside and outside is filled with tables so you just find a place to sit (easier said than done), order a beer, and make friends with the people around you. We sat with a group of Italians the first day so that was really fun and ended up going to get pizza with them that night. Saturday was rainy and cold but we put our dirndls back on and made our way to Oktoberfest. It was much harder to find a table that day but eventually the sun came out and we had a good time. Hillary took us to a great restaurant that night for some non-German food...we were all a little afraid of the real German cuisine. Sunday was finally sunny, but cold! I went on a really fun bike tour of Munich, lead by Hillary's boyfriend. So I got to see the whole city and I really liked it. I didn't know what Germany would be like, but I really enjoyed it and I think Munich is a fun, young city. I'll definitely go back someday.

Pretty square in Munich


The Oktoberfest


Stephanie and me in our dirndls


Another square in Munich on my bike tour



Last week I had two very special visitors: my dad and grandmother! They got in town Sunday morning and we all took the train to Naples. It is a city about 3 hours south of Florence on the coast. I'd heard so much about Naples and had never been so I thought this would be a good opportunity to check it out. I'm really glad we got to visit. It's so different from Florence: crazy and chaotic, but really beautiful. It is the birthplace of the original pizza in Italy, so obvi that was our first stop after checking into the hotel Sunday afternoon. It was amazing! For all of the Eat, Pray, Love readers, we tried going to the pizzeria that she talks about in the book but it was closed, so we went to the one across the street that the cab driver said was second best. We spent all day Monday walking around and exploring the city, then took a train to Rome that night. Tuesday was devoted to the Vatican and St. Peters. I'd already been there a few times on previous trips to Rome, but it never gets old to me, I love St. Peter's Basilica. That afternoon, I heard that one of my friends from Georgia, Will, was in Italy with his parents so I called him to see where they were and they just happened to be on their way to Rome! It was crazy that our schedules just happened to overlap so I met up with him that night for a little while. It was really good to see Will and catch up on everything. Wednesday morning was more touristy things before our train to Florence. I had the kids that night so after picking them up from school, I took them to meet my dad and grandmother for gelato in the square. The kids were shy at first, but eventually really warmed up to them. Gilda didn't want to leave my dad's side all night and my grandmother read them their bedtime story. The rest of the week was spent in Florence: shopping, walking around the city, and visiting with the kids and grandparents (Lucia and Martino were out of town). We drove all around Tuscany on Saturday and visited a few towns before ending our day at the mulino. I'm so happy I got to show my grandmother around Italy, she did great! It was so fun to be with her and my dad for a week over here, truly a once in a lifetime experience.

The pizza I've been waiting all year for!


On top of the Spanish Steps in Rome


Drinks on the rooftop of our hotel in Rome


Shopping in Florence


At lunch in Florence



My days here are seeming to fly by! The end is getting closer and although I'm really looking forward to being back at home with all my friends and family (for Thanksgiving!!), I'm getting really sad about leaving too. I'm just trying to take advantage of every day I have left here and enjoy it while I can. I have about 4 more weeks left in Florence then a week in Ethiopia with the family before returning home. And we all know that I'll be back to visit. Let's see how long it takes me at home before I'm running back to the airport...