Rome and Florence

Two days we got up early to take the train to Rome and Florence. All of the guide books recommended a minimum of three days to see the major sites of Rome. Most said 7 days was reasonable. So we spent about 7 hours.
We rode in an open topped bus to get around and see several structures. Weather was great and spirits were high. We were able to see St. Peter's and the Sistine chapel.
Florence was smaller and more manageable. Not only did we see "David" and other great Renaissance works but Daph was able to get in some shopping. (Famous for leather and gold.)
Again - the weather was perfect.
When I asked what was the best part of both trips, David liked the Colosseum, Julia liked Trevi fountain, and Brian said "nothing". I tried to explain that people spend their whole life dreaming of seeing these sites and he gave me a teenager's eye roll. Completely lost on him.
When I spoke to Daph, she said she also had enough paintings of Jesus for the week.
We rushed Brian home so he and Dave could get some time in on the Wii.

Civita di Bagnoregio

Monday took us a couple of towns over to Bagnoregio where we visited Civita di Bagnoregio. The town is 2500 years old and perched atop a volcanic tuff. The cliffs have continuously eroded over the past several hundred years and a couple of years ago most residents were forced to leave. Only ~10 people live there today.
The bridge to get up to the town is an adventure by itself. Not only do I try to avoid heights where my clumsiness can make me nervous, but my sons insist on running over to railings and cliffs and leaning as far out as possible. This bridge was the only way to town.
Once in town, every street and alley led to a wonderful view of the Tiber river valley. Some alleys just had a short railing to keep you from falling from to your end.
You can see Julia is not afraid of heights.
Unbelievable day.

Torre Alfina

We woke on Sunday to explore the town of Torre Alfina. In addition to perfect weather, we found that Sunday was the celebration of the town's patron saint.
The people of town spend Saturday night picking wild flowers then chalk out designs in the street. They then fill in the drawings with flower petals to make incredible pictures. Once finished, they go to church where several children have first communion.
After mass, the town's people marches through the town, walking on the pictures.
Late in the afternoon part of the entertainment was a beauty contest. They were selecting the regional winner for the Miss Italy contest who would then go on to compete for Miss World.

Julia and Brian were the biggest fans of the beauty contest. Julia liked the dresses and shoes and Brian just said he "liked it".
I swear I heard him say, "hubba-hubba"....

Vacation in Lazio/Umbria

We are spending a week in Italy for vacation with Daph's parents. We rented a villa from a relative I had never met (thank you Paula) who are some of the nicest people in the world. Robin and Jeff live in Rome but have this villa just outside of Orvieto. We are half way between Rome and Florence in Torre Alfina.

The town in over 1000 years old, has two restaurants, two gelato stands, and one huge castle. The villa is spectacular. Not only does it have imported sheets, a fully equipped kitchen, and wonderful grounds - the owners also are pleased to provide you open access to the vegetable garden and the wine cellar. They also have over 100 travel books on Italy and the region and a preprogramed GPS with atms, grocery stores, favorite restaurants, hospitals, everything.

Here are some pictures from the backyard looking up at the castle. The wine cellar is in the foreground. The have a caretaker who takes care of the grounds and offered to take us to the butcher shop to get a selection of meats and then grill it for us. He also offered to take us to the winery to get the bulk wine and then have the kids help bottle it.

Here is the side of the house with the amazing tree.

Brian asked if I would set up the Wii for him. This is lost on an 8 year old.

Spargel

White asparagus is a treasured meal in Germany and we are in high season for the delicacy. They only sell and serve it when it is harvested locally and then you cannot find it anywhere.
They set up large stands to specifically sell it outside of supermarkets and main squares of town.
Daphne even made it for us with hollandaise sauce. Lovely.

Horsing around

Today was mother's day - both in the USA and in Germany. Our upstairs neighbor invited Daphne and Julia to go horseback riding earlier in the week.


The boys had the choice of going to the parade for Munich's soccer team's championship in the German league or to go with the girls and they chose horses. David wanted to try and ride a horse for the first time - Brian didn't.
The kids began by quickly brushing down the horse. He's a 25 year-old male by the name of Atti.
Here, David is excited to be using the brushes.

Irmi - our neighbor suggested that Daphne go first since she clearly would be able to teach the children what to do. Daph didn't have the heart to explain that she was not an expert but she mounted Atti and rode nicely.

Julia was next and absolutely bounded up to the horse. She was happy and confident and did a nice job of looking like this was easy. We remarked that her smile was the largest we have seen in Germany.

Dave was next and... to his credit had never been on anything except a tired old pony. He game fully mounted the full size horse and tried to ride. With young man legs and no experience, it wasn't fun to watch. He bounced around in the saddle without any chance of control or dignity yet he smiled the entire time.
Looking at the spectators you can see who was prepared to participate. My favorite moment was when David looked over at a painted horse of white and brown and mistook it for a cow. He said excitedly, "look, a milk cow!" and our host said in a soft voice, "no, that's a horse."

Daphne just looked at me and said, "...city kid."

Brian can't understand the attraction to these animals who only seem to attract women and horseflies.

Fire...

So maybe the fire wasn't so small. Our upstairs neighbor took us to the basement to take some photos for the landlord.
It appears the gas-fired central heating systems (hot water), had a shut off problem and sparked a small gas fire. A value shut off the fire but it spread to the hot water heater and the entire room burned pretty well. The fire door kept the fire from spreading but the damage, and the smell, is pretty intense.

We are feeling pretty lucky. The upside - in speaking to our neighbor, she invited Daphne and Julia to go horseback riding with her (on her horse) on Sunday. Should be a nice mothers day.

kleines Feuer

If your German is a bit weak - the title means, "small fire"

We had an electrical fire last night in the basement of our apartment. Luckily, all buildings here are concrete and it doesn't burn very well. The less lucky side is we don't have hot water. Maybe for a couple of days...

Never a dull moment in Munich.

Tiny garden

We had this tiny balcony off the one room in our apartment.

It was dreadful when we moved in. Now - Daphne has transformed the area - just like herself....



A perfect spot for Daphne to read on Sunday mornings with coffee or Julia to read with tea.
Nice.
Come visit!

Punch Bug

This commercial has been running in the US and we see it via slingbox.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ3wgX2Oruo&feature=channel

Needless to say, our boys love it. Is there anything better than punching your brother when you are 8 years old?

Our guys play by the original rules: you only punch on a VW Bug, not all VWs. But I must add that there are loads of VW bugs in Germany.

The boys are baffled that their mother doesn't see how funny it is...

May Day

Saturday was May first and a national holiday in Germany for May day celebrations. Every year the May poles or "Maibaum" are inspected for their ability to safely continue to stand for another year since they are the trunk of a very tall evergreen tree. If the inspector deems the pole weakened or cracking, there is a major celebration to erect a new maibaum.
In the olden days the men of the village would use long poles to stand up the may pole. Here's a picture off the internet. Today they use a huge crane to hoist it up and then they bolt it into place. The pole is a sign of civic pride for the village. It was originally posted so visitors could see the types of craftsmen available in the village. The symbols rising from the base still show butchers, masons, etc.


We went to Pullach which is just south of Munich to see them raise their new maibaum with our friends. We learned that there is a strong tradition of neighboring villages trying to steal the pole the night before it is put in place (May 1st). This is simply incredible because the pole is extremely tall and sits in the middle of the village for a week before the ceremony. The village elders even arrange for security to sit with the pole 24 hours a day to prevent the prank.

In the event of a theft, the village is required to provide the rival village with barrels of beer to secure a safe return. Pullach had their pole stolen this year. The story being told was that they even had to call the police to secure a safe trip back. (...but they didn't have the police on the way out of Pullach...) When I asked how they could steal it, my friend said, "...they probably used some girls to distract the guards." Diabolical and unstoppable.

It was an occasion for Daphne, Julia and I to put on our traditional Bavarian clothes and enjoy the festival. After the pole is secure, they decorate the top with a wreath and traditional blue & white banner of Bavaria.

Pullach sit on a hill along the Isar river where we stopped and took some pictures. We then walked to the beer garden for lunch.

You beer purists may be surprised to learn that Radler is actually quite good in the middle of the day. A mix of half fizzy lemonade and half beer allows you to drink a mass (liter) without getting drunk at noon. Especially good with dunkel (dark) beer.


Here's Brian's photographic effort.