Annecy: Life in an Impressionist Painting

Capping off our trip was a day spent in Annecy, France. This has got to be one of the most picture-perfect towns in France. The town is reminiscent of Bruges, Belgium with canals lining medieval buildings, but unlike Bruges, Annecy opens to a large lake set against the Alps.

The town and surrounding parks were packed with families spending their Sunday having picnics near the crystal clear water of the lake. It reminded me of this Georges Seurat painting (of course, some folks were on iPhones and no one had umbrellas!).



A street market filled the pedestrian roads - bakers sold an enormous assortment of fresh breads, butchers presented their cured meats, and soap merchants sold various scented soaps.

How amazingly clear is that water?!

An ectastic Ethan patiently waits for the start of the bike ride.

Fondue for lunch. Unfortunately, we let Allison taste a piece at the onset of lunch, which led to begging for more and more as we ate.

Afternoon Adventures in Chamonix

After the glacier excursion, Dan and Allison caught a gondola up to Le Brevent, a mountain overlooking Chamonix. Allison loved playing with the snow at the top and didn't want to leave.

Later that afternoon we hit Parc de Merlet which is an animal preserve just outside of Chamonix. We found easy hiking paths through the woods opening up to a large field with deer and llamas grazing. Ethan had a full conversation with a llama and had to be held back when he saw a deer that he wanted to hug. Allison seemed to think being 15 feet away from deer was a standard thing.

Interesting sign.

Dan and Allison on their way up Le Brevent.

Ethan's new buddy.

Despite walking what must have been 2 miles at the animal preserve, the kids still had energy. Before returning to the hotel we found a path just past Chamonix to let the kids work off that excess energy before dinner.

Chamonix Mont-Blanc, France

After 2 nights in Beaune, we headed into the Alps to Chamonix Mont-Blanc. The town is charming with flowers galore, but the real draw is the surrounding scenery of lush pastures leading to thick evergreen forests, ending at enormous glaciers spewing from towering, snow capped mountains. The town also lays claim to the Aiguille du Midi and its 12 mile ski run. Luckily, Chamonix offers much for a family with toddlers too.

On Saturday morning we headed out early to catch a ride on the Montenvers Railway up to a vantage point overlooking the 4.5 mile long Mer de Glace (the longest glacier in France). The train ride was hilarious in that we were surrounded by semi-professional mountain climbers in full climbing gear, preparing for a day of climbing being contrasted against Ethan and Allison, both excited to take a train ride and needing constant candy, raisins, and water on the oh-so-long 20 minute trip. Although the price was steep, the overlook was absolutely gorgeous. The pictures below really don't do it justice. After taking a quick hike, we headed down to the glacier where we were able to actually go inside and walk around.

Here are some of our pictures from the trip to the glacier:

Ethan in time out. Yes, little boys can find themselves in timeout in gorgeous scenery too. Luckily it wasn't too crowded so we didn't mind the screaming and crying as he sat there; although if he was a bit louder, the sound probably would have started echoing in the valley.

The bridge leading into the glacier. Every so often (many, many years) as the glacier moves down the mountain, they have to drill new holes into it since moving the bridge would be too big of a hassle.

A and E feeling out their first glacier. When the netting ended, Ethan literally kissed the ice - I guess he likes glaciers.

The rustic, yet luxurious lobby of our hotel.

France: Burgundy Wine Country

After landing in Geneva, we drove a few hours to Beaune, the capital of France's Burgundy wine region. Margaret booked us a pair of adjoining rooms in an old, ivy covered mansion just outside of town. Every morning we scouted for a local bakery to get our fill of croissants, tarts, and warm cookies - all in the name of research, of course- we had to see what the locals ate! Beaune is known for its wine and the Hospices de Beaune, a hospital built in the mid-1400's. The interior courtyard of the hospice is stunning, however the outside is as plain as can be. The buiders did this intentionally so as not to draw attention from roaming maurauders.

As soon as you leave Beaune, you find yourself surrounded by Burgudy's renowned vineyards. Some of the grapes were recently harvested, but other sections still carried huge clusters of sweet grapes. Chateaus and small villages would break up the vineyards and 4-foot tall stone walls seperated the fields from the winding roads.

On a sad note, Dan's two prized bottles of wine from Burgundy were taken from him at the security checkpoint on the way home. We hope that some Swiss security guard will enjoy the wine tonight!

Our hotel, Le Home, in the evening.

The main sitting room in the hotel.

Dan and the kids inside Le Chateau de La Rochepot.

Quaint downtown Beaune.

One of the surrounding hamlets near Beane.

Us driving around the vineyards.

Margaret and Allison inside the Hospices' ornate courtyard.

Ravello

We took Gerri, Lilly, and Jake to Ravello. It was a gorgeous, albeit hot, day with dozens of boats dotting the ocean and clusters of grapes dangling from vines. Here are some pictures...

Cooking Lesson

This morning I met up with some girlfriends for a cooking class in honor of my friend Kristin's birthday. The class was held in a little restaurant in Monte di Procida, a part of Naples that is right on the water, and known as a clean and safe (and upscale) area of the city. The views are beautiful and there is no trash anywhere! We met up with Mariella, the wonderful and kind owner of the ristorante, La Taverna Dei Sapori. She shared with us some traditional Italian recipes and we had a great day of fun, friendship, and of course, amazing food!

Pasta Nerano con Pancetta

Eggplant Parmigiana

Toasting with homemade Limoncello

Puglia

This week, our friend Geri is visiting us with her two little ones, Jake and Lily. The kids are having a ball together, having not seen each other in over a year! We decided to take a "Mommy and Me" trip to the east coast of Southern Italy, to the region of Puglia. Puglia (the heel of the boot) is known for little stone-roofed houses called Trulli, which are located throughout the region. The origins of the trulli houses are not fully known, but they are only found in this region of Italy. Our group of 4 moms and 8 children (all under 5!) had a great 2 days in the area. We stayed in 2 adjoining trulli houses at a property called "Non Solo Trulli".
The first afternoon we played in the pool and relaxed. Then, we woke up early and headed out to the ZooSafari in Fasano. What a cool experience! We drove through the animal park with the doors open and the kids had a ball seeing all sorts of animals up close. They even got to feed some deer, giraffes, and a zebra!
That afternoon, we headed to the Trulli capital of Alberobello and walked around the historic city center. It was so neat to see so many trulli houses in one place. It was like something out of "Lord of the Rings".

Ceramics Heaven.....Nove

Last weekend a few friends and I left the kids with their dads and headed north. About an hour outside Venice, our destination was the little-known town of Nove (pronounced Nove-ay). Nove is a ceramic lover's heaven and this is mostly because of La Ceramica VBC. This store makes lines for Tiffany & Co., Williams-Sonoma, Banana Republic Home, Lenox, and Crate & Barrel, among others. It was amazing! Aisle after aisle of platters, cake plates, bowls....anything and everything. And at an amazing discount! For example, a platter on Tiffany's website that is selling for $125....only 17 euro ($25)!!! It was so overwhelming, we had to go twice- once to "case the place" and again to actually buy. But, buy we did, stuffing the back of the SUV so high there were only inches of visibility for the drive home!

interior of La Ceramica VBC

After our shopping was finished, we spent a few hours relaxing by our hotel pool and headed otu for the evening to the small nearby town of Bassano Del Grappa (grappa is a potent liquor made from the leftovers (seeds, stems, skins, etc.) of winemaking). We had a wonderful evening exploring the ancient streets, the Ponte degli Alpini (wooden pontoon bridge), and the wonderful food! It was a great weekend, made possible by our amazing husbands who stayed behind with the kids so we could get some time off.

Bassano del Grappa


Kody, Lisa, Margaret, and Amy on the Ponte degli Alipini.

Sunflower field we saw on the way home. Bellissima!


Pictures courtesy Kody Reynolds