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My last Italian meal

On Friday morning we got up for breakfast at 7 again and started our hike down the mountain to the car. We thought about taking the cable cars (coffin cars) down, but that would have been more money and we would have had to wait for them to open. We then made the drive back to Verona and the train ride back to Rome. We stayed in an awesome airbnb in Trasteverde, a cool little section of Rome. We took the owner's advice on a restaurant and it was very good. Saturday morning we got up and called a taxi to get us to the airport to come home. 

We were really lucky to take this trip. I wish it had happened last year, we had planned on a few more days, but at least we made it. I think our time in Rome was perfect. Padova was perfect for Dave and I, but it was a little boring for the boys. When we lived there, we were closer to the Prato (open space to play), and they had school and soccer to keep them busy. I think if we had to do it over again, we'd take a day or too off of our Padova time and spend more time in the mountains. Of course as we were hiking we were already talking about when our next trip will be. 

I tried to get a family conversation going about what our favorite parts of the trip were at our last meal, but nobody really had much to say. There are a few memories that will stick out to me. Ben got soccer cleats on our trip, and then spent the rest of the time in the apartment wearing those cleats. As I mentioned in the last post, Ethan's bubbliness and chattiness while hiking. The boys seeing the big stuff- the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel- in Rome. Seeing our friends in Padova again. And the biggest one- the feeling of being on vacation, with the most pressing issue being where and when you are going to eat or have an aperitivo. It was a fantastic vacation.

Hiking Around the Rifugio

Hiking trails around the rifugio

You can't backpack with tents in the Dolomites. In order to hike for multiple days, you need to book a stay at a rifugio. These are buildings that are at different spots along trails. Dave found us one to stay in that was at the top of a trail in between two ridges. He picked this one for that location and because it has a lot of climbing and something called a Via Ferrata next to it. The Via Ferrata is a climbing route that has a permanent steel connector along the way so that you can clip in. Unfortunately, our full day at the rifugio was on Thursday, and storms were in the forecast for Thursday. We decided not to rent the gear needed for climbing and that we would just hike the trails that were in the area. 

The trail up to the rifugio was a mile and a half, straight up. It was tough! I was definitely questioning my choice of not taking the cable car as we were hiking. Once we arrived, the hosts showed us our bedroom, which was small with two bunkbeds. There was also a separate dormitory style area for people to sleep. We had a little bit of time before dinner, so we sat and played cards in the main room. There, we heard a combination of English, German and Italian again, which was pretty cool. Our hosts were fluent in at least those three languages. Both boys can now play euchre, and we played some rummy. We had vegetable soup and sausage for dinner, then headed to bed early because breakfast was at 7a.m.

The next morning, we were served a breakfast of meats, cheeses, bread, and jam. Somewhat unusual to our cereal-eating family, but we made it work. We headed out and the first thing we did was climb down the climb we went up yesterday- tough on the quads! Then we hiked around one of the two mountains near us. Once we got to the other side, we had to go straight up again! Luckily this time there was a rifugio to eat lunch at halfway up the trail. 

Ben took off in front of us on the uphills. Ethan stayed with us, and he definitely was showing his extroversion as we hiked. He didn't stop talking or singing practically the whole way, and had a good time picking up rocks and breaking them apart. After we ate lunch, the trail got very steep and clouds moved in. We did make it to our rifugio and spent the rest of the afternoon playing cards and hanging out in the main room. 

Getting to the Mountains

Dave learned about hiking in the Dolomites from a friend, and after that always wanted to do it. We had been snowboarding in the Dolomites when we lived in Padova, so I knew they were beautiful. I had no idea what a great experience being there in the summer would be. 

We wrapped up our time in Padova with a big dinner on Tuesday night. Wednesday morning we caught a 40 minute train to Verona, and then rented a car at the train station. The trip up to where we were going was 2 1/2 hours. We stopped about 2 hours in to have lunch. The town we stopped in definitely has both German/Austrian and Italian influence. Lots of the architecture looks German, and people spoke a combination of German, English and Italian. After lunch, we took a series of two cable cars up a mountain to get a look at the surroundings. It was absolutely gorgeous. The Dolomites stick straight up into the air, making them very dramatic. There were clouds below mountain level, which was really cool as well. 

Then we drove up the rest of the way to where we were going to park our car. Dave made sure we were good to leave the car there, and Ben had a brioche. (Despite his posts, I do think he had a good time. At least with eating.) We grabbed our bags and decided to hike up to our rifugio rather than take the cable cars, which were so tiny they called them coffin cars. 

Ben: 3

     Finally going home after 2 weeks I can't wait to play soccer again and see my friends. Its been okay in Italy the mountains were fun to hike up and down. The food here is fine. Also buying new cleats and a jersey was nice. Lastly I go home tomorrow and can't wait.

Ethan: In Italy part 4

 When I was in Padova we went to a ton of good restaurants and got to see the prato. Sadly the fountain was gone. Then we went to Rome for 1 night just to get on a plane in the morning and go back to the United States. Before we did that I got one of my favorite food, wild boar. Also I went to the Dolomites and hiked a lot.

Tuesday and Our Next Few Days

Tuesday brought another discount day at Padovaland! We again took the boys to the water park because of the heat. We have seen just about everything we wanted to see on this trip. Dave would like the opportunity to bike in the Colli Euganei (nearby volcanic hills). The boys and I haven't had a tour of the specola (astronomical tower). Yesterday we added something new to our list. There was an outdoor restaurant serving food in a park near Eremitani, and it looked like a big party. We'd like to eat there sometime. 

This evening we have packed up and are ready to head to the mountains tomorrow morning. We will take the train to Verona and then rent a car to drive up to the Dolomiti. We are hiking in to a rifugio to spend two nights. Unfortunately it looks like there is rain in the forecast for tomorrow, which means we will get less hiking in. We had hoped to do an ambitious hike of the Via Ferrata, or iron path, which requires us to be roped in. We will have to see what the weather brings. 

I don't expect to have internet over the next few days, so I'll have to wrap those up after we get home.

Venezia

On Sunday night we met up with a friend of Ben's from school and his mom. Sebastiano and Ana Maria met us at a nice restaurant near Prato delle Valle. It was a good dinner with conversation in Italian, English and Spanish. They are from Venezuela, and have decided that with the unrest there that Seba should finish his education here. 

Monday morning we got up and got on a train for Venezia (Venice). We immediately got off of the beaten path and meandered through some neighborhoods. Venice again did not disappoint. I had heard that the smell can be bad in the summer from dirty canal water and that the tourists were unbearable, but I didn't find it smelly or nearly as congested as I expected. The biggest traffic jam we saw was a collection of 6-7 gondolas in one intersection.

We got on the vaporetto- which is the water bus system in Venice. It's a great way to see the Grand Canal. We took the vaporetto all the way to the outer island of Lido. We had a very nice lunch in the shade and then headed down the street to the beach. We chose to go to a private beach where we could rent an umbrella and some chairs. I was expecting a rocky beach, but it was sandy. The water felt like bath water and we all enjoyed cooling off a bit.

We made a mistake on the return and got on the vaporetto going the wrong way. After a 45 minute detour, we got off in St. Mark's square and braved the crowds to walk back through the city to the train station. We stopped along the way for a snack, but all in all had a great day in Venice. (When we got home Dave cooked pasta for dinner. We just got Barilla from the grocery store, but it tastes SO MUCH BETTER here!)

Ethan in Italy part 3: Venice and Lido

In Venice I got to do nothing but walk around, boring you might say and I would agree, but I actually went to the beach in Lido. When we got there we had some waiting to do because in Italy you have to pay to go to the beach. On the beach we had to change but after we went in to the water and played some frisbee. After we played frisbee we got a snack and left. Then we got on the water bus and went back to just to get back to Padova.

Light Days

On Saturday mornings, there is a big market in the Prato delle Valle. You can buy anything from luggage to shoes to a parrot. We went to that market on Saturday morning and got Ethan a sweatshirt and Dave got a belt. 

We've eaten spectacularly for the past few days, and done little else. We are realizing that without the kids having activities, life here is somewhat boring for them while being great for us. 

Last night we met up with Dave's former colleague, Ricardo, and his wife. We had aperitivo in the Ghetto section of the city. They are extremely nice and very funny.

Today we took the kids to the brand-new Natural History Museum. It was a great way to beat the heat (It's 92 here today). I liked the skeletons of the bears and sea turtles the best. We also had our last meal at Al Borgo, as they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. That was the third time we had eaten there.

Ben: 2

    So far padova has been pretty good.

   I just got new soccer cleats and they feel really good.

Also getting ice cream every day is really nice but I'm getting fat now. 

Lastly I cant wait to go home to my friends.