Tirrenia and the Italian coast

On our last afternoon, we wanted to actually SEE the water as we were right near the coast. Tirrenia is sort of an Italian beach town; but beaches here are private. We did find a way down to the sand though. It isn't much if you've seen Hawaii and the FL panhandle's most beautiful beaches....haha. But it was nice to be in the sun and on the sand. We also got more gelati - just incredible and they hand make it every day! The last photo of the kids was taken in front of the PX at Camp Darby.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

The area around the tower is just a huge tourist-o-rama. There are souvenir stands everywhere, on every street and peddlers at every turn. It was pretty neat but also pretty cheesy. I couldn't resist buying one of the little cheesy towers for our house, or taking some of these touristy photos....ha ha.

Pisa and the Field of Miracles

We ventured into Pisa on the following day - it was great to relax and enjoy some pizza! The kids had a great time at this sidewalk cafe, and the lunch was a nice intro to the rest of our tour. After lunch, we headed onto the Field of Miracles, where the Baptistry, Duomo and Tower (yes of leaning fame are located.)

Florence, part III

Most of Florence is built in the style where there are Piazzas everywhere - just beautiful and very 'old world' looking. This is the piazza where the Uffizi gallery is located. The Ponte Vecchio bridge is one of Florence's most famous sights. It is also one of the most expensive - the stores on the bridge all sell gold jewelry! We had a good time checking it all out though. After some gelati (Italians absolutely make the best ice cream in the world!) back to the train station and back to Pisa.

Florence, con't.

We headed off to see some more sights - Florence is the gem of the Renaissance. The golden doors are to the Baptistry of the Duomo and were said to be so beautiful they could be the gates to heaven. The city is also the location of Michelangelo's David statue, the Uffizi gallery, Boboli gardens, and on and on. We walked from the Duomo towards the Ponte Vecchio (bridge) and saw lots of beautiful things along the way. It is an awesome city for shopping too - especially for leather bags!! We found a leather market, with some, uh, interesting souvenir undershorts...guess you can fancy yourself a Renaissance man! We also rubbed the nose of the pig - there is an exact replica of this statue in Little Rock! If you rub its nose, it is said you will come back to Florence, so we all gave it a rub just in case!

Off to Firenze (Florence)

We decided to head to Florence on our first full day there. As it was Easter Sunday, we got some advice to take the train rather than the car - as usual, that was great advice. The city was mobbed - it was a beautiful day, warm and sunny in addition to it being a holiday. The train was pretty painless though - easy to use and understand and inexpensive. After arriving at the station, we headed out to see Florence's most famous site, the Duomo. It did not disappoint, although it was hard to appreciate with the huge crowd around it! Florence really is stunning; the architechture is just amazing.

Italy - Camp Darby

We headed off to our lodging at the US Army base at Camp Darby. It was a cute little place, with a porch with grill, kitchenette, even camping! The boys were visited by the Easter Bunny, who managed to find them and bring them some treats all the way in Italy. The area around the camp, and around Pisa (15 minutes away) is really quite beautiful.

La Dolce Vita - off to Italy!

For Spring Break, we headed off to the Tuscan region of Italy. After flying down on ultra-budget Ryan Air, (check out M studying the 'pay as you go' snack menu!) we arrived at Galileo Galilei airport in Pisa, Italy. Struggled out to an enormous line at the rental car counter, thankful that we'd made a reservation. There were about ten rental companies but they all had signs up saying if you didn't have a reservation, they didn't have any cars! After enduring that ordeal, out of the terminal to another insane line at the bus stop for trans to the rental car pickup area. Finally, we arrive at our sleek and tiny Fiat rental. Amazingly small, but perfect for the nutso drivers and tiny roads.

Easter Bunny

The boys also got to visit the bunny during the party. We stopped to take some photos with the flowers right outside Bn HQ before heading home. It was such a nice day, seemed a shame to waste the sunshine!

Hunting Easter Eggs with 1st MI Bn FRG

The boys participated in a time-honored tradition, the unit Easter party in early April. It was a fun day - beautiful weather, warm and sunny as they joined the bunny to hunt behind the Bn headquarters. They both were great egg hunters, as you can see by their full baskets! They both 'get' what you are supposed to do now, and both are eagle eyes when it comes to spotting those eggs.

Hambachtal, part drei

The weekend was a lot of fun - we enjoyed staying in the cabin (even if Chris and I's room was so cold, my nose was freezing!) The resort was huge - had indoor tennis, a sauna, even horseback riding. If it had been warmer (as in w/o the tremendous wind and sleet!) we could have gone hiking, borrowed bikes, or even played miniature golf! It was very family-oriented, even a play area for the kids in the restaurant. Justin also got to see some pussywillows for the first time! They were so pretty peeking out of the ice on the tree...The area around the resort was beautiful.