Alpe di Siusi - The Italian Alps

Fie Allo Sciliar *Alpe di Siusi

9.41 miles walking

Today we got up early so we could drive the access road to Alpe di Siusi, the largest alpine meadow in the Alps, before the road closed at 9:00 (otherwise, we'd have to ride the Tram at 15E a head).  It wasn't any worse than driving up the Cottonwood Canyons.  The Meadow itself is 6,000 feet above sea level and the nearby cliffs just over 11,000.

We had planned a 4 hour hike/walk through the meadow and along the ridge line for the day - we managed to do it in just over 6 hours - we were in no rush.  The meadow is gorgeous and deep green with yellow wild flowers.  The wild flowers reminded me of the basin above Alta.  The mountains above are white and jagged with no vegetation.  It's a dramatic contrast.

We took a fancy chair lift for 6 up to the overlook and hiked an 1 1/2 hour to our first lodge.  (The chair lift had a plastic cover, like a windshield, we could pull over ourselves to protect us from wind).  Along our hike we passed several small huts and plenty of other hikers and mountain bikers.  We quickly learned about the electric fences that keep the cows in their pasture when Charlie touched one and cried it hurt so bad.  The cows wore big bells that rang through the meadow as we walked, it was enchanting. 

After another couple of hours of hiking and a couple games of Gin Rummy on the meadow, we reached our 2nd hut and had lunch.  All the huts have rest stops for hungry trekkers, bikers, and skiers in winter.  I was amazed at the senior citizens out enjoying the mountains.  We were some of the youngest people on the mountain. At each hut there was also a playground for kids, so there must be kids here at some point.

After our jaunt along the ridge line we took another chair lift back down to the meadow and a bus back to our car.  (Think of the people mover at Zion National Park).  My fit bit says we walked 20,000 feet/8.5 miles/ and climbed 165 flights of stairs.  If it weren't for all the gelato and pastries we keep eating, we might loose some weight.  Oh - and on our way home we bought some apple strudel, because that's what you're suppose to eat in these parts!

Enjoying the playgrounds in the Alpe di Siusi

Sound of Music Pose

Near Castelrotto -the Italian Alps

Fie Allo Sciliar * Castelrotto 

We had a wonderful, relaxing day!  We arrived in our little Italian/German village around 12:00 and found a park to eat lunch.  The kids (even Maren) played on the playground equipment.  I laughed as I pushed all 4 of my children on a giant swing together.  As a family we had contests doing the slack line and climbing the rope toys.  There are interesting parks around every corner with toys we haven't seen in the states - usually something that might give a kid a sliver, or a slide that's too steep - perhaps fewer helicopter parents here that are worried about kids getting hurt while they have fun.

Our German chalet is darling with white stucco, dark wood shutters, and geranium plants on every window sill.  The countryside is beautiful, with deep green hills, stark white sharp mountains above, and little villages scattered about with a church always in the middle.

At the grocery store today the clerk actually spoke German to me first rather than Italian or English.  All the signs are first in German, then Italian and the parking garage says Thank You in German rather than Italian when leaving.  

We did laundry in our kitchen sink and the kids swam in the very cold swimming pool while we lounged about.  After dinner (I made another pasta dish with green beans) we drove to nearby Castelrotto and wandered around just enjoying the cuteness of it all!

Castelrotto

Castelrotto

Castelrotto

Verona - Dinner with some members

Church*La Garda lake hike*Sanctuary della Madonna*Dinner with Eusebio family

12,700 steps

It was a rainy Sunday, so rainy that we wore our rain jackets to church.  It was a refreshing, cooling rain - not a hot muggy rain.  I can't say enough about how gorgeous the weather has been for us!

We went to the Verona 2nd ward that met at 9:00 a.m.  After a short RS and Priesthood, we had an 80 minute combined meeting with the Youth on chapel maintenance. (Snoozer - I felt SO bad for the guy translating for the rest of the family).  We talked about cleaning toilets, keeping track of keys, what do do after an activity etc.  The lesson was redeemed when for the last 30 minutes we talked about the chapel being a holy place.  

Sacrament meeting was nice, but the best part of Sunday was the visiting we did afterwards while Maren played the beautiful baby grand piano (she's been dying to play the piano).  I met a cute girl who just returned from her mission 1 month ago.  She invited our family over for dinner (more about that later).  I spoke with a sister from Sicily who served a mission to Padua in 1974.  She didn't know my Aunt Susan, but they had to have been on their missions very close to each other.  She was the first member of her branch to serve a mission.  Later she and her husband were mission presidents in Sicily.  I also met her daughter-in-law who is the niece of my mission companion, Stefania Contrazorzi.  Eric talked with people from Nigeria, the Philippines and of course Italy.  It was an amazing ward.

Sitting in our room at the youth hostel didn't seem very fun, so we decided to take a Sunday drive to Lake Garda.  We hiked up the hill for a nice overview of the lake and resort city.  Afterwards we drove to a monastery that has been built into the side of a cliff.  We hiked down steep steps for about 20 minutes to get to the monastery (we took the shuttle back up).  Although not very old (build in the mid 1800s) it was impressive.

We went to the family Eusebio for our 7:30 dinner appointment and learned that they are Brazilian and joined the church in 2003 then quickly moved to Italy for work.  They had also invited my mission companion's niece and daughter over as well.  They were so sweet to open their home to us for a simple Sunday dinner.  We had spaghetti, tomatoes with mozzarella, grilled peppers, potatoes salad and deviled eggs.  For dessert she made a dense, dark chocolate brownie and a lady-finger type cookie with mascarpone in the middle, dipped in milk, rolled in coconut and chilled.  My kids especially enjoyed that!   Charlie played checkers with their 8 year old son and we visited and ate until 10:30 at night.

Just an aside - the RM is now the 2nd counselor in the Stake YW presidency and in charge of Seminary graduation next week and girls camp the next.  She's 21!  My girls were amazed at that!

Also a note on our hostel.  Although lovely and quiet and lots of interesting people to meet - it's really just a step above camping.  I'm glad we've taken our kids camping a lot, they are such troopers and never complain about inconveniences or less than ideal living situations.  I'm really proud of them!

Eusebio Family

Lake Garda hike

Sanctuary della Madonna

Verona - Family Hostel

"Juliette's balcony"*Roman walls and street*Roman arena*Castle view of Padova

16,833 steps

We had a nice slow morning in Padua; we didn't have to check-out until 11:00.  Our funny experience this morning was at the Italian Post Office.  We can't seem to find a .20 Euro stamp at the Tabacchi's to send our postcards to the USA, so we went to the post office.  First we had to take a number like the DMV.  We were P06 for Postage I guess.  After waiting 15 minutes the clerk told us she didn't have any .20 Euro stamps (this took her 5 minutes to figure this out - she had to look around and then go in the back room).  She finally concluded that she could print off a .20 Euro stamp, I kid you not - it took her 60 seconds to print off each stamp.  Each print out required about 15 clicks on the computer, and then the process started  all over again.  We were there for 30 minutes to mail 4 postcards.

After a short 1:20 minute drive we arrived in Verona to our Youth Hostel which is in a lovely Villa on the hill just outside the old center of town (about a 15 walk) next to the Castle and Roman Theatre.  I've never stayed in a youth hostel, but I would imagine this is a 5 star hostel.  Our detached building is down a quiet garden path.  We have a family room with private bathroom - which means 6 bunk beds with locking cabinets for luggage, a set of sheets and a bathroom just outside our room.  It's cozy in our room - about the size of the dorms at BYU.  We played cards twice today outside our room in the courtyard on a picnic table.  We even learned a new card game - Scopa, which is Italian.

The rest of our afternoon was spent calmly exploring Verona.  We walked to the top of the castle for an amazing view then wandered through the city.  There is an amazing 1st century Roman Arena - 3rd largest in Italy.  Down in the main Piazza we also saw an evangelical gathering complete with band and marching members with waving flags that said Marcia per Gesu (March for Jesus).  I should add that we saw the tackiest touristy spot of our trip yet - Juliette's fake balcony from Romeo and Juliette.  Love graffiti all over the wall, couples kissing, and shops selling embroidered  towels with names in hearts.

The funny highlight of our evening came when we were discussing dinner.  We happened to be next to a McCafe McDonalds and decided to go in to see if the menu was different in Italy than in America - we were hooked.  The hamburgers and chicken nuggets were too tempting for the kids.  I got a grilled chicken Caesar salad - which was OK, but certainly better than a salad at McDonalds in the USA.  The kids felt a bit bad about caving into McDonalds, but they were happy not to have Pizza or Pasta for dinner again.

cozy dorm room at hostel

Verona sites

Roman arena

We owned Venice

Frari's Church * Fish Market * Murano Glass Blowing * Venice Cemetary * Saint Mark's Square and Cathedral * Tower view of Venice * 

19,435 steps * 3 islands * 7 Vaporetti Rides * 1 mini-gondola ride

We approached our day in Venice like Disneyland.  We knew it was going to be a long day since we woulnd't be able to come back to our hotel to rest; we knew we needed to pace ourselves, avoid long lines and crowds, and find somewhere to sit down in the heat of the afternoon (instead of watching a Disnney parade we played cards).

Actually is wasn't hot at all, it never got out of the 70* and until we got to Saint Mark's cathedral around 4:00 we didn't hit any crowds.  We bought a full day "bus" (actually they are boats) pass for everyone and decided we weren't going to any museums (we needed a break from Museums after Florence).  We just wanted to feel and experience Venice.  We visited a church to see some art works by Titian and Dontatello and then headed to the fish market to see all the strange fish we would never eat - eel, squid, octopus, slimy jelly fish looking things, super thin fish that looked like there would be no meat.

We took a 2 minuted gondola ride across the Grand Canal and sang our own Italain song that Charlie has made up (booty prosciutty). (The Gondaliers have to give cheep ride across the canal for a small part of each day).  Next we took a vaporetti (Venice boat bus) to Murano and watched a glass blowing demonstration.  It was amazing.  He made a pitcher and a horse.  After Murano and a quick stop at the Venice Cemetary (it's own island)  we wandered a bit just taking it all in.  We found a quiet alley and sat down and played some cards (if you get off the tourist track, you can really feel alone in Venice).  Only 5 people walked past us in 30 minutes.

After our rest we found a chocolate store and sampled a cold, thick chocolate drink that was a tad bitter.  Some of the kids didn't like it.  It was chocolate, sugar, water, and spices.  We then made our way to Saint Marks Square and Cathedral.  We didn't pay for any of the "extras", but enjoyed this busy cathedral with it's inlaid floors and gold mosaic ceilings.  The floor rolls and bubbles from what I imagine is years of water damage.  Finally we crossed the grand canal to another church and went up the bell tower to get a birds eye view of Venice.  It was an amazing 360* view of all the islands.  We even got to see a tug boat pull a HUGE cruise ship from the harbor, it seemed taller than any building in Venice.

After pizza and gelato, we caught the 30 minute train ride back to Padova and finished watching our movie (Mrs. Doubtfire).  We have an easy day tomorrow so we didn't mind staying up late.

Bird eye view of Saint Mark's 

gondola ride

Murano glass blowing factory

Energizing in Padua

Padua University*Anatomy Lab*Botanical Gardens*Saint Anthony's Basilica

8 miles

I didn't know much about Padua, but I like this place!  It's a University town.  Padua University has a student population of 65,000.  It is the second oldest University in Italy, founded in the early 1200s.  Galileo taught here.  The highlight of our day was touring a couple of the old rooms of the University, including the first Anatomy Theatre built in the 1500s.  This is a small 4-tiered circular theatre where the students stood above and the professor dissected a body below.  After Law, Medicine is the oldest faculty at this University.  We also saw the podium that Galileo lectured from.  Also, the first woman every to graduate from college went to this University.  Maren's decided if she could learn Italian, she could study here.

We saw several graduates celebrating with their families wearing laurel wreathes and leis.

We also enjoyed an amazing fruit and vegetable market this morning.  Too bad we are staying in a hotel and I don't have a kitchen to cook in.  We bought several different kinds of fruits to eat with our cream brioche, including tiny strawberries - about the size of a large blueberry.

Padua is small and we returned to our apartment twice to relax, play cards, catch up on our social media and take it easy.  We even had time to watch Mrs. Doubtfire tonight (well, just half, because we are going to bed early since we have a long day in Venice tomorrow).

We also visited the Basilica of St. Anthony which is different than most churches we have seen - more Byzantine with a golden angel statue on top (it kept reminding us of the Angel Moroni on our temples, except with wings).  Inside were relics of St. Anthony including his tongue, vocal chords, and lower jaw.  These things just creep my kids out.

Our afternoon was spent relaxing and wandering a beautiful botanical garden that would rival Red Butte.  It was peaceful - we had a lunch picnic of Calzone and Fanta and played cards on the grass - Bang.  An Italian western game (think western themed cards with Italian names and instructions) - we love it!  (Emma had my camera and I have about 200 pictures of plants and flowers now).

Dinner was another picnic at a huge piazza/park where we attempted to back hacky-sac, but just made fools of ourselves instead!

Saint Anthony's Basilica

Bang card game at the botanical gardnes

Florence to Padua

Medici Chapel*Lauretian Library*Ferrari Museum*Scrovegni Chapel

15,548 steps

Today we made the short 2:45 minute drive from Florence to Padua.  We took our time leaving Florence visiting the Medici Library and sat at a cafe eating a very gooey chocolate croissant.  We then hauled our luggage the 25 minute walk to the parking garage and gratefully our car was still there and undamaged.

We made a 1 hour stop in Maranella - the home of Ferrari and visited the Ferrari museum.  I didn't think I could be enticed by such a fancy car, but wow - I might just be able to drive a Ferrari around town!  The entire museum smelled like new car smell - there were Ferraris dating from the 1950s, cars that raced, one of a kind cars, and luxury cars you might see driving around Hollywood California.  It was a nice break from looking at art.  Charlie was in heaven and when we went to the gift shop and there was a Lego Ferrari, he just couldn't resist purchasing it.

We arrived in Padua by 5:30 (just in time for Maren to skype in on Senior Class Officer meeting - (the joys of modern technology!).  Padua is quiet, sleepy, and smaller than Florence and not a tourist in site!  We are staying in our first Hotel - a family room with 5 twin beds (2 pushed together to make a "master bed"). At the moment Charlie is sleeping on the crack of the "master bed" and Sydney is enjoying her first bed without Charlie next to her.  I'm not sure who's going to get kicked out of the master bed first, me or Charlie - Sydney might just find one of us in her bed come morning.

Tonight we visited the Scrovegni Chapel - a chapel painted in frescoes entirely by Giotto.  It has a brilliantly blue ceiling with white stars.  Around the walls are stories from the Savior's life.  We had a fun time figuring out the scenes.  Before entering the chapel we had to sit in a room to dehumidify for 15 minutes.  Emma thought the oxegyn was being sucked out and complained that she was getting faint because all the water was being removed from the room - funny girl!

Dinner was a HAMBURGER!  We found a great Italian hamburger joint that would rival Smashburger (or we've just eaten too much pasta in the last 18 days).  This is a student town with one of the oldes Universities in Italy (1200s), Galileo was a prof here and Copernicus was a student.  Cheap eats are abundant!

Oh - I should add, Emma, Sydney, and Charlie all wore their soccer jerseys today that they bought in Florence. We have teams Barcelona, Madrid and Chelsea - we were stopped a couple of times by Italians who wondered how we could pledge allegiance to so many different teams.  A huge European cup soccer tournament is going on right now, and soccer is on everyone's mind.

Scrovegni Chapel

Scrovegni Chapel

Museums with kids

Leonardo DaVinci Museum * Museum of Precious Stones * Bargello * Uffizi * 

Piazza San Michelangelo

21,500 feet (9.23 miles)

Florence is a city of Museums.  We are leaving tomorrow morning and there are several top rated museums we could still visit - but, there are only so many museums a 9 year old can stand.  Today we did 4 museums, that was about 3 more than Charlie could handle.  Maren on the other hand could have spent all day in the Uffizi - we might have to drop her off at the Louvre several hours before we arrive with the rest of the family.  Sydney is easy going enough that she'll do anything.  Emma and Charlie on the other hand turn into 11-year old scouts - touching and poking, (the art work and each other).  In fact, we hadn't been in the Uffizi 5 minutes when Charlie pointed too close to a painting and the alarm went off.

Actually, we knew it would be a long day so we picked a few kid friendly museums to get us going.  We started with a small interactive museums - touching was good!  A museum where Leonardo DaVinci's inventions had been built and the kids could play with them.  It was fascinating.  Then we spent 30 minutes in a precious stones museums (The kids get in free to most of the museums, so 30 minutes was no problem).

After lunch we went to the Bargello - the best statue museum in all of Florence.  We found our favorite statues and tried to pose like them.

Finally we met Eric's family at the Uffizi.  (We sat in the Piazza Della Signoria first to have a sweet just to get our sugar buzz and energy level up). Our first stop was the book store where each kid picked out a postcard of a piece of art they needed to find in the museum. Then we dove in.  The postcards helped the kids "own" a piece of art and they were excited to learn more about it.  We used our Rick Steve's audio guide to pick out the more famous pieces and learn more about them.  Actually, the Uffizi is manageable, not over crowded, and pleasant.  The art work is comfortable and familiar.  Next to the Louvre, Maren had studied more pieces of Art from this museum than any other for her AP test.

To say good-bye to Florence we hiked up to the Piazza Michelangleo for an amazing view of the city.  At the top of the hill we wandered into a church and listened to their evening service (a Gregorian chant) for 20 minutes.  It was relaxing.  On our bus ride back to the city, we ran into a political rally from the communist party and the bus drive told us all the streets were blocked and we'd need to get out and walk.  It was a peaceful rally, but just to be sure, there were police and swat teams everywhere.

Our final dinner was with Eric's family at the apartment they are staying in.  They had a nice roof top terrace and we enjoyed a late evening of dinner and talking.

Piazza Michelangelo

Bargello

Leonardo DaVinci Museum

Bargello

sweet treat on the Piazza della Signoria