Pisa and Livorno

Originally we planned on taking the three day weekend for Pisa, Florence, and Volterra. In the end we decided we didn't want to rush Florence, it was much nicer to enjoy the drive through Tuscany and spend some time in the other two towns. Plus, Florence rates a trip of it's own. Here's the view on the Autostrada:





Passing the Ferrari may have been one of the highlight of Chris's trip.
Pisa was much more beautiful than I had expected. I really thought it would be a chance to mark something off the travelers to-do list then move on. Instead we thoroughly enjoyed the Duomo, Tower, and Baptistry. The art and architecture were breathtaking and the Saints mummy was a perk for the kids. We missed the Camposanto, but will be sure to make it next time.

Sorry, but you just have to have these pic's somewhere in your album.



The exterior of the Duomo.





More of the tower.



And the entire Campo dei Miracoli.



We also hoofed it down to the University of Pisa, where Galileo taught. That may have been one of the highlights of my trip. It is just so cool to stand in the spot where so little has changed, and imagine all that has gone on there.

We're pretty sure this is a former Medici palace, next to the University. It was too cold to try and find out for sure. It wasn't too cold to sample some of Italy's best gelato, but we all decided that Pisa warrants a summer trip.



We stayed in a cabin at Camp Darby. It was pretty neat with an interior completely of wood. It was a little on the brisk side, but to make up for it there was a shower complete with about a 12 nozzle back massage area.



That night we drove into Livorno and had one of the best meals at a little place on the beach. The kids were great as usual even when confronted with a dinner of HUGE ( I mean sea monster size) shrimp in a scampi dish for dinner. They may have spelled it wrong, but we still had to get a picture of the place down the street from our restaurant.



Livorno looked like a great little town, you can even see the lights of Corsica from the beach. Ah, I can't wait for summer!

Volterra

We made it into Volterra on a market morning, which means the city was packed to it's edges with vendors and buyers. Emma managed to score some really cute boots out of the deal, but it kind of hampered our sightseeing for the morning.

Volterra may have recently gained fame as the city of the Volturri in "Twilight" but it also happens to be one of many Italians favorite small cities. It was an Etruscan city prior to the Romans occupying it, and there is a great deal of history for such a small space. In fact they are considered to have the third best Etruscan collection in the world, right behind the Vatican and the British Museum. In addition to jewelry, surprisingly advanced tools, and other artifacts, the Etruscans left behind a great deal of funeral urns, hundreds of which are housed in the Etruscan museum. The Etruscans were known for their remarkable blend of cultures and "modern" art of the realist style.

Some of the funeral urns.



This is the ceiling of the stairway rotunda in the Etruscan museum, the detail was incredible.





This Roman theatre lies on the edge of town perfectly positioned to be a dump when out of commission, which is exactly how it managed to be preserved until the past century. You can see the levels of entrances on the stage. The first floor was for humans, second for heros, and the third (now missing floor), was for gods. Behind the theatre are also Roman baths which are being excavated. All this overlooks a Tuscan valley, truly beautiful.









Prior to Volterra gaining popular fame as a vampire hangout, it was still known as a city of the dead. Partially because of the Etruscan urn trade. It's naturally situated for carving near alabaster mines, as well as marble mines. The city is full of alabaster workshops.





At the TI center in the middle of town they have a canvas "wall" for Twilight fans. Emma has now been immortalized in Volturra. They are doing pretty well cashing in on the new tourists, even offering a 25 euro "Twilight" tour, we passed.



This is the "Twilight" doorway in the Piazza. If you've read the books, you'll know what I mean.

















This is the Etruscan arch on the edge of town. You can see how worn the sculptures are. This arch was so important to the town that during WWII when the Nazi's wanted to blow it up the townspeople ripped up the street under it and blocked the arch so that it wouldn't be a viable roadway, and therefore not important enough to bomb. The idea worked, and after the Nazi's were ousted the townspeople uncovered the arch and replaced the paving stones. Just another layer of history in this town that has been occupied for at least the past 3,000 years.











As an interesting side note the town has also converted a Medici palace into an ultra high level prison for Mafiosa from the south of Italy. It holds only about 16 "residents" at a time. The idea is that in the north they are separated from any connections they may have, and the guards and employees can't be as easily influenced.

All in all it was a beautiful, typical Tuscan town. We really enjoyed seeing all the sights and experiencing all the history.

A day off

So first for a little bit of catch up. The past few weeks have been busy and fun. Emma has started with her latest orthodontic treatment. We're in the preliminary stages right now, but there will be some big changes over the next few months. We can't wait to see what her new smile will look like! Liz is trying to keep pace with her by having loose teeth left and right.
Chris the day off for MLK Jr. Day. The kids being in Italian school did not have the day off which equaled to a kid free day for Chris and I. We mainly went to the Market and just enjoyed being able to not rush around for a day.

Random pictures from our day off:

Sunrise next to our house.



The houses across from us are finally having work done on them, new neighbors soon?



This is a pretty little park up in Maniago.



Our piccolo Piazza:





The legend around here is that the last 3 days of January are the coldest of the year. There's a story about a little bird asking the month to make it warmer, but it won't. Febraury does, and helps the little bird stay alive. (Liz would have to tell the whole story, very cute). Sure 'nough this morning was frost covered and freezing. Fortunately we're getting some sun now and it should be uphill from here. Our bulbs are already coming up in our garden, and spring in Italy should be gorgeous.

Each day I'm reminded what a small world it is.

Our family was fortunate enough to be able to go back to the states for Christmas. With an unexpected blizzard we STILL didn't get to see everyone we wanted to see. Fortunately it doesn't seem like a day goes by that I'm not reminded what a small world we live in. From the guy going through security at the airport with us who is stationed at MAFB, to the guy sitting next to us on the plane who happened to be going home to Edmond, to the girl at Pottery Barn in Oklahoma City who knew the Friedman family here at Aviano... It's not just the AF family either, friends from different states and different groups seem to pop up knowing each other. It's comforting to know that wherever we go there are way less than six degrees of separation!

Christmas was great. My aunt had our whole huge family out to her house again.

















We missed our KS and IA family, but maybe next time.

On Christmas day we had our traditional "Happy Birthday" for Chris. I might be getting old, he'll always be older. Happy Birthday honey!

Snow may have fallen back home, but we caught an actual blizzard in Oklahoma. This was a fairly mild look out my grandparents front door. It kept us from seeing friends, but there's something nice about enforced relaxation with family.



We just had out first New Years in Italy. Our neighbors put on a ridiculous (in the best way possible) fireworks display out of their backyard. It would have ranked right up there with a small country club display back in the states. We all ran up to Lizzie's balcony and had a very close up view of the action. Between that, the church bells, the dogs barking, kids yelling, and people cheering, it was a loud, happy, raucous start to 2010.

This past year has been full of changes, the upcoming one will be as well. To everyone, everywhere, that makes our lives so special, thank you for 2009 and Happy New Year 2010.