Italy Trip!

I made it back from my trip to Italy! I need to write this blog before I forget everything!

So on Wednesday, April 11th, I took a shuttle bus down to Salt Lake City where my friend, Kamrie, picked me up at the airport bus stop and then took me to her sister's apartment in SLC to stay the night. Then in the early morning we drove me back to the airport where I got all checked in by about 6:30am. Because my flight to Denver wasn't supposed to leave until about 9am, I was able to find an earlier flight to Denver and get that early! So then my next flight went from Denver to New York. Then my final flight was about 8 hours long and it left New York at about 6:30pm and arrived in Milan, Italy at 9:00am (that's Milan time... but for me it was more like about 1am).

I was a little stressed when I landed because I didn't sign up for international cell service before I left and I couldn't get my wifi to work. But Gini was waiting right where I walked out of baggage claim so all was well once I found her!

First we drove to a small city called Arona and walked around a bit, stopping in a cafe for a croissant and chatting. Then after about an hour or two we drove the rest of the way to her home in Cremona. Gini lives in an apartment that is nestled in between a pharmacy and some other apartments I think. It's not quite RIGHT downtown (by the center) but pretty close to it. She has three bedrooms and two baths and it had a very simple, Euro minimalist Ikea style to it. The team I guess owns it and then assigns it to players each season. Here is a picture of us about to go in and a picture near the street where she lives when we were walking to the center.

Anyways, when we got there, we got to chat with Drake and the kids for a bit and then we all did what they do everyday from about 1:00-4:00 in Italy... take naps. lol I was justified I felt like since to me I had been awake for about 24 hours straight. But I really wasn't able to take naps on the other days that I was there. I guess in Italy everything closes up during that time though, from pharmacies to shops, etc. so it's like I guess you might as well take a nap!

That evening we ate dinner at her house and then walked around a little bit to "the center". Every Italian town we visited has a "center" where there is typically a really old church/cathedral or a"Duomo" in Italian. It is usually a big open space and then some shops and things around the perimeter. Every time we went to a new city we had to see it's center. It was so crazy to see the old cathedrals (probably built in the 1200-1500 range) and then all around it mixed with newer buildings. But Italian building still have a lot of old world details and charm. This is the center in Cremona, where Gini lives...

We got the kids some gelato and then walked back to her house. Here are her kids, Louis, June, and Gracie sitting on the steps of the center duomo (right under where those arches would be, seen above.)

This is basically what the Italian streets looked like walking near her house. Some are designated as walking only streets (no cars) which I liked because the cars always drove super fast and I always felt like they were about to hit us on the narrow sidewalks.

Grace had this awesome melt down the first night I was there. (haha) But then then next day she woke up a new girl and was adorable the rest of my stay. Above she was still in her melt down process on Gini's shoulder. This was taken moments before she slapped Gini in the face. LOL

Day 2 - Saturday - This was the day we drove to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is a group of five little cities along the Amalfi coast. It has lots of orange and yellow colorful houses that are built into the cliff sides. You hop on a train at the first city and it takes you up the cliffside and stops in all five cities.

So we picked up Ro (short for Rosamaria), Travis' wife (Travis is Drake's cousin who also plays on his same Italian basketball team) and we started the two hour drive. Unfortunately, my stomach decided it hated me and wanted to unload all of it's contents on that drive. We stopped about 5 times I think. It's always a nice way to introduce yourself to a new person when you have to say, "Hi, I'm sorry we just met... but I have to poop...like right now." But this is my life sometimes. ;) One thing I learned about Italy too... bathrooms are not always easy to find. They have these little pit stops periodically on the sides of the highways called "Auto Grills". I got to know every Auto Grill from Cremona to Milan very well on that drive. 

Finally we made it to the town of La Spezia, where we bought our train tickets (about 12 Euros... $14.65 Dollars) and boarded at about 12:30pm (would've been earlier if not me and my IBS). We spent about an hour in each town (we actually only did 4 out of the 5 towns because we heard one wasn't that good). Each train ride in between was only about 5-10 minutes. It was very beautiful and scenic. I wished we would've worn our swimsuits under our clothes because the weather was PERFECT! There was a beautiful sandy beach at one of the cities too where we did sit out for a little while (in our clothes) and dipped our toes in the water (which was freezing.) Overall I really didn't pack well for the trip. I was expecting rainy, cloudy weather so I packed lots of sweaters and layers. But what I should've packed was sun dresses and cute short sleeved tops. But anyways, it was still fun! I was really glad we went and my stomach settled down once we got there. I still found a little "pharmacia" and bought some Immodium though. Here are some of my favorite pictures from Cinque Terre.

Day 3 - Sunday (Game Day)

Sunday was a pretty lounge around kind of day. When Drake has a game that night, the day involves a nap and two carefully planned meals. I'm trying to remember if we went anywhere. I think we went for a walk and stopped so I could see where June and Louis go to school every day (from about 9am-1pm). Then I think we may have stopped at a market (which Gini does practically every day). The food is so fresh there that if she doesn't use it within 24 hours it seems like it goes bad. (Which makes me wonder how many preservatives are in American food...) 

At about 5:30 we drove with the kids to the game. Drake had to go a little earlier so he was already there when we arrived. Our seats were on the front row and second row and the kids spent a lot of the game walking around right by the court. It was a tough game and Drake's team ended up losing by about ten points. But it was still fun to watch and see the whole Italian basketball experience! The fans get VERY intense. Like booing loudly at anything they don't like. At half time we were able to go into this special little area where they had snacks and drinks for players' families and other important people (like us. lol) Here are a couple of pictures from that first game and their school:

Day 4 - Monday - This was the day that me and Gini went shopping in Brescia. Drake didn't have anything except one practice in the evening, so we were able to leave the kids with him all day at have a fun girl's day shopping. First we went to this outdoor shopping area that was in a very cute cobblestone street area with cute little shops on each side. We went to a store called Mango and I bought a purse and Gini bought some shirts. Then we went to a couple other shops and stopped and ate lunch at a little outdoor cafe. The "Duomo" was right there in the center area where we ate. For lunch I had a piada, I think that's what it was called anyways. It's kind of like a tortilla with some ham and cheese inside. I will attach a picture below, as well as the Duomo area, which in my opinion was the prettiest one we saw with it's domed top.

After we were done at the outdoor shopping area of town, we went to the mall, which was surprisingly similar to a big American two story mall. It was funny to me though to see an Ikea store attached to the mall. In America those are always just this HUGE store all on it's own. Gini says she does a lot of shopping at Ikea, especially when they first get to Italy each season and need bedding, plates, cups, etc. At the mall I got a couple little gifts for the kids, some perfume for me at Zara, and a swimsuit for Avery. Then once we were done we drove back to Cremona and Gini made dinner (chicken and pasta) and Drake went for practice. I think that night we walked around the center with the kids a little bit too or went and visited at Travis and Ro's apartment with Vikki (Travis's mom who was also in town.)

Day 5 - Tuesday - Because Drake had two practices this day, we decided to take the kids and drive to Lake Garda. It was about an hour drive and the area that Lake Garda in kind of had a San Diego vibe to it with the green mountains and the cute little town and the lake. The kids had a blast splashing around in the water. Gini hadn't counted on them wanting to full out swim, so she hadn't brought swim suits. So basically they stripped down to their underwear and got in and splashed around for a long time. It was really rocky though so everyone kept their sandals on the whole time. Gini and I just sat on the blanket and chatted while they played. After a while we got in the car and drove to the other side of the lake where they had some shops. We got gelato and walked around on the boardwalk area near the water. There were even some swans swimming by! The weather was perfect too!

That night, when Drake got home from his practice at about 7:30 Gini and I just went out walking to the center by ourselves. That was the night we went to the amazing crepe place called Emelia. I had the best crepe I've ever had with nutella, strawberries, and whipped cream. YUUUUM. It was a good day.

Day 6 - Wednesday - My last full day! This was kind of a day that we couldn't decide what to do. We had talked about going to Milan because I wanted to see Gini's brothers' family (Norb and Megan) and this cooking show that Norbie was filming with Jamie Oliver for Whirlpool, but Drake also had a game that night in Reggio Emelia. That's a town that they used to live in a couple years ago and they LOVED it because I guess Drake was like at his peak that year and they had this amazing apartment and the team did really well. So Gini was really torn because she wanted to got to that game. We ended up deciding that we would go to the game, leave the kids with a sitter, and then after the game Gini and I would drive to Milan and stay overnight at Norb and Megan's. Then we would be closer to the airport for when I needed to be dropped off the next morning. 

So during the day we dropped off the two older kids at school and then Gini, Gracie, and I went to this outdoor flea market type of thing that happens every Wednesday in Cremona. I bought some Italia shirts for the kids and some hand soap to bring home that smelled soooo good. We also went to Zara and this makeup store called Kiko and I bought a couple things. At about noon we came home, ate lunch, I packed up my suitcase, and everyone else took naps. At about 5:00 Drake left for his game on the team bus and then shortly after Gini's sitter arrived and we went in the car (with my suitcase and everything along.) We met up with Ro and Vikki once we got to Reggio and found another Emelia so I was able get another amazing crepe. However this one didn't have strawberries in it, which was sad. Anyways, then we walked over to the game and found our seats. This game was a lot more intense than the last one, with the score going back and forth on who was winning. In the end though, Drake's team lost by just a few points. It was very sad. With all the stress Gini came down with a migrane and was feeling really sick and as we started driving to Milan after the game she pulled over and asked me if I could drive. (In Italy? With narrow roads and crazy drivers with my contacts in at night?! No problem.) But she was dry heaving in the seat next to me so there really wasn't any other option. So we started driving and then decided maybe it wasn't in the cards for us to stay with Norb and Megan that night. So we made it back to Gini's apartment and stayed the night there. 

Here are some pics of Wednesday:

Day 7 - Thursday - Traveling Home

In the morning we left at about 7:15am to drive to the Milan airport. Gini felt better but now it was my turn to be difficult. My IBS acted up again (I swear it's the anxiety of traveling) and we had to stop a few times on our way to the airport. But we made it there by about 9:30 despite my poop and the traffic of the morning commuters to Milan. 

We said our goodbyes at the airport drop off lane and I headed into the airport. I really had no idea what I was doing as I got into the airport. I knew I was flying Swiss Air though and so I found the check in desk with the red plus sign symbol on it and asked, "Am I in the right place to check in?" Luckily the lady spoke English. It WAS the right place and soon my baggage was checked and I found my gate for my airplane. It was a short flight from Milan to Zurich. Then only about an hour layover in Zurich and I was on my long flight to San Francisco (about 11 hours.) I decided I should go back to Switzerland. Everything seemed very nice and clean and the people mostly spoke English and it was very beautiful from what I saw out the airport windows. When we got off the plane we actually walked down the plane steps and then got onto this little shuttle bus to go to the airport terminal so I officially did set foot outside in Switzerland for a brief few moments. 

Anyways, finally I made it to San Fransisco. It felt good to be back in the states where the signs were in English. I was SUPER lucky to have seen my big suitcase going around on a carousel as I walked by, otherwise I totally wouldn't have realized I needed to grab my bag and recheck it again. But I did see it and so I grabbed it and then asked someone "Am I supposed to have to check this again?" Yup! So I did that, and showed my passport, and finally was able to get to my gate for SLC. I had some time leftover so I got some dinner too. Finally at about 10:45 pm I arrived back to the SLC airport. My friend, Stacey, picked me up and took me back to her house where I crashed and slept like a rock until morning.

The next day I lounged around while Stacey and Kamrie were at work and then took a shuttle from SLC to Pocatello at 6pm. Gabe had a soccer tournament there so Josh and the kids had a hotel for us to stay in overnight. They picked me up at the bus stop right off the highway at about 9pm. It was a very long and very tiring journey but they whole trip was worth it! I was so happy I got to see Gini's life out there, especially since it's sounding like it may be their last year playing there. 

So that was my super fun Italian adventure! Next up is Josh's trip to Alaska in June! Then maybe Wisconsin this Fall and then we just booked a Caribbean cruise for next February! Tonight we have the Pinewood Derby for cub scouts, which Caleb is really excited about and then tomorrow and Saturday Gabe has more soccer games. Back to mom life! Always something going on!