Playtime!

This week is the first full week that the boys are out of school. Two of the American moms that live in the building, another mom with three kids that the boys go to school with, and I took the kids to a waterpark on Monday. Gabe (sunhat), Sophia (viser), and Max (unnecessary swimcap) ready to go!

Gabe coming down the slide.

Maggie (9, Sophia's sister) and Jacob (9, lives just below us) doubled up.

Max and Killian doing "elephant rides" in the pool.
On Tuesday, Gabe, Max, and I went to a nearby park to play on the rope jungle jims and for a bounce on the trampolines. Which of course, was followed by gelato!

A friend!

My sister's friend in Raleigh emailed me a week or so ago about a close friend of hers that moved to Milan 2 months ago. Seeing how I am certainly not maxed out in the friend department and I am craving time with somone my age, I was happy to email her.

As it turns out, Amber, lives 2 blocks from me. In this city of 1.4 million, she lives down the street from me?! This is no mistake.

We emailed a couple times then met up last Saturday for lunch. She has been in language classes, 4 hours a day, since she's arrived here. So, she has some Italian communication skills! Soon she will start her position working with professors initiating a language exchange and culture exhange program, similar to one already established in Rome. She took me to a little cafe not far from us and we feasted on Milanese specials: pizza topped with pumpkin blossoms, a fried risotto ball stuffed with cheese, and fried green olives stuffed with meat. Yum!

She is also a talented photographer and has a side job pertaining to that.

Amber and I have plans to meet on Friday for dinner, yay!


Part 2:

On Thursday, I was taking an hour walk that turned into about 3.5 hours. I walked off the map I had with me and got a bit lost! As I was finding my way home I called Amber to see if she was home. She was, so we met just below her house at a bakery she frequents for bread and coffee. It's only about 2 blocks from my house. We asked for cold coffee and the barista came up with this delicious coffee martini. Not exactly the iced starbuck's coffee I had in mind but refreshing non the less. Amber has had 4 hour language classes daily for 2.5 months now and speaks Italian pretty well. She has become friends with the people that work at the bakery so she introduced me. One of the women said all American girls are cute. Funny....I think the same thing about Italian women.

The next day we met for "Aperitivo". Every bar puts out this spread of meats, cheeses, chips, veggies and dips, and appetizers about 6:00 or so. Usually it's free if you buy a drink or sometimes there is a "cover". It was fun getting to know her better over some yummy appetizers.

Swiss Alps and Palm Trees

There are two well known lakes in northern Italy: Lake Como and Lake Maggiore.  Last Sunday, I ventured out on my own again, this time to see the majestic Lake Maggiore.  Only about an hour and a half north of Milan, I arrived by a double decker train in the morning.  I had a sense of accomplishment just by getting there.  I'm still getting use to the metro and train systems, and not having use of a car. 

 

On my way into town, there were some interesting sights.  Like this little niche with Christ on the cross, flowers and gifts beneath. (below)

This casa with the twisted chimney....

An armoire behind a decorative iron gate in a garage...

And one of the many beautiful, inviting hotels along the lake.

After following a winding path down from the train station, I arrived at the city center and was greeted by a fantatic view: flowery bushes and palm trees lining the sparkling lake with snow capped Swiss Alps just beyond.

I paid for a ferry ride to two of the three islands and I was off! 

First stop: Isola (island) Madre, the largest of the three.  I purchased a ticket and strolled along the botanical gardens to the palace atop the hill.

This is a boat dock/ garage for the uninhabited palace.

 A brightly colored bird kept walking by me, like it wanted some attention, so I let him pose for the picture too.

This quaint little church by the mansion had a casual rustic quality that was really nice.

The gardens host rare and exotic plants from all over the world and a variety of birds.

Beautiful peacocks, both blue and pure white roamed freely on the property.

Now that's one tough woman!

The palace boasted several rooms of elaborate Marionnette sets as well as collectables from all over the world.

This tree, the oldest Cypress in Europe, sits in front of the this 16th century palace.  In 2006, a tornado came through wiping out many of the botanicals and knocking down this tree.  Cables are holding it up now...it's on life support.

As pretty as these birds are, they make the most horrible squawking sound that made me laugh.

The most perfect rose I've ever seen.

Agave by the lake.

The lemons here are the size of oranges, almost grapefruit size....huge!

These kids were singing a song in Italian and doing a little dance while waiting for the ferry. Everyone else applauded when they finished. They had amazing voices!  I got back on the ferry, heading to Isola Bella. Technically, I wasn't suppose to photograph inside the mansion but I couldn't resist the Grand Hall. This image simply doesn't do it justice. The plaster embellished walls were stunning.  Almost every room featured large blown glass or crystal tiered chandeliers.

This symbol represents the three islands in Lake Maggiore. It is seen all over the islands in different materials.  I took this photo from the grottoes (structures made to look like caves or caverns).  The grottoes were remarkable, made of all small stones and shells, featuring intricate mosaics. Theydisplayed whole coral and shells as well as a host of saddles and paintings. No pictures allowed:(

This small hallway's mirrors in this baroque mansion made it look like it went on and on.

There was a hall full of impressively detailed tapestries but again, I couldn't take a picture, boo.

We were all entertained by this little boy chasing around the white peacocks.

 

The Italian garden on Isola Bella deemed to be "the most beautiful garden in Italy" stands in a pyramid, culminating in a large unicorn statue ridden by Amore.  The statues of mythical characters seemed fitting....it was pretty surreal!

Cupid was one of the many statues on the garden terraces.

Walking back to the train station it was nice to see so many people enjoying the georgous weather: sunbathing by the lake, playing on the playground, lounging in the cool grass, picnicing, and the usual love birds on every bench.

An African rasta approached me.  My southern hospitality kicked in and I chatted with him a few minutes.  He insisted that I take a wood bead necklace and carved turtle he made.  I told him I only had enough money for my train back (which was true) but he forced me to take them and said he could see I was a good woman and how I didn't see skin color.  Maybe I'm gullable but that touched me.  It was nice to have a conversation in English and I appreciated the souvenier.

I really enjoyed the lake and there is still so much to explore there.  It's a pretty easy day trip so I will definitley go back!