Sunday, January 13, 2013

Forgotten Post from Italy

Silly me, I forgot to post this one....

We spent one of our last days in Italy visiting both the mountains and the sea.  I love Italy for many reasons, but the incredible variety this country offers is by far one of my favorite parts.  First we headed back to the ski area near our home for some fresh powder skiing (it had snowed heavily the day before).  Gio was his usual fearless self on the hill but it was the trampoline attraction that really got him excited:





Once we got in a few hours of snow fun, we hopped in the car and headed through the mountain pass and down to the ocean.  An hour later we were at the sea (Cinqe Terre) happily tossing rocks into the ocean and sitting at an outdoor cafe licking gelato.  





A few days later we began our drive back to Ukraine.  

Here is a clue that we had crossed the border into Ukraine. Yes, Ukrainian sculpture leaves something to be desired..... I will not even include a shot of what was under this pig's belly.  This is a family-friendly blog, after all. 

We have been back now in Kyiv for 4 days and I have taken Gio to school each morning on his sled. Quite a lazy fellow, isn't he?  Post school we head to a fantastic sledding hill near the metro stop.  Gio has no fear of the giant slope and the older Ukrainian boys he finds there are quite impressed with his bravery.  This week they were racing him down the hill and then helping him carry his sled back up.  He will be sad to discover next week that the Ukrainian schools start back on Monday so the slopes will be empty now.
In the 4 days we have been back there have been 2 large snow storms. A certain beast in our family is quite thrilled with the endless snow and cold!
This week we discovered this pair in the old Botanical Gardens. Enzo nearly fainted when he saw them- a mother and daughter ages 8 & 3. Enzo was a gentleman (for once) and treated them with great respect.  

We are spending this weekend nursing the cat (now named "Figaro") who endured the "big snip" yesterday.  He was in a diaper yesterday to the great amusement of Gio and the insatiable curiosity of Enzo.  He is now back to his dignified self and seems unfazed by it all.  Off for more sledding now!  xo. Clara 

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