Little Italy 26

[Rosa]

Siamo qui ... Ciao a tutti !

we are always on the same length wave Gio !

I'd love to do a tour of Umbria, I haven't been in ages. On the other hand I can't recommend Puglia enough, especially at Easter, when it's probably less busy. We went last year, and found some beautiful deserted beaches where we relaxed in the sun. And I also loved Martina Franca. Stunning.

Athough I would love to go to Puglia ( heard always lovely things) . i love love Umbria...especially if you have a car. i would say avoid assisi over easter as it will be packed. Gubbio is nice , Todi , Perugia ( chocolate factory as well !!,).. the lake doesn't really do anything for me but some of the smaller places are lovely. Don't get me started on the food and wine !!!
We will be spending Easter here I expect !!!

Oh yes. And i've always wanted to see the Le Marmore waterfalls. I've been dreaming of seeing them since studying l'umbria in geography at primary school!

the cascate are 'turned on ' well they used to be !! Raining here and a strong wind. One bimba who was not coming to dds party on Mon is now coming and I don't have a dopo festa regalo ( I bought skipping ropes for €1.30 from the Chinese shop on the mainland) rather than caramelle and now I am 1 short so I have to go and try and find one !!!

Hi! Rosa how was the party?
I am in montagna with dd, we were hoping to go skiing together and just chill before dh and dis join us, but she has a temp and sore throat and are stuck at home!
Uffa! However this morning we slept until 11, so we should be happy!

slept til 11 - that is better than skiing! Hope dd is on mend soon Franca
Yes how was party Rosa?

11!! I dream of sleeping to 11!

Hope the party went well!

It has not rained for two whole days

It was great - took 20 ice skating and the sun shone so we had lots of hot children and melting ice. Then pizza and then took them all back again. DD had a great day. Tues being Martedi grasso they went to a labatorio thinngy then a martedi grasso party . Wed was DDs birthday so we went to the Old Wild West place for lunch - great for kids one up on Mc Donalds but can't do it too often !!! Then dd played with her presents ( sending microscope back as it wouldn't focus) and then everybody was in bed by 8pm !!! I need 3 days to recover !!
Franca how is DD did you manage skiing??
Yup saw the forecast its spring cleaning time for me now no excuses!!

20 ice skating That sounds a lovely birthday :)

Baby found her voice this weekend! She can say mamma, papa and nonna

Well done baby!!!!!!

An ice skating party!!! that is great fun!

And at baby's first words. well done mini dd!

Well, I took dd to the doctor soon after posting last tuesday, as she was really unwell, and it turned out it wasn't the flu like I thought, but tonsillitis! So, basically, we spent our holiday at home, napping and watching tv. On Saturday she was feeling perky so we all went skiing (dh, ds and friends arrived on wednesday night) and it was lovely.

Lets hope the springy weather holds for another week!

:) grazie, grazie!

We have had a beautiful week of weather, it's been marvellous! Washing out, out with the pram, sunglasses on!

DH and I booked to come back to Italy end of April too, for our wedding anniversary, 25 years!

Poor dd hope she is well now! Sunny here as well I have washed sheets bed covers but can't be bothered to take the curtains down. Going out for the day today and then working late pm as a group ( inc my M&D coming)
Went rowing training yesterday for a fun row that is in June. Its organised via the gym ( which is a family , people of all sizes welcome place) however a few prima donnas have signed up and I felt a bit uncomfortable -well its another encouragemnt to make me loose weight!!! I am toned under the ciccia just need to loose the big wobbly bits on top. hoping next Sunday will be better and they might even salutare .....But not holding out.
Annu where are you coming to in April?

Congratulations on your anniversary Annu, yes, where are you heading to?

Rosa, I am so impressed by your energy, and rowing must be fun!

Still sunny and lovely here, ds has a football match, me and dd (who is well now, thanks rosa) are still in our pjs, but we are planning to go for a walk in the PM, as there is a festa di quartiere

Is rowing really difficult, does it hurt your shoulders and back? I am very impressed too! (and just think of the prima donnas falling in! )

Did you enjoy the festa, Franca?

We're going to stay with MIL in Lazio... glamorous, yes? I'm looking forward to it, she is dying to show off DD to the entire village and she will look after her so we can go out for a few meals ourselves, which will be nice.

Acutually my bum hurts today !!!! DH reckons as you also push with your legs even though its sitting. So need to work on that as well !!! We went for lunch in a restaurant on the lagoon then took the children for a run on the beach ....needless to say wet socks and shoes full of sand. Then they dropped me at the airport to meet the group... Dh neglected to wash the girls feet ( and bidet after poos in public toilets) so I know the sheets will be sandy ( and they both need a quick wash domani mattina !!).

But Lazio is very nice, and the food is great, and a babysitting nonna! sounds good Annu !

Yes I think that rowing is a good total body work out, very tiring though, well done Rosa!

And very envious of your lunch in the laguna and walk on the beach! It's not so idyllic here, but it was incredibly warm yesterday, lots of children in the park and the festa was very busy. I was planning to go in centro this morning, but I got tempted by my coupon on amazon and spent it on a pair of birkenstock! So, I'll just hit the dry cleaner for today!
Dh is going to Madrid today and will be back on saturday, so it's going to be a long week...

Lazio is indeed very nice . Whereabouts here are your in-laws Annu?
Rosa I love the snippets about your life in Venice, lunch on the lagoon sounds wonderful. I need to come to Venice, I have only ever done a brief stop off and I really want to go back.
Pair of birks are always an investment Franca.
Spring definitely here in Rome but just seen rain is forecast all next week so am not happy! We had a lovely lunch out in Testaccio on Sunday before spending the pm seeing the Roma exhibition there (where ds and dp spent a few hours worshipping old football shirts....)

Better not say that we are doing it again today then !!!!!
Nonni inglese are here and forecast is crap for the weekend so we are taking them over . DD1 will be coming out of school at 11.30 ( blessed by the teachers who think its good she spends time with her nonni - Rosa blows raspberry to Ofsted).
Gio when you want cara let me know. OUt of season its best obviously . ( volumes and cost)Kid meet round 4 ish in campo del ghetto to play footy so your ds won't miss out.
God rowing again on Sunday am nervous already. ( plus its forecast to piss down !) Have purchased gloves and a large k way and will cut up a kitchen ikea cushion for bum support. Have been on strict diet and My fitness pal keeps saying I am not eating enough calories so today will be the exception !!

Right in the middle of Lazio, half way between Rome and Naples :) It is beautiful, you can see Monte Cassino if it is very clear!

Good luck Rosa, and make sure you are eating, or else I will come over all mamma and force feed you pasta!

Did everyone celebrate San Giuseppe? We made sfinci and zeppole, mmm they were lovely.

I totally forgot was Father's Day here until reminded on fb, luckily the school didn't forget so at least a card was made.
Good luck with the rowing Rosa, am very impressed!
That area of Lazio is lovely Annu. Sperlonga is one of my fave beach places and MiL family are from Cori up in the hills which is lovely, worlds apart from Rome.
Un po' di casino is happening at ds school at the moment with the genitori. Started with the complaint that they get too much compiti (agreed) and has now become a mass moan thread on email slating everything about the place including the fact they do too many trips and extra curricular stuff instead of studying which I think is madness! One of the things I think is a great strength is the effort the teachers put into organising extra stuff. For example they are going to appear in a theatre production of the Barber of Seville in a theatre in the centro storico and are learning all the songs and I think it is wonderful ( and so alien to my anglo Saxon ears) to hear my 7 year old singing Figaro in the bath! So now after 50 thousand emails we have a meeting in the park today to discuss. Ds has a game at the same time so am tempted to miss the meeting but don't want decisions made and our consensus implied by fact that we aren't there. Che palle ragazze!

Gio, how did the meeting go? I totally sympathise with you. I am in the 6th year of primary school (dd's experience at materna was wonderful, wonderful teachers and great, laid back parents) and I've had enough of the 94% of parents. I am not saying that the teachers are perfect, but parents MOAN pretty much for everything. There's the parent moaning because there's too much homework, parents who moan because they are legging behind, parents who moan because of this and that, as if they were experts in pedagogy.

And actually, if master gip's class is enjoying lots of extra curricular activities, they should be happy, because that's what school is there for, to offer a variety of experiences to each and every child, regardless of their backgrounds! grrrrrrrr.

My default reaction now is to shrug everything off, they must hate me .

Annu, that must be a great area, I really would love to tour Lazio (and Umbria). Never been to Sperlonga, but was told it is such a beautiful place.

Rosa, how's the rowing going?

Same old, same old here at the franca's. I also had to attend a riunione with parents of dc's class, which at the end was totally useless. I am feeling deflated.

lagging, not legging!

I couldn't be a teacher, not with the kids, with the parents!

We are going to Sperlonga this summer, actually! I am really looking forward to it, we took the older DC, goodness, about 15 years ago? Hopefully it hasn't changed too much.

My darling girl turned 1 today :) I can't believe it's been a year.

I'm rather partial to Lazio (birthplace!) Sperlonga I hear is still lovely Umbria is just delightful :)