A lake and a castle

The town of Sarteano, as seen from its castle

I get tired of staying, then I go pretty hard. (Then I get just plain tired.)

We took a rest day after going to Pisa. It was good for all of us, because it allowed the kids time to play a lot, and it gave me time to play with my GoPro 5 that I had gotten from David for Christmas. I enjoyed that quite a bit.

But by the afternoon of the next day, I was getting cabin fever. The weather had been a little bit rainy, but I decided we should take the time to go to a lake that I had seen on the map, Lake Trasimeno. It was a giant lake, but it was very rainy and very windy, so we literally drove there, snapped a couple of photos, and left. It's okay. I got a nice rainbow shot while we were driving (and shared it in my first post about Italy).

The next day, we had a bit of trouble getting everyone moving, but we decided to visit the castle in the small town where we were staying. The town was called Sarteano, and it was lovely. The castle was impressive. It was very very old. According to one website, the oldest information concerning the castle is dated to 1038, and it refers to a deed of assignment drawn up inside the walls of the central keep. It was basically impregnable, and withstood numerous siege attempts. I understood why as we climbed up to it!

Of course, I had Lilly on my back again, and it was a hot day. The kids mostly seemed to enjoy themselves as we were the only ones we saw walking up to it, and they could do some exploring along the green path and dirt road. It felt so good to get out and do some hiking. It wasn't a far distance, but being outside with the kids and David in the sunshine really felt just right.

We did enjoy the castle so much. The story of Pinocchio originated in Tuscany, so the castle had some Pinocchio pictures hanging. Overall, we enjoyed the thick walls and the cavernous spaces. I enjoyed the view of Sarteano most of all. It was a really great day. When we climbed back down, we stopped at the Pegaso for some gelato. It had been recommended to us by our German "neighbor" at the camp as the best gelato in town. Oh. My. Goodness. We were going to have to go back there again!

So far, Italy was turning out to be a GREAT family vacation.

Lake Trasimeno

Walking up to the castle (notice that David is carrying my purse, since I have the heavy baby.)

The Sarteano Castle

At the entrance

Inside looking out

Pinocchio and bread.  Wasn't quite sure what this was about.

I'm not sure why she gets so tired riding in the backpack

So easy

to make these kids

this happy.  💛

Pisa

The kids were pretty excited about getting to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa because of seeing it on The Little Einsteins. Anyone else love that show? I love that it introduces the kids to classical musical and they don't even know it.

Anyhow, before we had left, I had made an agreement with David that I would drive us there and back, but he would drive during our excursions. Oh by the way, I never mentioned this to him, so I guess I can't really say I made an agreement with him about it. But that is the way it worked out. I had three excursions planned: 1) Pisa 2) Florence 3) A nearby lake. We were also planning to walk to a castle in the town in which we were staying. For a week-long visit, that might not sound like much. It doesn't to me, to be honest. But I've had to tone down and simplify my vacations, first because of David, and now because of the little kids.

So on our third day in Italy, we were heading to Pisa. It was a hot but beautiful day. I'd had no intention of climbing the tower itself. Lilly was on my back, and everyone was still a little bit weary from the travel and from getting how you get when you sleep in a new place. I just wanted to see the buildings and walk around.

I'd researched parking in advance. It's always an issue because I need a space big enough to fit the Caravan. The recommendations online were spot-on. We had about a 15-minute walk to the center from where we parked. I got a little bit turned around once and ended up in a dead end. An older man saw us and pointed us in the right direction, in Italian. He didn't care at all that we didn't speak Italian. He just motioned and exclaimed and made sure we were going the right way. He was helpful and such a delight!

But because of getting turned around, the walk ended up being more like 20 minutes, and for the hot and thirsty kids, it was taking FOREVER (their words).  You can already guess what we did to appease them. Yes. We got drinks and chicken nuggets at McDonald's. (Well there was no Chick Fil A nearby.) That improved their attitudes and allowed me to enjoy a sight I never before had thought I would see.

I really enjoyed my first view of the tower. From our direction, it was creeping out there just in sight, sort of looking mischievous like it was playing peek-a-boo with the other buildings. Everything was incredibly ornate. The buildings were light and bright, not like the Gothic style we see so much in Germany (which I love). It was fascinating.

When we first got there, a couple had been photographing the buildings and taking selfies, but they turned and saw us and asked me if they could take a picture of my kids. How cute! They were dark-skinned of course. My guess would be from India. Of course I let them, and Livvy was my pride and was sweet to them and let the lady lean in to her and smiled for their camera.

It was such a great day. The sunshine was so nice even though it was warm. The sights were awesome. The kids, for the most part, were so good. Lilly seems to like the backpack pretty well. She gets right in it without a fuss at all. I enjoyed myself so much. I hope we made good memories for the kids.

Some amazing details

I'll need this to remind them all that they've been here before.

Italy here we come!

I have to admit that I was exhausted when I got back from Bavaria. And poor David had told me Wednesday night that he was tired and it was cumulative. Makes sense, right? Most people can get through one night of sleep deprivation, but by the time you're on night number four, you kind of start feeling like a zombie.

I didn't get to leave Bavaria until 1500. So I didn't get home until about 2000, by the time it was all said and done. I still needed to pack for the kids and myself, not to mention do laundry after being away for 8 days. I could not figure out the logistics of how best to get us to Italy. My initial plan had been to drive to the Italian border and stop for the night as soon as we got out of Switzerland. I think I would have been awake until 0300 if we had stuck to that plan.

Instead, I got David's buy-in to leave at the kids' bedtime, 2000. So we slept a good night of sleep, took our time to pack and get ready so we wouldn't stress about forgetting anything, and started loading up the van at about 1830. And we drove away at about 2015. Everyone was ready. David played Queen's greatest hits for us and we were jamming down the highway.

About 40 minutes into the drive, David said, "Oh no. Did you bring the passports?" And in true Patty fashion, I said, "No. I thought about them once, but..." "So did I," he said. "Should we go back?"

With only a little bit of deliberation, I decided to go back. I had my own but nobody else's. So our 11-hour drive turned into a 12+ hour drive, and the excitement got sucked right out of us.

My decisions to leave when we did and to go back for the passports proved to be good ones. The drive was quite uneventful. Although we missed seeing the Swiss Alps because it was dark, the road was empty enough to make it worth it. At about 0500, I had David take the wheel for an hour or so. I needed a break for sure! And when we got to the park, they asked me for all six passports. Whew! What a good trip. And the kids were SOOOO good. I couldn't even believe how good they were. What a blessing.

We're on our way right now to Pisa. Yesterday and Saturday we took easy days and enjoyed the playground and the pool at the park. We had our first pizza in Italy already, and David and I had homemade pasta. The pizza was delicious. The pasta wasn't very good, but we'll try a different restaurant next time. The pasta we had was at the restaurant in the park, since it was open on Sunday. We've also been eating some delicious Italian meat and cheese sandwiches for lunch or breakfast. It's been great, so far. And this area is completely beautiful. What a lot to look forward to this week. What a gem we found in this park we're visiting.