“You may have the universe if I may have Italy.” -Giuseppe Verdi

Italy! Oh my goodness me. It is one of my favorite countries on earth, no doubt. Every time I have visited I can’t wait to go back & explore more. It is so varied, so full of differences, so exciting. I bet you could spend a lifetime adventuring through it & still be amazed at how RAD it is! Not to mention that they have THE best gelato, or “belato”, according to my 3 year old.

We spend a lovely week in northern Italy, traversing it by train. We headed toward the lakes area after leaving Switzerland, starting off with an afternoon in Domodossola, where we sat at the train station eating yogurt & fruit. We jumped on the next available train after our arrival there, which happened to be a local commuter train. That simply means that it stops at EVERY stop along the way, turning a 45 minute ride into a 2+ hour one. Which, turned out to be a gift because it meant that both girls crashed out on the bench seats & got a decent nap (HALLELUJAH!) as we rolled through the beautiful countryside. We arrived in Milan & ate some pizza, had our first cappuccinos of the trip & encountered numerous Romanian gypsies. We jumped onto a train again which took us up to the middle lake region of Lake Como, while both girls slept on us in a much more crowded train.

Once there, we disembarked & made our way down to a little cafe restaurant on the water where we had a local favorite dish of pesto gnocchi. It. was. good. From there, we jumped on a ferry out of Varenna & across the way to our little hamlet of Bellagio. We were greeted by our great AirBnB hostess, who whisked us away at lightning speed winding our way up to our house for the next few days. It was a great location where we sat in the backyard which overlooked the lake, drinking good italian wine & eating more pasta, of course. It was a FABULOUS few days of exploring the middle lake region, wandering through the cobblestone streets, watching the swans, eating gelato while admiring the locally handcrafted olive wood pieces. We explored beautiful gardens, found countless lizards & even got to experience a very boisterous thunderstorm. I loved our time there, especially taking ferry rides across the water from port to port, gently rolling across the waves gazing out at the pastel buildings & ancient stone church towers. It was a peaceful place, full of incredible views, wonderful food & artful culture.

“In Italy, they add work and life onto food and wine.” -Robin Leach

One of my highlights from our time there was when we got caught in a downpour & sat at an outdoor cafe across the square from a 500 year old church, while we waited it out. We bundled up & sipped on our cappuccinos as slowly as possible, watching kids kick a soccer ball around while their parents had their afternoon cigarette & espresso. When the rain decided to finally peter out a bit, we grabbed our umbrellas & found another winding way down to the port where we boarded our ferry back. It was a simple, satisfying moment in time with my family.

We left Bellagio at 5am, where we walked along the shoreline waiting for the ferry. It was calm, brisk & MAGICAL. On the ferry we met an interesting couple from Australia, who were in their 7th week of traveling all around Europe. We spent the next hour or so at the train stop & on the train speaking with them about their adventures & enjoyed our encounter with them. They travel 7 weeks every single year together, hiking & journeying through different parts of the world. I admire that. I think the people in this world would be much happier if they did more of that, I sure hope as our years unfold we can continue to prioritize adventuring throughout this amazing planet.

After arriving in Milan again, we quickly changed trains & headed east across Italy. We stopped for the afternoon in the beautiful city of Verona, where we checked in our luggage & headed out to explore. It was a great decision! I LOVED the city. We sat & ate in a large piazza full of people & music & fountains & ancient buildings. We toured the original amphitheatre that was a test design for the much larger colosseum in Rome, kissed under Romeo & Juliet’s fabled balcony, ate gelato & wandered across a moat & drawbridge & through a castle to a bridge that was rebuilt by hand after it was bombed & destroyed in WWII.

From Verona, we got back on a train after refueling with more espresso & made our way east again to Marcon, right outside of Venice. We were picked up by yet another incredible AirBnB host who took us to her renovated 200 year old farmhouse for our stay. It was by far, the most INCREDIBLE AirBnB we have stayed in thus far. Our hostess, is a designer & interior decorator & her husband is an architect. With the two of them working their giftings together, this old farmhouse is a fully functioning, beautiful oasis of tranquility. I wanted to move in, make it a bit more toddler friendly & transport it to California. That evening she graciously drove us to the closest market where we purchased the ingredients to make a fabulous italian dinner. She also gifted us a bottle of local wine & spend nearly an hour showing us all of the local spots to visit while in Venice, where we would be exploring the very next day. She was the best hostess!

“Italy will never be a normal country. Because Italy is Italy. If we were a normal country, we wouldn’t have Rome. We wouldn’t have Florence. We wouldn’t have the marvel that is Venice.” -Matteo Renzi

The next day we dove right into Venice. This city has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember, as well as on Noah’s, so this was a dream come true for us. We took the train over the marshy water as we entered another world it seemed. This feeling was deepened as we stepped out of the train station right onto the Grand Canal walkway where we were instantly overwhelmed by how COOL this new city was! It was totally surreal, seeing all of those buildings, hundreds & hundreds of years old, build literally on the water. Thinking about now, I am still blown away by how crazy those Venetians were & still are! The city of Venice is one of a kind. I am so so grateful that we made sure to experience it! We ate at a local walk in cafe where we had mozzarella & fish sandwiches for euro & drank spritz, which is also a local drink. We wandered through the winding alleyways, seeing on one street high end shops & on the very next street over one cathedral after another, smashed in between apartments & locals enjoying their afternoon espressos. We took a local gondola across the canal for half a euro each & enjoyed the rocking motion as we went over to the fish market. At the fish market we saw just about everything I could imagine! A woman even put a lively little snail into my hand so Eliana could have a close up experience.  We walked over bridge after bridge after bridge, popped in churches, bought some watercolors from local artists, ate gelato, took LOTS of pictures & just enjoyed MEANDERING. It was a great experience, including our taxi ride back up the Grand Canal to the train station. That night we went to a tasty (& very fancy!) pizzeria & finished our time in Italy the right way.

The next day we hopped back on the train & headed back towards Verona, where we switched trains & headed north to Austria through the Dolomites (where we will most definitely going back to hike around!). We saw sprawling castles way up on the hillsides, beautiful mountains & rivers. That was also the day that the Austro-Italian border had decided to instigate border control checks due to the volume of Syrian refugees traveling across. It was interesting to watch as they stopped the train & checked passports. Although all that we encountered were lots of smiles from the guards as Cora walked (assisted) up & down the aisles over & over again. I’m pretty sure she made a few peoples days each time we took a train. It’s hard to resist a cute baby waving at you. With that, we made our way into Austria, which I will share about the next time I write.

Overall, Northern Italy was a highlight for me, I truly enjoyed each one of the cities we visited. They were all so different & each had so much BEAUTY to offer.  I loved that in practically each place we were, little old men & women would stop us & squish the girl’s cheeks & call them “ciao bella”, & they really meant it. I love that Eliana learned how to say “ciao” so well & that it is now a household word for us. Just like I shared last time with Switzerland, if you haven’t been to Italy, you should. JUST DO IT. Make it happen. Especially if you love good food, interesting culture, beautiful variegated scenery & history. I honestly can’t wait to go back again. So until next time, ciao.

“Italy, and the spring and first love all together should suffice to make the gloomiest person happy.” -Bertrand Russell

Cheers,

Katie.