After creepy Pinocchio park we went to explore Villa Garzoni gardens and butterfly farm. When we got there the door was locked and it said to ring this bell below to let someone know you are there. It felt like we were in Emerald City and the wizard was going to appear. We spent a few minutes looking for a bell (like a doorbell) before realizing they meant to ring this big cow bell.

Clearly the girls loved this and rang the bell over and over. The wizard never came. No one opened the door. I peeked around the side and found a cracked gate. We all snuck in (fyi apparently snuck is not a word as spell check keeps underlining it with the obnoxious red line. It annoyed me so i just looked it up and the proper word would be sneaked. Who says sneaked? I’m leaving snuck. We snuck in). Once inside it really was beautiful with orange trees, a fish pond, peacocks, baby goats, ducks, black swans, butterflies and turtles. This was worth sneaking in to see.

This was Sabi’s favorite part. She just loves animals and has no fear. She stuck her little hand right in their mouths and loved it. When we went to leave one came running to the edge and let out a loud maaaaa staring at us.

After this we called a taxi to pick us up and take us back to the train station. While we were waiting for the taxi we walked across the street to a restaurant to get some bottles of water and Will and I split a beer. The lady loved the girls and their charm struck again. She gave them a free plate of chips (which is funny b/c i debated on buying a bag for the ride home but then didnt b/c they already had chips). When the cab came b/c it was only about 4 minutes away, she handed us a bag to put all the chips in and told us to take them with us. She then came around to the front and brought each girl a free smiley face cookie in a bag to take with them. She was so sweet and the girls gave huge smiles and thanks for the treats.

The train home was delayed. Some kids also pulled an alarm so for about 10 minutes while waiting for train all we heard was an annoying alarm over and over. The 1 1/2 hour train ride took over 2 hours. Sabs flipped out for the last two stops, which was a reminder of how Sabs could actually flip out b/c she really hasn’t the entire trip. I had to get up and walk around with her until she conked out in my arms while standing in between train cars with a huge crowd of people. Pookie started coming down with her fever at this time i think b/c this is when she said she had a headache and then fell asleep for a bit on the ride home. This pic was from before any of that happened and Elmo was still funny and entertaining.

When we got back to Florence we took a cab home and then Will ran out and picked up some Chinese food (which was reallllly good and a nice change from bread, pizza, pasta). I made the girls some scrambled eggs and put some white rice and apples on the side. Sophie ate the apples and told me to save the rest b/c she was cold and tired. That is when fever officially began. Sabs ended up really liking fried rice. Funny in Italy one of my top meals was Chinese. Mmmm.

Today we took the train for about an 1 1/2 hours to a town in Tuscany called Collodi. The train ride there was uneventful and went rather fast. Sophie was so excited b/c we one of the places we were heading to was called Pinocchio Park since it was the town where the man who wrote Pinocchio was from.

Pinocchio park was both fun and creepy (right up sophie’s alley). I dont know what other Pinocchio stories exist out there but apparently they involved some creepy characters who were on display at this park. It is very concerning for Sophie who likes to know every detail and she keeps asking what this other Pinocchio stuff is about.

This is the first creepy example…I’m not sure who this character is. There were examples like this all over and they got even creepier though i dont think i took pics.

Here is another (which was part of an entire wall full of mosaic creatures looking like this

Inside that bus thing to the left was some sort of Pinocchio torture chamber display. We peeked in and Sophie decided she didn’t like the looks of it. He may have been missing limbs in some displays, chained to something in another…really I am beginning to think that Pinocchio has some deep dark side that we were not aware of.

On to the lighter side of the park

This was the highlight for us. I have video to post later.

Some other park randoms

I was going to take a pic of the girls sharing their little chips when Sophie went to grab one from the bag…Sabs screams NO (that is Sabs no face below)

Sophie grabbed it anyway, as she should have b/c they were for both of them. Then she stared up and pretended to whistle acting as if she didnt get one

Sabs didnt buy it and let out her pissed off Sabs scream

After licking the entire chip Sophie spit it out and went to feed it to cranky Sabs

Sabs didnt accept her soggy chip so Sophie got the chip she wanted in the first place, and they lived happily ever after

We walked through a little shop on the way out and then headed off to visit a butterfly garden near by. Pinocchio Sabs below.

Since yesterday we never actually made it to the park, we decided to go there today. I had bought some sidewalk chalk for the girls to play with and the sun was shining so off we went.

The trees below have bark that peels off. Both girls were mesmerized peeling pieces of bark off the tree. Nature’s toys.

And then there is the fan favorite…the drain. Any little holes you can fit sticks and rocks down. WIN.

Alas, we made it to the playground where we spent a few hours and then headed home to wash up b/c somehow everyone got filthy. Later on we went out to a vegetarian restaurant and then took a late night walk for some ice cream.

Heading off for another day in Florence with our only plan being to visit an ice cream shop that Pookie can make and create her own ice cream. We made it there. Sabs fell asleep and Pookie created and devoured her very own creation.

After Sabs woke up we went off to the phone store to sort out a data plan, bumped into some guy who was pretending to be a statue (this will have its own post), and then decided to walk down some streets we havent seen and head to a park. As luck would have it we bumped into a Vegetarian Art Exhibit that opened its doors just as we arrived!! We wandered on in and they had an entire table of vegetarian food and drinks for free. We ate and looked all around and the girls loved it b/c it was all about animals. Pookie said “Hey Mama, we should bring Mimi here b/c then maybe she wont want to eat animals anymore”. I dont think Pookie is going to eat meat anytime soon. She is very into the whole vegetarian concept and truly interested in everything about it. She ate a fake meat sandwich and loved it. We have since tried to find where it came from so we could get it again but haven’t had luck (not many people spoke english there). We did find another vegetarian restaurant that we ended up eating at the other night and was yummy.

We couldn’t believe how lucky we were to bump into that just as it opened and then to walk into a table full of delicious food and drinks. So random. After we were done we kept on our path to get to the park. On the way there we saw this toy store that looked like a little mom and pop shop so we walked in. Turns out the store went back forever and was a huge store with a build-a-bear type thing inside, a lego table, and two floors. We got lost in there for prob over an hour. It always amazes me that inside toy stores Sophie loves to play with everything but rarely asks to bring anything home. Her and Sabs played and played and she did not ask for one single toy. When it was time to go we just carried on our way.

By the time we left the store it was after 6pm and we were still about 1/2 from the park or 1/2 hour from home. We decided to head back home which is why i say sometimes it is more about the journey than it is the destination. We never actually made it to our destination but we had a super fun journey together. We picked up Sophie’s favorite pizza from the restaurant down the block, i made a big salad and we all chowed. xo

I cant quite remember all we did this day but here are some pics from playing in the square and then we walked to a new park and played. Oh now i remember, we walked down to the stores and did a little shopping (got the girls a toy at the disney store), then Sabi fell asleep and we walked over to a new park. After that we stopped into a fancy hotel b/c we were going to go have a drink/appetizer on the rooftop bar to break up our journey home. I looked at the menu while Will was in the bathroom and it was like 18.00 for a caprese salad (which you can get for prob less than 8.00 most everywhere else) so I told him just on principle i’d rather keep walking. We kept walking and then found a little restaurant and ended up having my favorite meal I have had here. It was just a little appetizer the owner made up for us with grilled veggies and some yummy bread but the seasonings were just insanely delicious. Funny how those things work out. We had a mojito, a beer, bottle of sparkling water and the large appetizer for all around 20.00. Plus we chatted with the owner who lived in the US for a few years and was a super nice guy.

Oh and at the park Pookie was playing peek a boo with a little boy who thought she was hilarious. When she popped up to say boo and bounce back down she cracked her chin on a bar and now has a big black and blue on her chin. I didnt see anything when it happened and she was crying so I picked her up and carried her a bit and said oh wow no boo boo. Fast  forward next morning…wow that looks like it seriously hurt. She has a massive black and blue. We got home around 7pm and I made some yummy stir fry for dinner. Night night.

Well I fell behind about a week. I dont think i have updated since we moved to our new apt last saturday (which i actually updated on monday because i was behind). Anyway, i have two good reasons, Frick and Frack. They have been busy little bees going to sleep around 10pm and waking up (for the day not counting throughout the night) around 7:30am. Both have been in great moods though Sabs had a few days where she had her finger in her mouth all day (teething) and only wanted mommy.

Anyway, i have lost count of what we did on what days except for yesterday and the day before. I can remember those in order. Poor little Pookie came down with a fever yesterday and was knocked out all day. She is so responsible and sweet when she is sick (the exact opposite of her sister which is one of many reasons i hope the little demon doesnt catch whatever this is next). Sophie just rested all day, took two warm baths and did a lot of sleeping. She had about 102 fever last time i checked and it felt like it was running pretty steady all day. Last night i felt it drop for a bit and then it seemed to come back up again. This morning (she is still sleeping) it feels lower so hopefully it is on its way out and she will be back to good ole pooks. I could tell it was coming on b/c on our way home from the countryside she said she had a little headache on the train and then fell asleep. Then she said her headache (egg-it as she calls it) went away but before bed she got super cold and wanted to just lay down and save her dinner. Oh she is up. be back.

Sooo, Sabs was so excited that Pookie woke up (sabs has been up for over an hour already) that she ran in and jumped on top her. She misjudged the distance (as babies often do) and cracked her eyelid on the nightstand. She now looks like she got punched in the eye and has a big cut on top of her eyelid. This all happened about 4 hours ago. We have since taken baths, eaten food, wiped her boo boo and played. Pookie woke up with fever and I am happy to say that as of 2 hours ago she is fever free and back at it!

Will and Sabs brought her home a dozen orange roses from the grocery store yesterday. She told me to put them by the bed b/c that is what you do for sick people. She has updated us all on her flowers several times between today and yesterday. One is sad b/c she is sick and the rest seem to be opening now and smiling b/c they heard she has gotten better. You can see the sad flower below on the right.

Ironically yesterday it drizzled on and off all day and today is cloudy and the same. Pookie couldn’t have picked two better days to be home bound. She is convinced that the sun heard about her illness too and doesn’t want to come out. It is a bit bizarre and i am super grateful that we have had sunshine nearly everyday we have been here except travel day to florence when we we arrived and the past two days when we are here with a sick pookie. She is good to go as of now so we’ll prob just take it easy on this cloudy day and hit the streets again tomorrow.

Ok, now let me go sort some pictures and post while Sabs is napping and Pooks is eating. Oh and Sabi was so sad when pookie was sick b/c she didn’t understand why she wasn’t playing with her yesterday. She came out and asked me to put on “do do do” their favorite song (Uptown Funk) and Pookie mustered up some energy with 102 fever and snuck out to dance with Sabs. Sabi was so excited. I took pics and you can see it in her face. It only lasted about a minute or so and then pooks had to lay down on the couch b/c of course she was sicky picky.

And here is my crew on the mend this morning. Typical Pookie style – 24hr fever then back like nothing happened.