Today we headed out on a journey to a big park that had a playground in it. It was about a mile walk each way so with two curious kiddos the way there it took about an hour to get there. We stopped in the big central market to check it out. It is best to go in the morning so we are going to go back now that we are all on schedule b/c we arrived as they were shutting down. We also walked through a little street fair and stopped to look around there.

Both girls fell asleep the second half of the walk so we ended up lugging their little butts around which seems to be a daily thing as they both keep napping in transit. I watch the people with strollers with envy. I dream about wandering along with two kiddies napping in a stroller and then quickly remember that my reality would be 2 kids napping on us while we pushed an empty stroller. These jungle babies don’t know from strollers. Anyway, Will has actually enjoyed it because it has been a long time since either of the girls have napped on him and he is getting his fill this trip since i can only carry one at a time.

When we got to the playground there were two little Italian girls there that immediately took to Sophie. It is truly amazing to watch kids play that are speaking two different languages the entire time. They start to try and imitate each other by speaking the other kids language too. One little Italian girl heard a mom ask Sophie how old she was in english. She must have thought she asked Sophie what her name was and so when Sophie said Four, the girl figured that was her name and started calling her Four. Sophie had no clue what she was saying and thought it was some sort of direction in Italian. Then she figured it out somehow and pointed to herself and said SOPHIE. The girl said her name which was actually SOPHIA! From then on all you heard around the playground was the two girls yelling for SOPHIE! It was super cute. They all had a blast and played for over 2 1/2 hours straight. They only stopped to eat some clementine’s and cookies together inside the little house above the slide. Sophie came back with all this information she knew about her little friends who didn’t speak a word of english.

Now on to the stories of the day that really made our hearts melt! It is beautiful to watch your children having a blast and playing with other kids, but it is truly on another level when you witness the bond between siblings. Sabi looks up to her big sissy like no other. She just wants to do everything Sophie does, and is so super lucky that Sophie is the best big sister anyone could ask for. So while it didn’t surprise me when the following unfolded, it still had me in tears…

Sophie was running with her little bud Sophia from the slide to the clubhouses. Along the way Sabi spotted them and stuck out her hand for Sophie b/c she wanted to play with them. Sophie stopped mid run to grab her little sissy’s hand and slowed down enough to bring her along.

When they go to the clubhouse I could tell Sophie was prepping for her buddy to deny Sabs inside. Instead of running in first she walked up with Sab and stepped behind Sab to usher her in and let her know it is OK. Also to let her friend know that her sissy is coming in and she is protecting her. When her friend said no babies (in italian) and pointed to the other clubhouse saying that clubhouse is for the babies and this one is for the big girls then tried to walk Sabi out of the big girl clubhouse, Sophie went with Sabi. She went into the baby clubhouse and stayed there with her sissy. The other girl kept yelling SOPHIE, SOPHIE to have Sophie come back into the big house and so since Sophie was torn she went and stood in the middle. Yes, she stood in the middle of both houses. Ugh, she has a heart of gold. Then not wanting to be bothered she took Sabs and ran off to pick flowers. While picking flowers a little boy baby came in and went into the baby clubhouse (Italian Sophia was still occupying the big girl clubhouse). When Sophie and Sabs came back Sophie saw the little baby and said “Awww how cute, look Sabs a little baby friend” and then brought Sabi up to the baby clubhouse and played peek-a-boo in the windows and gave them both flowers. She then ran to me and said look Mama, Sabs has a little baby friend (all excited for her sissy).

Then Sabs, being bold, determined Sabs (and always resourceful), put her flowers to good use. She walked over to Italian Sophia and handed her a flower. Italian Sophia couldn’t resist the act of kindness and invited Sabs into the big girl clubhouse. There you have it, stubborn little Sabs made her way in on her own and just look at her face. So proud.

Later on Italian Sophia found a ball that Sabs had found earlier and claimed ownership on for the past hour. Sophia went running up the slide with it and Sabs started reaching her hand out saying AH AH MINE MINE…obviously Sophia didn’t have any clue what she was doing but clever little Sophie picked right up on it. It was so interesting to watch because Sophie walked up to Sabs, put her arm around her and said “Don’t worry Sabs, I’ll get your ball back for you”. Then instead of just going and grabbing it from Sophia or asking for the ball, she creatively convinced Sophia to play a game and roll the ball down the slide to her. As soon as the ball reached the bottom of the slide she grabbed it and ran it over to Sabs and gave it  to her. She then ran back and just got them sidetracked into some other game. Ugh, she just melts me. Truly melts me. Below is Sabs and her ball. Or  rather, someone else’s ball she claimed for the afternoon.

And finally, if those two stories weren’t enough to make me ugly cry, Sophie did it again. She was walking along with Sabs and saw a little girl getting on the seesaw. Will and I were sitting on the opposite end of the park and just watching them from a distance. We saw Sophie walk over and wave to the other little girl, and then proceed to pick Sabs up and put her on the other end of the seesaw. She stood there and helped them get started and then came running back to us and said, “Hey, I found Sabs another baby friend. Look they’re playing together”. She then ran back to Sabs and her little buddy and hung out by them while they played. Funny how memories from trips sometimes have nothing to do with the country you are in, or the sights you see, etc. It is the simple things like watching your daughters interact and their little personalities blossom and shine through. I am just so proud of both of them. Here is Sabs and her little buddy.

The park filled up by the time we left and there were probably close to 40 kids running around. It was a great afternoon. We walked home, stopping for some gelato and picking up some dinner after. Another fun day in Florence :).

Today we walked over to these huge gardens where the girls ran around, picked lemons, picked flowers, rolled down hills in the grass and climbed all sorts of sculptures. For dinner we stopped into a random pizza place and brought some yummy vegetarian and margarita pizza. Later that night we took a walk and got some gelato- of course.

On this side of town all the street signs were designed by an artist. Super cool.

We found a Sophie size car 🙂

Love all the streets here and massive doors

Just hitting the streets again. Did some laundry, saw a puppet show, ate some sandwiches outside in the square, fed some more pigeons and then home and made some broccoli soup!

Happy Easter! Guess who made an appearance last night?? The Italian Easter bunny! That’s right! He emailed me to let me know that he was going to pop on over while Sophie and Sabs were sleeping and leave a little chocolate coin hunt for them in the morning because he spoke to the Tico Bunny from CR and heard that they were going to be in town. The Tico Bunny hid some eggs for them when they return but this bunny just wanted to hop on over with a little something. Yes, Sophie loves this story. She is so impressed that the Italian Easter bunny sent an email with clues for her hunt. She said that was so nice of him to visit her and she can’t believe it. Oh the magic of childhood- love it! Big props to dada for finding some chocolate coins and little treasures at the grocery store last night. Whew. If we got here a bit earlier and it wasn’t pouring we could have really stocked up on some Easter goodies. The bakeries and chocolate/candy shops ended up just having amazing bunny and easter creations. I guess the beauty of it all is that none of that really mattered. What excited Sophie most is the fact that the Italian bunny visited and spoke to her Tico bunny. What excited Sabi most was of course seeing Sophie excited lol. Never mind the religious aspect of Easter, we don’t get into all that since we are not a religious family. We are strictly a magical bunny family.

Sabi’s face below is the face she makes when she wants food or a drink. When we walk by ice cream shops or restaurants here she opens her mouth wide, says ah ah ah ah, and points her finger into her mouth. Sabi does it so much that Sophie has now started doing it too.

After our little Easter hunt we hit the streets of Florence for our first day out on the town.

We made no plans. Just headed out to see where the Easter day would take us. We saw an amazing musician, artists, street performers, fed pigeons, and then stumbled upon the antique merry-go-round. A perfect example of why we are such big fans of the no plan plans.

We wrapped up the day with a delicious Italian meal at a restaurant near the house (which we have already been back to b/c it was soo good). Actually we haven’t had a bad meal yet. Sabi chowed on some veggie soup i ordered, Pooks had noodies, and we all shared a caprese salad, pasta with eggplant, gnocchi and tons of bread. No pics since both girls were using my phone watching My Little Pony while we ate. It is amazing how affordable all the restaurants have been. Most things here are actually cheaper than Costa Rica (food, drink, toys, cabs, etc). Don’t worry CR, you are still numero uno on our list :). After dinner we headed back or maybe we had some gelato, I can’t remember. What I do remember is this face at oh I dont know, maybe 4am? Maybe after only sleeping 2 hours? This is what jet lag Sab looks like…

Thankfully I am writing this post on thursday morning at 8:15am and both girls are sound asleep since 9:30pm last night (a couple of quick wake ups but that is normal). It took one full week but we are good to go now! We also just decided to book another apt (this one is already booked next week) and stay another week in Florence. We are loving it! I will catch up on this blog today. It is going to happen. Sophie just woke up.

We arrived in Florence and it was late in the afternoon and a dreary rainy day. The line for the cab was nutty but luckily went fast and the girls were again just perfect little travelers. I mean really perfect. Like traveling with buddy. Ugh feel so blessed. Anyway, we all just settled in to our apartment (which is also perfect) and Dada ran out and got some quick things from the grocery so I can make little dinner and we can all just rest. That is exactly what rainy dreary days are for.

Will bought this beauty from the grocery store in Florence. It kicks the percolators butt. It brews the coffee by boiling the water up through the grinds and then the water comes through the top part. It is fast and makes coffee the color of oil (just how i like it). It is essential at the moment (refer to recent posts below). Will is now up and sipping his coffee. Time to get ready for another day of exploring :). Thankful that with all the lack of sleep the girls are both miraculously in brilliant moods. It is truly baffling. Oh, and it turns out Will said he went to bed at 5am (suppose someone has to pay the bills). This means he really only had 1 more hour of sleep than me. Guess we’re in it together (see post below). C O F F E E.

This afternoon we headed out of Rome and boarded a high speed train to Florence. Will booked us business class tickets and for about 120.00 we had 4 comfy seats and relaxed for the 1 1/2 ride. The journey to the train sure was interesting. We were dropped off in front of the station with 3 large bags, 2 carry on, and two kids. See posts below about the gypsies and now flash forward two days and Will is playing a different tune. A woman walked up to me and grabbed my two carry on bags that i was rolling stacked on top of each other while carrying Sabs and having Pookie hold on to my shirt. She said she insisted on helping me and that her and her husband have two young girls also so she knows how hectic it can be to travel. We started chatting a bit and her husband got on the train a few cars before us. I told her no worries i can handle it the rest of the way but she insisted on walking us all the way to our seats. Will is skeptical and keeps looking back now thinking it is some sort of scam and i am about to lose our luggage to this lady who is going to take off and make a run for it. I am laughing in my head b/c I know all that is going through his mind and how quickly the game has changed from his non skeptical attitude to this don’t trust anyone current mindset. Turns out my nice lady was actually just that, a nice lady. She helped me to our train car, smiled and went on her way.

Dada on the other hand had two guys dressed like a porters grab his bags to put them on the train (he was carrying two large duffles on his back and rolling our third piece of luggage, oh and also carrying a laptop case). Will gave him a few dollars and figured he would be on his way. He came back. He asked for more. Will said no, I just gave you and you grabbed my bags, i didnt even want you to help. He didn’t leave. Will gave him some more money. I think about 5.00 or 10.00 (all the dude did was put the bag from the platform into the car). He asked for more. Will said NO, go. He left. His friend came and said he wanted money too. Will said go talk to your other friend. He didn’t leave. Will said NO. He left. All of this was mostly done in hand gestures since they were speaking Italian and we were speaking English. I think Will left Rome twitching. He sat down on the train and declared from here on in no one will touch the bags. He is refusing all help.  I will laugh bout this endlessly inside.

Florence really hasn’t been like this at all. For me, Rome seemed more like Time Square and Florence more like Brooklyn. We had such a fun day in Rome and loved the hotel as well, but I don’t think our family would enjoy an extended stay there. It is way too busy with too many people. Florence on the other hand is a perfect mix. I really love it here.

Anyway. on to some pics from our train ride. PS (It is now 10am and Sabs is awake again from a quick 1/2hr power nap. Will is still sleeping. Sophie has moved on from breakfast to chocolate. Whew and people complain about setting clocks back an hour. This 8hr time change is butt kickin. Im sending Sophie in to wake Will- muhahahahaha. I just said Sophie go in and wake dada, she said, “is the coffee ready?”. Haha! Wise beyond her years).

Sabs is now watching Elmo’s world right next to my ear. Elmo’s voice combined with sleep deprivation should be used for torturing criminals. Sophie is talking about the game she is playing and something about flying away from the family and getting stuck in the ocean. I am in the middle on the bed. The bed is about the queen size. They are pushed so close to me we could all easily be laying in a twin bed. Will needs to be woken up. I gave him just enough time to sleep so that I can complain later in the day that he had more sleep than me and therefore has to handle the doodie diaper, or the crying baby, or whatever the day may bring. Yes i thought this out. Well it is good to know that if I forgo sleep i can catch up on the blog…so there’s that :).

We walked from our hotel to a beautiful park and had our first meal out in Italy. It was Yummo! The girls were so good and charming that the restaurant gave them a free dessert. Pookie let out a burp that sounded like it came from a 300lb man. Everyone at the table behind us turned and looked at Will. He pointed to pooks with a smile and they all busted out laughing. Too much sparkly water will do it to ya. PS (At 7am this the morning both girls were up. Sabs finally went to bed at 3:30am last night (see post below). It is 9am and she is currently zonking out on top of my right arm. Pooks is eating breakfast. Will is still asleep. This sure is an interesting schedule we are on).

I am catching up and still a few days behind but it is 2:38 am and I am sitting on the couch with Sabs, (yes Sabs), watching movies sitting next to me. 2:38 am. We’ve been at it since 1am. She fell asleep at about 9pm, woke up at 12am, tried valiantly to fall back asleep for an hour and then just gave up and started trying to wake her sissy. Sooo we relocated, ate some cheese, and surrendered to the jet lag. She is giggling and showing me all her games and movies. She keeps rewinding and replaying the same song in Coraline. She is not yawning. I am afraid…very afraid. Sophie on the other hand has resumed a fairly normal schedule as of last night and has been snoring away since 9:30pm. Will is still awake sitting across from me working on his laptop. Sabs is singing now. She is going to kill us all.