There she stands! Right on our block. See post below for more explanation. Typing this while Will is at meeting with owner of this ATM :).

Some of the girls playing in the store while Dada chats Bitcoin.

Then some yummy muffins and cafe

Shopping selfie

Another pic for PaPa…mounds of Gelato

Random drawings that appear all over the city. Not sure who the artist is

Another Pookie size car

The girls

A stop in the 18.00 caprese salad hotel. We stop in to use their bathroom b/c if their salad is 18.00 lord knows their bathrooms should be clean- muhahaha

And finally the park! Sabs must be watching her sis socialize and today she decided she was going to give it a go all on her own. She saw another little pint size mate walk past her with her mom. We saw her eye the girl down so we said Sabs you can go play with her. Go ahead. Little peanut ran her hiney across the entire park to meet up where the little girl was playing. Too bad the girl was shy or not into it but Sabs had no clue and it was super cute to watch her run off on her own like her big sissy.

I am days behind again…but here are some pics from move in day on monday. This apartment is next door to a vegetarian restaurant and toy store. Ideal location. It seriously is in the perfect location. It is in between the first apt and last apt. This could not have worked out any better! Of course as soon as the woman left after showing us the apt, Pookie had to strip naked and get comfortable.

Teething Sabs

Ironically, a few doors down is one of very few (possibly single digits) Bitcoin ATM’s in Italy. Will went in and chatted with the owner of the store and found out that his son was on TV last night talking about Bitcoin. Will is actually at a meeting with them now as I type this on Friday morning. So strange how things work out. I have some more pics from inside that I will post after. Can’t figure out what day is what so this is all a bit blurred together.

Here is a pic for PaPa…I haven’t had one yet but I will make sure to taste one before we leave Italy.

Sophie made this the other day all by herself. She now knows how to write and spell Sabi’s name on her own. So proud!

Whenever Sabs wants to nurse she says “Want Buba”. Lately she had been asking all the time b/c she has some molars coming in and I keep saying No More! Pookie felt bad for her and said “Here Sabs, want my Buba?”. Sabs said yea. Sophie pulls up her shirt and Sabs pretends to drink the Buba. We crack up laughing so Sabs now does this all the time and asks Sophie for her buba. It is so cute and hilarious…until they do it on the train, and in the middle of the store. Then i duck and pretend i have no clue what these crazy kids are doing…or whose they are. xo

Sabs famous “NO” face

Since we got to Italy Will has been enjoying a big craft beer each night since he doesn’t ever get that in CR. In CR for whatever reason we don’t usually drink at all and esp not beer since they really dont have any great beer that is reasonably priced. Anyway, Sophie kept saying Dada is beer healthy? I dont think beer is healthy for you. You shouldn’t drink it. Then she came and asked me if it is healthy. I said well no not really but neither is ice cream and you have that in moderation. Then Will said Sophie do you not want me to drink beer? She said yes. So he has not had a beer since. Hahahaha. Meanwhile, apparently wine is healthy and I can continue to drink that b/c Sophie hasn’t mentioned it once.

We were trying to figure out where this all came from and finally got to the source of it. One night before bed i told Sophie the story about my Pop pop who drank a bunch of scotch and died (not that abruptly but that was the gist). When she asked me what scotch was, I said it was like beer. The other night she told Will that she didn’t want him to die like Momma’s grandpa. She wanted him to live. I dont think he will ever drink beer again. So glad i didnt compare it to wine. hahahaha!

So we kept throwing around going to  visit another area of Italy. We let go of the idea of going to Spain next and decided to make that another adventure on its own with less luggage. Next time we come to Europe I am going to try and just pack backpacks for everyone b/c getting around with two kids and all our suitcases is a bit limiting when it comes to trains and small planes. Anyway, we are having so much fun and loving Florence so it really worked out.

We looked into going to Naples and traveling around there but I found myself saying well guess we can’t go here then, and too bad we didnt get to do that, or I just want to check this out before we leave…etc. Then i thought, well we really don’t have to leave yet and that is the beauty of not planning ahead.  Will agreed and to another apt in Florence we go!

This one takes the cake. Will found this place by looking the day before and it is gorgeous and in an excellent location!! It is beautifullllll! It’s so high tech that even the garbage can opens and closes itself when you walk over. The kitchen is stocked with the best cookware and there are two tvs in the kitchen alone. Nutters. This is two bdrms, two bathrooms, dining room, living room, kitchen, and views of the Duomo from the bdrm. Again, no clue why anyone would stay at Four Seasons.

So after we got home from Collodi, Pookie had bit of a fever and we spent all day friday just chillin around the house while she rested (she is now better and doing great). It was a rainy, dreary day anyway so we lucked out that way.

Dada had to do an important meeting for work so he found a coworking space to go to and try and get some faster internet for a video call. He went to a place in the neighborhood and the guy who owned it, Giovanni, wanted to take his pic and loved his story. He gave Will a sweet treat and a cappuccino when he arrived. Hilarious that a few days later Will was walking down the street and he hears someone yelling his name. He doesnt even turn around b/c he figures no one knows him here and when the person didnt stop calling out Will finally turned and it was Giovanni walking down the street. He invited Will to dinner but Will was walking home with a pack of diapers b/c we had none and also had a sick Pookie waiting here.

We basically spent Friday and Saturday just hanging out and waiting for Pookie to get better. Saturday we went out for a quick walk but that was really it. The weather was ick both days so glad it turned out that way. Today (Monday) sun is bright and shiny and everyone is healthy!

Here is Dada and his Italian bud

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.