Yellow Brick Road

I don't know what it is about Italy, but we have seen more rainbows in the year and a half that we have lived here than in our entire lives. It seems as though one pops up each time it rains. It's another one of the many wonders that we experience while living in this fabulous country--perhaps they are a trade-off for having to endure the almost CONSTANT rain in this country. I will miss them.

My all-time favorite...I woke up and opened the kitchen window to this one morning

You can just make out the double rainbow 

Loved that we could see the top of the arch on this one

While driving.... 

 

Behind the vines...what a great, "I took this in Italy shot"

From Via Fontanelle 

In my front yard 

After flood number 1 

From our kids' window... 

Into our town 

Next to the castle.... 

This one isn't in Italy, it's actually in Paris.  I took this while walking down the steps from Sacre Coeur

I obviously didn't take this one...the husband of my friend Mary Katherine did last year while he was deployed to Afghanistan.  It's still the was beautiful rainbow that I've "seen" while living in Italy.

Here's your sign, European style

If you are joining us from Casey's We Took The Road Less Traveled, WELCOME!  Feel free to look around, read a few posts and stop by again!  We'd love to have you along for the ride--follow my blog!


A rite of passage when moving as often as we do is having to take the dreaded DMV drivers license test from state to state.  This time it was a little different.  Imagine your worst nightmare.  This was worse...Instead of having to remember a few random law changes between states, this time we were required to remember lots of changes, in Italian, with a slew of new signs.  Once we got over the true shock and awe of our newly required knowledge, we started to see the humor in the situation.  The driving motto over here in Europe, especially in good ole' Italia should be, "Why use just one sign when twenty make the landscape so much more colorful..." Here are a few of our favorite signs we've seen since living and traveling in Europe (some are actual road signs and some are just for useful information) Enjoy!

Why just have one street sign when 10 add to the view?

This friendly welcoming sign is located on the gate of one of my neighbors.  It reads, "Beware of dog and his owner".  Nice.

Ironically, this little gem is located at the entrance to our town: "Montegladella, the country of the greetings".  There's even a city-made youtube video!

New interpretation of "slippery when wet"

Yep, this is my daughter.  There is just so many things wrong with this sign, I don't know where to begin...

Well....

This is how the electric company notifies you that the power will be turned off for routine maintenance--a small paper sign on a random telephone pole on our road.

This is actually a famous sign in Venice pointing both ways to San Marcos square

This is actually the first sign I ever saw in Italy.  Apparently it's for a lost pet OWL!

This one is located inside Jackson's Kindergarten classroom--I know it's not an official "sign" but I just got a kick out of it! Now you understand why we love his teacher so much.

Door to bathroom in the parking garage in Verona. Classy...

Apparently the Germans felt this sign was necessary...watch your step!

See the top of that hill...this is where the sign in the picture above is located. Glad they warned me (yes, I'm being sarcastic here)

This is the safety card from a Ryan Air flight.  In classic Ryan Air fashion, they have attached it to the back of the seat in front of you.  See the bottom square with the "No" circles?  Jackson asked us why you aren't supposed to wear glass slippers on the plane!

AND NOW TO MY FAVORITES!!!

 No explanation is necessary for this one....

 And a close-up...

This is really a sign...and the best part is it was stuck to the wall directly above the toilet at Ludwig's Linderhof castle. Now that's Klassy (with a "K")

I didn't take this picture but I've seen the sign.  Add this one to the "never would happen in America" column!

Podere Casanova Part Three

A panaramic view of Podere Casanova

Do you know how when sometimes you take a vacation and then you actually NEED another vacation to recover from the original one?  This trip to Tuscany was not one of those types of vacations.  We actually got to relax and enjoy ourselves.  The weather had a lot to do with it.  There were a couple of days where the weather was just too rainy and yucky and we didn't want to bother with dragging the kids out in it. Instead, we just decided to "hang out" and enjoy ourselves around Podere Casanova.  We drank wine--lots of wine, and we ate food--lots of that too, and we simply walked around and let the kids enjoy some slightly warmer weather in Italy.  

 Unfortunately, it was just too cold to swim...

The pots that these trees were in were HUGE

 The adorable road into town...

 Things were just starting to turn green a bloom

 Some of the vineyards on the property

 The kids loved the goats

 They were super friendly

I was scared they would fall of the ledge (see it RIGHT behind them)

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday--an idea I am stealing from my friend Edith, that allows me the opportunity to share random photos that don't really require an explanation. Enjoy!

Podere Casanova Part Due (Two)

 On Day Two

We woke up

To the most 

Amazing sunrise.

I was so thankful

to be living 

this fabulous dream.

Podere Casanova

Italians "sell" Italy by using Tuscany as its backdrop.  With its beautiful rolling hills of vines and olive trees and quant Tuscan farmhouses tucked between its valleys, the Tuscan region is what we as Americans expect Italy to be like.  Our family traveled to Tuscany in April of last year for our school Spring Break.  The weather here in April is still cold and rainy but we decided to give Tuscany and Florence a go anyway.  It was our family's first "real" trip since moving to Italy the December before and so we were a little leery of being too adventurous with our lodging choices.  Some friends had suggested Podere Casanova as the perfect place for our Tuscan vacation and so we took their advice and booked the largest part of the farmhouse, the Cipresso Apartment.  We were not disappointed!  Lisa and Lara, the sisters who own the farmhouse made our vacation amazing! Tucked away down a tiny rock-covered road in the Chianti hill country, the farmhouse was perched onto a hill overlooking the picturesque town of Montespertoli.  The views were some of the best we've seen in Europe!

We traveled up this dirt road between the olive trees 

The view in itself was simply breathtaking!  

We ate a couple meals at this table

 View of the town of Montespertoli

It really was this beautiful!  I am so thankful we stayed there.  We arrived on a Saturday evening specifically because our friends had told us the Saturday night dinner that the sisters provided was not to be missed.  It was amazing, with some of the best food we've had in Italy.

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