Snow Day

In reality, we had two snow days! It was sunny and not so cold one day, we went to bed and the morning after we woke up to this! 

I personally love it when it snows and if you live outside the city, the view is just magical, I think. It was Emilia's first walk in the snow and she had so much fun stepping into it with her wellies. We didn't stay out in the garden for too long as it was very cold and we were all just recovering from the flu but it was long enough to have a proper snow experience all together, something Emilia kept talking about for a few days...

Cold weather and lots of snow meant that we were stuck inside the house for a couple of days, which also meant lots of indoor activities. We had to get creative! Thankfully, my grandmum was around to keep Emilia busy and together they baked a lot and made delicious pizza! 

And then, when we were all done being stuck inside the house, our good friends Lorenzo and Federica came to the rescue and picked us up with their Range Rover and together we all went to Ilaria and Cristian's for a yummy and hot polenta lunch! Emilia loved the adventure. 

Winter Playdate and Festive Activities

One of the things that we had organised for our stay in Pescara during the Christmas break was a playdate at my parents' house with some of my best friends and their kids. We originally scheduled the playdate for the first Sunday we were in town but we had to postpone it to the very end of our stay since Emilia was sick for all the first part. Not all of my friends could come and therefore there were not many kids but it was nonetheless a very delightful afternoon. There were fours kids and eleven adults, two of which heavily pregnant! For us adults I had brought a spiced, Christmas tea from London and for the kids I had bought gingerbread men decorating kits, paper chains and color-in Christmas cards from Sweden! We had a lot of fun and Emilia was a the perfect hostess! 

Christmas 2014: Boxing Day

On Boxing Day, Emilia started to feel better, thankfully. She was still not quite herself but at least she was able to stand, play a bit, and enjoy a nice meal. My cousin Marco and his girlfriend Paola came from Civitavecchia and brought a lot of lemons from their garden! Emilia especially liked Paola with whom she played and played and played... :) 

We were all very happy to see her in a cheerful mood, finally! 

Virginia's Wedding

We got back to London about two weeks ago, but before I tell you all about the crazy fun that we have had in the last couple of weeks, I have one more post to devote to our lovely stay in Italy. I want to tell you and show you some pictures about my friend Virginia's wedding. Virginia and Andrea's wedding was particularly emotional as Virgy walked down the aisle carrying a six-month baby bump! That's right, she is pregnant and they are expecting a baby girl, Elisa, in December. Virgina had the cutest flower girls who all behaved very well. The venue, Casale Marino, was stunning, the food delicious and the flower arrangements beautiful. It was the perfect way to end our stay in my beloved Pescara. 

Matera and surroundings

Last Summer Rob and I started a new tradition: we decided that evey time we travel to Pescara we also take the opportunity to visit a new place in Italy. Last year we went to Tuscany and this time we opted for Matera, also known among Italians as "La Città dei Sassi", the city of rocks. Matera is a city in the Southern region of Basilicata, about four hours by car from Pescara. Matera is well known around the world for its historical centre, the so called Sassi, a UNESCO World Heritage, which has also been the set of several movies, Italian as well as international, such as The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson. The Sassi originate from a prehistoric settlement and later, with time, domestic houses were dug into the caves themselves. We were lucky enough to sleep in one of the original caves as our hotel was right in the middle of the Sassi. 

 

 

When we arrived we took a guided walking tour of the town which was the best way to start its visit and understand the history and complicated geography of the area. We visited original houses, water refineries as well as churches. It was very picturesque to walk around hundreds of tiny, white stone streets. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matera lies on a small canyon and on day two we decided to go down to the stream and climb up to the top of the opposite mountain. It took us quite a long time and our muscles were all aching by the end of it but it was so worth it. The view of the Sassi from there was amazing and we also got to see prehistoric caves and rupestrian churches. 

 

 

We absolutey loved Matera and were able to relax and let our hair down. On day three, we made our way to Puglia to visit Castel del Monte, a 13th century castle, built by Federico II at the very top of a promontory. I had been meaning to visit this castle for many years and was very happy to finally explore it. What makes this castle particularly interesting is its unique design, with an octagonal prism plan and octagonal towers on each corner. It was a very nice way to end our little holiday before going back to baby!