Our Baby Steps: Where is Italy's house?

Greetings from Italy! We arrived in one piece and have dived right into life here in Sicily. We flew from Jacksonville to Atlanta to Rome to Catania. Each flight got progressively better. My normally well-behaved children were complete nightmares on the first flight with Sophia refusing to sit and Jack banging into the chair in front of us. The kind woman who volunteered to switch seats so we could all sit together quickly regretted her decision as the cries began. By the end of the flight, she actually yelled at me:( Coincidentally, this same woman who moved seats in Jacksonville was on our plan to Rome and gave Carl a startled/scared look when she saw us board. Things got easier once we got to Catania. Lollipops helped!

Before we left for Italy, I told Jack that we were going on a special trip to Italy. It would take a LONG time to get there but that we would all be together, and that there would be lots of pizza, pasta and ice cream. He was really excited. He helped pack his toys in the suitcase and his backpack. When we were on the plane to Rome, Jack turned to us and said "Mommy, where is Italy's house? Where does Italy sleep?" Jack really thought, and may still think, Italy is a person. It makes sense since we always tell him we are going to Mimi and Papas or Grandmas. It has been a little hard explaining but I think he is getting the picture.

Our little Sophie did a great job after the first flight. This new little walker has decided that this week of travel would be the best time to begin asserting her independence. Perfect timing! She doesn't want to sit to have her diaper changed, refuses to sit still, and wants to only eat food with her spoon and fork. A little patience and a lot of wine is getting Mommy through it all.

Upon arriving in Catania, we stopped at our hotel, Liberty Hotel, and got settled. After a shower and nap, we went out to a cafe for dinner where we had pizza, fish and vino. A lovely accordian player made us feel like we were in a scene from an Italian movie. We strolled around and found a great park with a children's train set and bounce house! The children in Catania love to ride their bikes and do so in all the major parks.

The next morning, we went to Sigonella base to get Carl checked in and stopped by the commisary. This commisary had the coolest shopping carts with huge fisher price cars attached where both kids could ride with steering wheels. I wish we had that in the States!!! We were able to find all of our favorites including our usual pampers and even Motts strawberry applesauce pouches! From there, we went to Mount Etna which is the largest volcano in Italy and is still active. There was a great town nearby, Zaffaranea Etnea. It had some resemblance of Florida with similar vegetation but the buildings let you know you were outside of the States.

Arriving at Mount Etna

The view of the mountains

Walking up the hill

We stopped for a snack. Although they didn't have gelato, they had great beer and views. The place really reminded me of a Swiss bar similar to the ones in Murren.

Jack liked his ice cream cone

So did Sophia!

Since we have been here, there hasn't been a day that the children haven't had ice cream or gelato

There are NO highchairs in Sicily which makes things a little hard for a 15 month old assertive child! I brought a table attachment that uses our stroller as the seat but the cafes tables are all so small that it would tip over. There are some strollers and babies in Sicily but very few people have two children and no one besides us has a double stroller. I look like quite the sight with our big powerhouse stroller bucking down the cobblestone streets. Everyone stops and looks; most smile:)

Sophia has such a vocabulary. It is crazy. She happily tells you no when she doesn't want something, and requests "TV" just as well as her brother. The children enjoy the Italian cartoons in the mornings. I actually watched a little Italian Flinstones on Sunday morning:! The theme song was in English but Fred was definitely talking in Italian.

My dirty feet little lady! She keeps kicking off her shoes. Even with shoes, Jack, Sophie and I get so dirty just strolling around. I don't know if it is the cobblestones but I honestly shower multiple times each day. Everyone else is in high heels walking down these steep slopes, and I am huffing and puffing with my 90lb stroller sweating constantly. We are a HOT MESS!

Jack's favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate. Once I spent about an hour trying to soak and clean this yellow shirt that was covered in chocolate, I have convinced Jack to try green ( pistachio) which he also really likes. It is a little easier to clean up too:)

Stopping to take a pic

My little heart breaker. He saw a trackless train when we got back to the city and asked so sweetly to ride it. Here we are on the train as he gazes up at me.

Jack, Sophia and Daddy after the train ride

Street vendors

The next morning Carl went to work and we started our tour of Catania! After a stressful breakfast where Sophia asserted some more independence with no highchair or way to restrain, I was greeted by the hotel manager to inform me that it was not okay that the kids had "painted' the sheets. Puzzled, I walked upstairs to find that my darling twosome had taken blue and red crayon to all of the white sheets and blanket in my early 19th century hotel room. I spent part of the morning using my American tools, aka Tide and Oxiclean to remove it all. Needless to say, we aren't winning guest of the year at Hotel Liberty. With clean sheets and detergent hands, I grabbed the kids and headed for our first site, the Monastery. Monastero dei Benedetteni is an old monastery that has now become a university. There are college kids everywhere, and it is neat to see how this old beautiful building has been transformed.

Jack unwilling to pose

In normal Freeman travel tradition, I set out for one site, got myself completely lost, and found the most beautiful part of the city! On a search for Via Etnea, I walked and walked and finally looked up to see a United Colors of Benetton which made me SO happy. After a few minutes of air conditioning, my children reminded me it was lunch time and we proceeded on. I happily ended up in a pedestrian only area which was quite a relief because we are constantly dodging motor scooters all day. I looked up and saw the elephant! I was so happy to be in Piazza Duomo, the city center!

Jack requested watermelon for lunch

Sophie's new highchair (not really what I had intended but this will have to work for now)

My lunch

Us on yet another touristy train! Jack loves these things and it is a great bargaining chip for him to eat lunch

Looking at Catania from the train

The city symbol

We took Carl back there for dinner that night

Checking out the frutti de mare. Carl and I both had linguine with frutti de mare and the kids had more Sicilian pizza

Jack was so proud that he got to drink from a big boy glass

He thought he was so sophisticated

Sophie eating a bread stick. Carl is enjoying work. The people have been very nice and accommodating. He will start doing surgery mid-week.

The food in Catania has been wonderful. There is SO much pizza and pasta to chose from. There are also a lot of great fish dishes too. The Sicilian wine is good with many to choose from. Most of it is light to medium body and well priced. Surprisingly, everything in this part of Italy is much more reasonably priced. The hotel, food, wine and clothing have all been fairly priced. On the main shopping street, Via Etnea, there are sales everywhere!

By Monday, the kids were back on track (almost). Everyone was in a good mood, naps were surprisingly on schedule and night time a little later than usual. On Tuesday, we woke with good spirits. Jack was singing row, row, row your boat. We ate in the room and then headed out to the gardens for a nice walk.

We went on a nice walk through beautiful gardens. There is a great playground in the middle. On Saturday, there was a train and bounce house. Unfortunately, most of it was covered which upset Jack. He kept asking where the man was that operated the train.

Loves to put her feet up. Telling her it isn't ladylike hasn't worked yet

Playing on the swings

After the gardens, we walked the main strip through the shops and stopped for gelato. We then continued to walk into a new area which happened to be the big market. This place is huge. I think it is even larger than the the Turkish bazaars. They have everything there from fruit to seafood to olives, clothing and toys. It is bustling with lots of energy.