Lezzeno, Bellagio, Varenna, Bergamo - DAY 3

This is part of a series of photos from our Italy trip. 

To see other Italy posts, click on Intro, Day 1, and Day 2

Lezzeno

Our second night in Italy we didn't get to our bed & breakfast in Lezzeno until after dark. I knew it was an incredible location, but I didn't fully realize how awesome it was until I opened my eyes and looked out the window in the morning.

Isn't this view incredible!? I wish we could have stayed a few more days. The water came right up to our "backyard". 

We went downstairs and found a little kitchen set up with tons of fresh, delicious food to eat. It was a dream!

This was our view from the balcony. If you look closely you can see a man on the dock fishing.

They also had little kayaks just sitting on the shore, for anyone to use. 

Our place was the red building behind us called "Nest on the Lake" (thank you Dansies for the recommendation).

For me each new scene was so beautiful and struck me with extreme reverence, but for Andrew it went beyond that...this was his home for 9 months and each scene was not new for him but held deep significance. 

From the boat we could see where Andrew took this picture when he was a missionary here over a decade ago:

If you look at the picture below just above the little town and see a trail going up the mountain...that is where he took the picture from.

Isn't this woman gorgeous! Those Staceys lucked out in the gene pool.

At this point I could have hopped a plane back home and felt completely fulfilled. Not that I wanted to leave, but it just felt like it couldn't get any better than this...kayaking in Lake Como surrounded by the Swiss Alps.

Bellagio

We drove to Bellagio which was just a little further north. Even though it was more touristy, I didn't mind at all. It was still dreamy.

I know, it's blurry. But I love when I can catch one of Andrew's awesome faces. 

After some window shopping, we hopped on a ferry to little town called Varenna.

(This is a view of Bellagio from the ferry)

Varenna

Varenna was also charming, without all the tourists.

We arrived during siesta and most of the stores were closed.

There is always a church to explore. This one didn't seem advertised or well-known. We just stumbled upon it. This church, I believe, was built around 600 AD.

A sun dial on the wall of someone's home

I took about a thousand pictures of doorways.

We hiked up to a fort on top of a hill

At the top there was a kind of creepy statue of someone looking out over the water. 

Bergamo

After descending the mountain, we said goodbye to the most beautiful lake in the world and jumped in the car headed next to Bergamo.

The newer part of Bergamo that you see in the background is actually kind of a hip college town. But above it is the old walled city of Bergamo (called Citta Alta) that you enter by way of a stone road...it feels like crossing the drawbridge of a castle.

In Bergamo, we were on a quest to recreate this picture, also taken in Bergamo over a decade ago:

But the sun was quickly sinking and this was the closest I got (Marika has some better ones)

Do you think we were tired yet?

The answer is, only when we sat down for longer than 5 minutes.

I wish we had more time in Bergamo. Just like everywhere else we visited, it was enchanting and beautiful.

(this picture was going to be so awesome, but a very impatient driver doing a hundred-point turn sort of messed it up)

After this we went to Iper...reminiscent of an American Walmart except waaaaay better food. We were all drooling so much over how cheap all the good fruits, meats and cheeses were, that admittedly we stayed a little too long. Around 10 pm we started driving to Genova, arriving around 3am (thanks to some road closures). It was a long, amazing day!

Up Next: The Cinque Terre

Videos for Fam

My family is always asking for videos, so here are some videos that I didn't have ready for my last post. Please ignore everything I say in the background. Thanks.

Cam is 2!

Today our Cammy is 2 years old.

I had impressions when Cam was a baby that he was going to be SO MUCH FUN to raise. He was kind of a cranky, difficult to please baby, so these impressions were like little glimpses of hope during a rough first year (I'm making it sound worse than it actually was...mostly he didn't sleep much). In any case, our sweet Cammy has indeed turned out to be SO MUCH FUN. Words can't express how happy he makes us and what an addicting personality he has. Here are some fun, random facts about our little man...

-Cam loves to play hide-n-seek, draw, sing and dance, do anything that Luke is doing, go to the playground, read books and snuggle with Dad. He definitely prefers Dad above all else, at all times and in all circumstances.

-Our Cammy likes to be comfortable. He wakes up almost every night and tries to convince me to let him sleep in our bed (sometimes I give in). He absolutely loves kickin' back against a bunch of pillows with a comfy blanket and watching a movie. I don't think I can keep him in his crib much longer...he always shoots me a look when I put him in his crib, a look that says, "This is so below me".

-One of Cam's pupils is larger than the other. I don't think anyone would really notice, but Andrew being an eye surgeon definitely picked up on it. When this is the case, there is a VERY SMALL chance that there is a tumor near the lung. But when he was little we had it checked out and he is tumor free...just has funky pupils.

-Cam speaks a few decibels louder than normal, most of the time. Of course this is hard to really describe unless you heard it. But just imagine an gruff old man who is a little hard of hearing, talking just a little louder than he should in a slightly gritty, matter-of-fact tone. It's not just loud in the way that all kids talk a little too loud. It's more that he is just so confident and sure of what he wants that he has no problem loudly voicing his opinion as fact. He has an enthusiasm that is apparent with every word he says.

-Cam is oddly smart for his age. I don't mean that he is smarter than other kids...I am always amazed at how much all kids understand and how fast they pick up on things (even if some are later than others). I'm sensitive about describing it as smart because Luke is as bright as they come but could care less about being verbal for a long time. Anyway, sometimes I feel like Cam knows more than he should for his age. Tell him a word once and he knows it for life and uses it correctly most of the time. He almost has his colors down, knows the alphabet, can count to at least 15 in English, 10 in Spanish, and can string 3- or 4- word sentences together like it is no one else's business. And it's been that way for months. Of course this is just one aspect of intelligence (language and memory) but he seems to have gotten the hang of it earlier than I expected and without any help from me. Andrew and I often give each other quizzical looks when Cam says things...looks that say, "Did you teach him that? Cause I didn't". Having a big brother and a competitive spirit must be the key.

-Cam is just 5 pounds shy of weighing the same as Luke. So I'm trying to be more understanding when people ask me if they are twins which is, NO JOKE, at least once a week.

-Luke and Cam are as best as best friends come. Their personalities go so well together, it is no wonder they were sent to the same family.

-We almost changed Cam's name before moving to Michigan. We figured it was our last chance to be sure and once we moved it would have to stick (or it would be kind of awkward to tell new acquaintances that we just changed our son's name). We really love his name but for some reason we've never been totally sure. The more we thought about it, the more clear it was that Cameron is definitely his name, and it fits him perfectly. Plus, I think both Luke and Cam would have had a revolt if we tried to call him a different name.

-Last night Cam said that he wanted to say the prayer (which means I say it and he repeats after me). When I was done he said, "good prayer Mom". He is so cute.

-He loves church (not so sure about nursery). Almost everyday he asks, "go to church today?". And when it is Sunday and I put on his Sunday shirt he yells out, "YAY, go church today!!".

-Cam is really really cute. Which is lucky for him because this is what he did to my couch yesterday with a ball point pen:



If he wasn't so cute and innocent he would have been in timeout for life. All I needed to hear was a boisterous blue-eyed boy, with a big beaming smile, say (in that loud voice), "I feel bad Mommy, I sorry!". A big bottle of Folex also made it look a little better (and luckily the couch only cost me 100 bucks...so I guess I shouldn't freak out too much).

-Yesterday we were eating oatmeal and he took a bite too soon when it was really hot. Of course he cried and I helped him spit it out. After it cooled off, I gave him a bite and he cheered and clapped afterward, "YAY!" because it wasn't hot anymore. He honestly cheered after every bite for a good minute. There's another fact about Cam, he is a great eater and I am so grateful from the bottom of my heart that at least one of my children will eat my food. With a husband who normally isn't home for dinner, it is usually Cam and I eating dinner while Luke nibbles on bread and peanut butter. I love my little eating buddy!

-Cam has an air of confidence about him (I think he gets it from his Dad). He also has a sassy/stubborn side to boot. While he can be cuddly and sweet sometimes, he also is extremely determined when he puts his mind to something. There are a lot of battles I don't even try to win.

What do these three pictures have in common?

The boy doesn't like Santa. Period. 

-Cam has great pensive looks. While he is definitely full of energy, I also appreciate that Cam usually has no trouble just sitting on my lap and taking in his surroundings. I can tell the wheels in his head are constantly spinning.

Honestly, I am not proud of my cake efforts. It was ugly. But I had to finish it in a hurry and without all the necessary  tools. And the boys loved it anyway!

Happy Birthday my sweet Cameron! You make our happy family so much happier!