Last year, we were able to attend the First Annual Cold Spring Pond Hootenanny which included a performance by Owen as well as a lot of sing-a-longs. When they announced the date this year, we knew it was going to be a bit tight, but figured with a little ingenuity (and taking two days to drive out) we could make it.
The plan was to pick up Nora Friday afternoon from their camp on artificial intelligence and code breaking located at George Washington University Mount Vernon campus - which is incredibly inconvenient from our home in NE Washington, but happens to be directly on the route to Iowa - and then drive to Cleveland, spend the night at a hotel, and then have a reasonably easy drive to Iowa Saturday morning, putting us in West Branch in plenty of time for the festivities. But the plan hit a snag when Allen started packing up the car only to discovered that one of the tires was about to explode (probably due to my rubbing up against a curb while driving Nora to said horribly inconveniently located camp a few days before). Allen quickly ran to Costco to get the tire changed and I contacted Nora's friend Violet's (who was also in the camp) parent's to see if they could pick Nora up and bring them home. Allen beat Nora by 45 minutes and once we actually had everyone and everything packed into a newly serviced minivan, we slowly made our way to Cleveland (just two hours later than planned).
The second half of our drive was mostly uneventful (save for some rainstorms and a lot of construction), and so we made it to the pond in time for dinner and some socializing before the main event.
The kids wanted to play Simple Gifts, so I had ordered a viola and cello/bassoon duet book for the kids (or Uncle Steve if Nora every grows tired of Owen) which included it. However, they hated the harmonies in that version and so spent the week before we left creating their own arrangement (without a lot of time to practice it). Despite the rush job, they sounded wonderful. Afterwards, Owen treated the crowd to some pop-culture treats including Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.
But our kids weren't the only performers for the night. Grace performed a dance solo and then had a trombone duet with Troy (you haven't heard A Whole New World until you've heard in on the trombone). Dick Fawcett was able to perform again, this time including an original composition dedicated to Linda. There was a poem, a pirate shanty, a Hawaiian ukulele protest song, a parody of Memories, and a lot of sing-a-longs.
Which was a great way to celebrate our arrival in Iowa.
It was a six hour drive from the Dolomites to Tuscany (seven if count the stop for lunch). When we neared Bologna we broke into groups: The Hyatts were off to a game store because apparently we hadn't packed enough; the Mettenburgs headed to a grocery store because Joe & Cate know food; and we headed to a wine store in Lucca because we know wine (and our little Opal Mokka couldn't fit much more in it). Our errand took the least time which meant we arrived at what we thought was the meeting place for the house manager first, but instead turned out to be some random guy's house (who only spoke Italian and German, which is more than any of us, though still not particularly helpful). Somehow he understood what we were trying to convey and so hopped on his motorbike and led us through what were roads if you use a generous definition until we stopped in front of a large gate. Shortly after he left the house manager appeared and led us up a winding olive grove until we reached Il Frantoio del Bartolomei.
Just after we arrived, so did the chefs for the night, followed by the other families. We chose rooms, got organized, and relaxed while the chefs prepared an amazing five course meal. The next day we mostly played games and luxuriated by the pool, but the following day, we opted to celebrate the Fourth of July with an Italian cooking class.
Everyone but Owen and Kaden gathered in the kitchen with Chef Valentino and Sommelier Larisa to make a pasta dinner including parmesan salad baskets, pasta dough, pesto (light on the basil; heavy on the olive oil), pork loin with stuffed squash and a lava cake. Most impressive though was the pasta bench which the kids (save Owen and Kaden) took turns operating (it was quite a production) to resulting in some beautiful, indeterminate shaped pasta. It was a great day and an amazing meal... until Caden (who hadn't been feeling well) and Megan tested positive for COVID and had to quarantine in the house.
The next morning, Allen, Nabeel, Joe and Cate hiked to Castelvecchio, the small town just up the trail which overlooked the villa. After a relaxing day at the pool, most of us (save Nora and the patients) headed to the walled city of Lucca. Lucca was the birthplace of Puccini and so we were able to catch a concert of his works, before grabbing dinner and attempting to storm the barricade.
Wednesday we took the train to Firenze (aka Florence), home of Michelangelo and the Renaissance. We started the day out at Museo Galileo which houses the Medici collection of 15th-18th century scientific instruments, including telescopes, armillary spheres, and some disturbing obstetrical wax models. Afterwards we attempted to have lunch, only to discover that restaurants in Firenze don't open until 12:30. Facing a rebellion, Nabeel was able to locate a juice bar which bought us enough time for a lovely lunch place to open. Alas, the adults once again opted for appetizers, delaying their meal and angering their offspring who signed a petition threatening to strike (fortunately, they're more the disorganized type and we were able to break them).
We had timed tickets to the Uffizi Museum which meant we had some time to kill. We headed to the square to entertain the kids by finding "fake David" and Michelangelo's graffiti, but they were not amused. Finally, we made our way inside the gallery, home to priceless works of the Italian Renaissance, only to face resounding ennui from the under 16 crowd.
But fortunately we had Nabeel, who had to take three semesters of Art History in College and somehow engaged the kids in understanding why baby painting from the 14th century are so ugly, the importance of perspective, the evolution of light, and Medusa. Despite calls to leave 15 minutes after arriving, Nabeel was able to get close to two hours of active exhibit going (the promise of post-visit gelato may have helped). We made a lovely meal of leftovers that night, that was only marred by my aggressive gesticulations while holding a wine glass resulting in the glass exploding in my hand. Fortunately, Joe is a doctor and I was able to avoid stitches.
Thursday I finally made it to Castelvecchio and Megan and Kaden finally (mostly) made it out of quarantine. The crew had a quiet day relaxing and game playing before the men seared steak for dinner which meant Allen could use all of the Thermapens he'd packed.
Friday morning the Mettenburgs left for Pittsburgh. The rest of us (save Nora) headed back to Lucca for some sight-seeing and lunch. When we got back we started packing before one final dinner in Buti at Ristorante I Maggi.
We had an early flight out of Pisa the next morning, so we left the house around 7 am in order to return the car, check-in and grab breakfast. And then we sat. And sat. Or rather, we stood around since the Pisa Airport is really small and doesn't actually have room for many chairs. See, in Pisa you need a bus to take you from your gate to the airplane and for whatever reason, our flight attendants couldn't get one. For forty minutes. Eventually we made it on the plane for our flight to Frankfurt but arrived an hour late into our hour and a half layover. But for once the travel gods were kind: our airplane to DC was leaking jet fuel! They needed to get a new plane! And then they needed to find workers to clean it!
While the rest of the passengers weren't thrilled by this development (especially the Peabody Children's Chorus of Baltimore who'd apparently been up for 36 hours), it mean that we actually made our flight to Dulles, where Katherine dutifully picked us up and drove us home.
Allen started planning our trip to Italy while vacationing in Aspen with the Hyatts and the Mettenburgs back in February 2020. Finding that winter ski trips were becoming increasingly complicated to plan with all the competing school schedules, it was decided that a summer 2021 trip to Italy would be just the trick. But then shortly after we returned home, the Pandemic hit, delaying the trip until summer 2022. And then a labor strike in Belgium, an ill-timed rain storm at Dulles, a missed connection in Amsterdam, multiple canceled car rentals, a night in the Venice suburbs, and some confusion regarding how to put our manual transmission rental car in reverse, delayed us an extra three and half days. Eventually, though, we made it to the Dolomites.
And it was amazing.
To be fair, it was a little terrifying driving there from Venice, as Allen had to navigate winding mountain passes filled with cyclists, touring busses and locals all while driving our neon green, Opel Mokka, but once we made it to the Chalet Rönn in the Alta Badia area of South Tyrol Tuesday afternoon, we could finally relax. I read and unpacked, the kids quickly got sucked into some games with Kaden, Liam, Gigi and Hugh while Allen, Joe and Nabeel headed out for a short hike to a nearby waterfall.
On Wednesday, I nursed a migraine while the rest of the crew hikedTrail 645A (or maybe some other trail -– the Italian trail map numbering system is a bit of a riddle which we seemed to have trouble cracking) around the shoulder of the Sella Group mountains. Afterwards there were more games, some swimming and sauna time and a lovely dinner in town.
Thursday we drove over the Gardena Pass to the town of Ortisei in Val Gardena where we took the cable car to Seceda. The intention was for a long hike, but while the children quickly finished their lunch, the adults lingered (and ordered appetizers in addition to entrees) at Sofie Hütte, which ate into our hiking time. Fortunately, the kids had other distractions while we finished our meal and then set about taking in the amazing views of the Fermeda Towers.
For Friday we went more local, taking a gondola to Gardena pass, and hiking trail 2 (at least we think it was trail 2...) up into the high mountains. As we neared the summit, we discussed continuing to the other side, but after we were passed by a number of other hikers heading back due to storm clouds, we opted instead to trek the high meadows on trail 8. We climbed above our house, stopped for lunch at Ütia Forcelles, and eventually headed back into town for a fancy meal before we had to pack for our drive the next day to the second half of our trip: Tuscany.
(To see all of our Dolomite pictures, click here.)
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