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Our parents, independent of each other, planned trips at the same time to come visit us. They both wanted to show support, beat the high season, avoid the dead heat of summer, and help us get settled into our new apartment. A little rearranging lead to four weeks of parentals and some much needed familiarity in our days. Chachos came first, and were our complete guinea pigs on how to be hosts, with Sniders soon after and oddly enough our days led to different itineraries and experiences. Brian's delayed first departure to Djibouti meant he had much less leave accumulated than we expected, so while he degradedly went off to work most days I got to enjoy the banter, catch up, walks, and snacks with Jackie, Ed, Dad, and Lanie.
In North Pole, after my parents slept on a blow up bed, we got a real bed for the spare bedroom and had a place for guests. Turns out that people coming to North Pole, in general, plan on going home that night and traded the guest bed space for a stationary exercise bike and yoga mats. No fear though, we now have a guest bedroom set up that worked great for our parents and is ready for you too! It has a great view and a brand new comfy mattress and, thanks to parental feedback, some additions are coming. Like it turns out that our boxes of North Pole appropriate blankets are really not that great when it's hot and humid 😂
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| Guest bedroom is ready! |
Jackie and Ed and Dad and Lanie shared some experiences despite their trips not overlapping. Everyone walked to Diego Vitagliano Pizzeria which is one of the top rated pizza joints in Naples and only a 25 minute walk from the house! I love that we got group selfies two weeks apart in the same spot! Most nights Italians go for "la passeggiata" or an aimless evening stroll to just chat and move. We loved just chatting, and participating in "la passeggiata" on our way to and from pizza!
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Jackie with a famous pizza chef
in Caiazzo at Pepe in Grani |
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| Pizza al Brian at home! |
Everyone also got to experience our local pizza joint "Lucrino Pizza" which is only a 7 minute walk away! We are starting to be "regulars" here and they know that despite our terrible Italian we want menus in Italiano. We pulled a fast one on Jackie and Ed and asked for all Italian menus so they could experience a small slice (pun intended) of daily obstacles like ordering food. We tried the same tactic with Dad and Lanie but the owner caught on to our mean ways and brought them English ones!
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One of several jaunts to Lucrino Pizza in four weeks.
Luckily it's close when it's pouring rain! |
Everyone got to experience the Flavian Amphitheater in Pozzuoli and is an easy stop for anyone visiting. Two train stops, so like 8 minutes, away is the third largest Roman amphitheater, only after the one in Capua and of course the Colosseum. For only €5 you can step inside this well preserved ancient entertainment center laying in the middle of the town of Pozzuoli. You are free to walk around, imagine history, and take it all in but without the crowds and noise of the Roman Colosseum.
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| Pizza backdrop two weeks apart! |
Each morning, regardless of who was visiting, seemed to start on our main terrace with either Ed or Dad drinking coffee and reading their books. I was pretty content just being a creeper and watching them soak in the literal sun and fresh air, with Olaf at their feet, and Italian coffee in hand. Neither Brian or I drink coffee so a small panic brewed when Day 1 started with the question of "where do you keep the coffee maker." After some inquisitive looks in the local grocery store, Ed decided to give this little contraption a go. The coffee is strong. Much stronger than in North America and both he and Dad added some water to make it more Americano-esque. So if you enjoy coffee when you visit you can thank the pioneers before you who left a coffee contraption and a variety of coffee for you to try!
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Trying to figure out which coffee to get but Google Translate
doesn't work in the grocery story so it was a guessing game! |
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The popular contraption for coffee that Ed decided on.
He and Dad got it to work for their morning cups and if you visit,
you can figure it out too! |
Both set of parents even got authentic, non intentional, gasp worthy driving experiences! Although I wish I had gotten out and video'd either experience I was too busy closing my eyes so as not to dramatically gasp and distract Brian's focused work to get us out of the situation. The narrow streets of ancient towns are not the place to trust Siri and a GPS and we found ourselves - twice - on tiny, windy, roads that simple DEADENDED! Both Dad and Ed helped lead the backup crew with informing Brian of the limited leeway on either side of the car while Jackie, Lanie, and I listened intently for the, what we thought, inevitable, sound of scratching metal. I have no idea how we got out of either situation, but I'm grateful for small cars, Brian's abilities, and the very memorable shared experiences!
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The Amalfi Coast road follows this shoreline.
Somewhere down there is Antonio burning through another clutch! |
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While this isn't the road that deadended, it could have been!
From va bene
to very not va bene! |
In the few days between the end of the 4 week Parental trips, and Brian departing for Djibouti for work, I find myself scrolling through four weeks worth of pictures. We did a lot of adventuring and a lot of BSing. It was stressful to have visitors - and the most important kind of visitors - literal days after unpacking the last box. We felt like the house wasn't ready and we didn't know the area well enough. What we didn't know is that we needed them. We needed their typical endless parental love and support. Their validation of some of the rollercoaster experiences we've had. The jaw hanging moments of "wow" that we hoped for in some of our decisions. Their hugs. Their dry humour and shared laughs. We needed it all. We didn't know it but each of them knew we did.
Chacho Highlights
WOW! We read about Path of the Gods last summer and Ed and I were disappointed we couldn't make it work. It was worth the wait! I read as many blogs for tips and pointers to prep and most mentioned that it was more of a walk. Bullshit. It was far harder than we were lead to believe but just as gorgeous as we were told. We could see towns dotted below us - hanging to cliff sides - and the Tyrrhenian Sea stretches in blue blankets on the horizon. Along the way we even ran into a little concert, perched in the mountains, in a space only accessible by foot. There were far more people than I would prefer for a serene hike but the secret is out about this one and people flock to it.
Also misleading, was how easy it was to get from the end point in Positano back to our vehicle in Bomerano. We elected to skip the 1800 steps down into Positano since we did that town last year. Also 1800 steps?!?! Walking back, while swimming up the steady stream of people, wasn't really an option, so we called the taxi number that one of Brian's colleagues had given him. This turned into an experience in itself and the term "there are no atheists in foxholes" comes to mind! Most roads on the Amalfi Coast are two way, but really only wide enough for one vehicle and it seems the direction of traffic just depends on who gets there first.
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Not our picture, but a view from above of some of the
switchbacks on the Amalfi Coast Road. You can't see our taxi
car because it's going to fast! |
We were coming up the famously narrow Amalfi roads at 70mph, horn blarring to let people know the current flow of traffic was being dictated by us, and the literal spinning of taxi tires on hairpin switchbacks. At one point he uttered "hang on we got to beat this bus" as he waved to locals he knew and the bus driver he just cut off 😳. I pulled the short straw and got the front seat and distracted myself by asking him questions. In hindsight this was a poor choice as he navigated the roads and my questions (in his second language) simultaneously. An hour later, €90 deep, extra high blood pressure, a burning clutch and gearshift, and some prayers to ALL the gods, we were back in the hands of Brian's good driving to get us home.
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Looking into her crater!
 | Vesuvius in the background from downtown Naples
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Vesuvius is known locally as Vesuvio and her famous eruption was in 79 A.D. and the last one, although much less destructive, was in 1944. She is still active so it just makes sense to climb to the top of the active volcano. Va bene. This hike while brief was pretty straight up! At the summit we could see steam seeping from fissures and we could feel the ominous warnings from locals about keeping the mountain happy. The views of the Bay of Naples, and the sprawling metropolis below, were stunning and we could even pick out our little Pozzuoli area!
This was our second outing to this cute, small, family owned winery in the Avellino area. The last time we visited Momma Antonia knew no English but today she showed off her new, limited, vocab thanks to Duolingo and we shared some laughs over our toddler grade multilingual conversations. The food was exceptional and we got a surprise pizza lesson! The Chacho Family sponsored a row of grapevines so we will soon have some CorteCorbo wine, with custom labels, ready to ship home with us in a few years and share with everyone. This was such a lovely day, in the sun, snacking and socializing.
Along the Amalfi Coast is a small town called Vietri sul Mare which is world famous for their local tradition of ceramics. This was a "must take Jackie" location and we paired with with a trip to the ancient Greek ruins near by. This time though, we took the over land route to the Coast not the harrowing cliff side option of days prior.
Even in the rain Vietri was an excellent afternoon! I expected mostly overseas cookware, painted in a way to fake out tourists, and store after store of the same. Refreshingly, Vietri is truly a trove of "fatto a mano" or handmade, craftsman, goods. You could see the idiosyncrasies in the art of each store and the pride the family owned business took in their multigenerational traditions.
Jackie was on the prowl for something fairly particular which made the browsing feel purposeful. We wandered into "Antica Ceramica Avallone Pasquale" quite by accident as the stairwell into his workshop is very missable. There we learned about the owners family history: six generations of studio potters! Armed with me and Jackie's incredibly basic Italian we had hilarious conversations with the older proprietor. He gently corrected our Italian and "mamma mia'd" us being from Alaska! It was one of those genuine, unique, special Italian moments that we had been hoping for. Ultimately, Jackie got her dish and an unexpected story and memory to go with it!
We were also able to nerd out (ok, I was able to nerd out) at the Greek ruins of Paestum. The Greeks settled in this part of the Italian peninsula before being taken over by the Romans and some of the best preserved Greek ruins in the WORLD lie here.
Snider Highlights
In 2019 Jackie and Ed invited us on their 2020 Italian tour. I planned for us to stay a few days specifically so we could catch the train to Naples and do a tour of Pompeii. I'm a World History teacher for Heaven's sake and it felt like a "must do" while on this "once in a life time tour." Ha! While I got to finally experience Pompeii outside of the confines of a history textbook in the summer of 2022, it ended up being far from a once in a life time opportunity!
In conversations with dad, it was pretty clear that Pompeii was near the top of his list also. In another guinea pig moment, Dad and Lanie helped me navigate the train, walk, train combination to get out to Pompeii and happened upon an English led tour starting as we arrived. Our guide shared stories I hadn't heard the first time but even if I had it felt different getting to share them with dad. He had the same Snider smile that I had my first time and was still rocking this time!
We learned that the Allies bombed parts of the Pompeii ruins "by accident" in 1943 (although it was 160 bombs so our guide rightfully questions the accident part). There is even the remnants of one of the ordinances in the ruins of an oligarch's house! I suspect each trip to Pompeii in the next few years I will learn something new! To each future traveler, another thanks to those who came before you, as I THINK I can now get us out to Pompeii rather uneventfully.
High on Lanie's list was the Palace of Caserta that was on our "to-do" list but hadn't surfaced to the top yet so we were grateful to share with people who also wanted to explore. Caserta is the former royal residence of the Bourbon Kings of the Two Kingdoms of Sicily, constructed in the 1700s, and is the largest palace in the world (bigger than Buckingham and Versailles!). Inside were incredibly preserved rooms in the Baroque style with glittering gold and reflective marble everywhere.
Outside are magnificent gardens and fountains and even in the rain the splender and opulence of a time long gone could be felt. I'm really struggling to make this it's own entry or not, but Brian is taking the computer to Djibouti in a few hours and I don't want to miss recording it in some way.
On our last trip to Calgary I learned about parts of Dad's side of the family that he has only recently learned. Well "recently," as in he started uncovering stories and getting leads in 2002. My great grandma Larkin got remarried after my great grandfather passed from a TB infection well after their family was already started. Shortly after their nuptials, Herbert Michaud went to serve Canada, the Allies, and the World, in the Second World War. He sent letters back to his stepdaughter, my grandma, dad's mom, about his experiences in Europe, although they are heavily redacted.
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| The line that the Germans were retreating too as they withdrew from Italy |
Through his research dad learned that Herbert was killed in action, along the Gothic Line in Italy, in August 1944. He never made it home to his bride waiting for him in Canada and he has rested at the cemetery just outside of Pesaro for the last 80 years. While not a direct blood relative, Herbert was very kind, loving, and supportive of dad's mom in the short time they knew each other. By visiting us in Naples he was merely 500km from being able to pay his respects in person - the first family, to our knowledge, to do so in 80 years.
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| Every story helps make the family puzzle more complete! |
It was a no brainer. We have our own personal expert driver and had a long weekend to burn. So we set out on a family pilgrimage.
The week prior to our arrival the region of Emilia-Romagna had record breaking rain. Enough to completely flood the Bologna train station and 14 people had been swept to their deaths in the aftermath. I found a local group that preserves the memories and stories of the soldiers at the cemetery and asked if it was safe for us to come. I was worried that our presence might put an unnecessary strain on a region in a declared state of emergency. I was assured that this specific area was not hit as hard and we should come. And then the questions started. The president of the association asked questions about Herbert and our arrival and even gave out her personal phone number and asked us if she could meet us at the gravesite. Her offer felt welcoming and personal.
What she organized at the cemetery was far more than anything we expected. There was a photographer and local historians. These were people dedicated to honouring the memories of the Second World War. The outpouring of gratitude that Italy has for the Allied forces is indescribable. Her texts are laden with comments about "we are free because of them" in reference to the Canadian forces that helped drive the Germans back over the Gothic Line. As a history teacher in the US this is a perspective of the Second World War story that is never told. The storyline of "war...Hitler...Pearl Harbor...Holocaust...US joins...nuke...we win" is all that is stressed or taught.
Antonella gave dad details of the battle that killed Herbert that he never knew. Stories of the British being killed trying to take the very hill we were standing on and then the Canadian regiment navigating the British fallen to continue the mission. Herbert was among the fallen.
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While poppies are in remembrance specifically
for WWI, they grew everywhere in Montecchio ❤️ |
Dad was honoured with a Italian flag scarf and books and literature about the area and the battle. Some in English, some in Italian, all greatly appreciated. Dad had a quiet moment with Herbert and then we shared some time there. We got to go inside a well preserved German bunker where the communication about the advancing troops happened. We also stood under the Italian, EU, and Canadian flags overlooking the cemetery and the valley that saw so much carnage and sacrifice 80 years earlier.
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| Singing the book for the family members of the 582 fallen soldiers |
It was a beautiful, emotional, and truly an indescribable day.
Instead of driving back the same six hours in reverse we coupled our history trip with a day in San Marino. Another country checked off the list! WOW! What a cool place!
San Marino's history is odd and complicated but from what we can tell the country owes it's existence to a series of fortunate events. Every city in Italy has a street, park, and/or piazza named after Giuseppe Garibaldi. He was primarily responsible for the unification of Italy in the late 1800s. At one point he was exiled and he took refuge in the country of San Marino. Basically as a thank you for that act, Italy has agreed to let San Marino exist despite its size of only 61 Sq Km and being completely engulfed by Italy. They use the Euro through a special agreement with the EU but are not actual EU members and, of course, have their own passport stamp although no real passport controls or borders exist.
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| One of many panoramic views from San Marino |
We took the cable car to the top of the main mountain in San Marino and it quickly became obvious why this land was a strategical outpost. On a clear day you can see all the way across the Adriatic Sea to Croatia!
We spent the day wandering the medieval streets, visiting vendors, snapping pictures, and drinking local San Marino beers (obvi not me, I had an Aperol!). It was a low key, fun day, after a super charged emotional one the day before. We arrived home with enough time for some laundry before Dad and Lanie departed for Holland to visit with her extended family for a few days before heading home to Calgary.
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| Little doggy hitching posts were found all over Pesaro and San Marino! |
Four weeks of visitors seemed like a long time and it was done in a flash. We are so grateful that we could share our new home, our frustrations, and our adventures with those that are most important and at a time we felt most vulnerable.
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| A cute sign in Pesaro and we sure did have fun everyday for four weeks of family! |
Life changing ! And you are the right person to be enjoy his adventure.
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