Learning from Others

After a wonderful immediate family adventure in the Netherlands and Belgium, we were home for one day and then headed off for an extended family adventure in Italy. Benjin’s whole family was able come over the big pond and hang out together in a Tuscan Villa! Apart from it being significantly colder than we had expected, it was dreamy!!

 

We flew out on Friday the 19^th and made the most of our warmest/sunniest day by heading to the beach. The kids loved having the freedom to play in the sand and haul large chunks of wood up the sand dunes. From there we made our way into Livorno for our first of many gelatos. We wandered around beautiful old streets and relished in the sun bouncing off the brightly colored buildings. But the biggest triumph was finishing our stroll with all 7 little guys (all under 5) still in one piece.

Saturday we all drove up to Lucca to investigate a huge antiques market. We loved seeing all the beautiful old antiques and managed to avoid a torrential downpour by taking refuge in the portico of a gorgeous cathedral. The kids loved running around and climbing the church steps together. When the rain let up a bit we made our way to a pizza place and rode the carousel in the piazza while we waited for our tables to be ready. From there Benjin and I did some scouting work in Pisa to prepare for our upcoming Amazing Race activity and helped serve up a smørrebrød bar for the masses.

Sunday we went to Church in Italian and then went to check out the leaning tower… and in case you’re wondering… it’s still leaning!! We joined the millions of other tourists trying to snap the classic “holding up the tower” shot and then just found a spot on the grass to hang out while the kiddos ran around. On our way home, Benjin and I stopped by an old Romanesque church that is supposedly built on the place where Peter gave his first sermon. As a result, it is covered with marvelous frescos depicting Peter as well as other martyrs and their sacrifices for the cause of Christ. It was very inspiring to see a visual testimony of faith in Jesus Christ. From there we went home and I got to study the allegory of the olive trees in our very own olive vineyard. Finally, we convinced a couple of our family members to come with us over to a neighboring village to explore a small castle. It was 10x cooler than I had expected. The buildings were beautiful and the castle, which was built at the top of a hill offered a sublime view of the countryside all around.

 

Monday morning I went for a run to another neighboring village and got to see a bunch of other fancy villas. Then Benjin, his dad and brother offered to watch the kids while the rest of us went to an olive tasting tour. We got a tour of the olive/grape/kiwi farm and learned all about how olives are processed and turned into oil. At the end we got to taste the oils produced by that farm. We tried normal virgin olive oil as well as oil infused with rosemary, basil, garlic, chili pepper and lemon. We came home and played outside and, in the evening, attended a pasta making class taught by my sister-in-law Laurel. It was hard work and very time intensive, but the result was delicious!! In the evening, Benjin’s mom taught us an amazing class about Tuscan art history and things that we would be able to see the next day in Florence.

Tuesday we all went to Florence. We started out at the Lorencian library which was designed by Leonardo Da Vinci for the Medici family. I was super excited about this because I had read a book about the Medici in preparation for this trip and it was just incredible to see the reality of the things I had read about. We then of course headed to the Florence Cathedral and the Baptistry doors. We saw David (or as we like to call him “fake David”) and the Piazza Signoria, ate some more gelato near the ponte veccio and walked by the Piazza de’ Pitti (the Medici Palace.) and wandered around the Boboli Gardens. Again, it was just so cool to see the Medici in everything. Florence really is their town!!

 

Wednesday was Amazing Race day!! Benjin and I had worked on putting together teams and creating challenges, but it was somewhat hard to do from afar. I was a little nervous how it would go, but it ended up being a big hit! In the Facer Family Amazing Race, Teams Ferrari, Lamborgini and Fiat competed for scoops of gelato. They had to complete challenges such as balancing cups of water on their heads, creating their own works of art using artistic techniques from the renaissance, finding Italian foods at a local market, having a real Italian teach them to say something in Italian and eating an entire loaf of bread. In the end they had to find me somewhere in the Leaning tower of Pisa complex (which was like a giant game of "where is Waldo." It was incredible to watch as the various skills of different team members came in clutch (like my sister-in-law, Lindsay's INSANE ability to walk with a cup of water on her head!) We had a blast! In the evening the Facer women had a little walking book club. We went on a hike/walk through the Tuscan country side and fittingly discussed the book, "Enchanted April". I LOVED learning from the insights of such wise women!

The whole week we had been hoping to go on a family bike ride, but the weather had been unpredictable at best. Finally, we thought Thursday was the day but, we woke up to a downpour. Due to some brilliant problem solvers, however, we just revised our plan and decided to do our family photos in the morning instead and then attempt biking in the afternoon. The weather cleared up enough for us to snap some pictures outside our lovely Italian villa and the afternoon ended up being gorgeous! We rented an army of bikes including a tag-along that Gideon loved and a tandem that everyone wanted to try --- it was way harder that it looks!! We biked from Pisa to the ocean and found the perfect spot to grab some gelato. On a previous trip to Italy, a gelato shop owner taught me that most gelato places create incredible displays with large decorated piles of gelato in their windows. "BUT!" she said, "the REAL gelato is kept covered up in metal containers because real gelato would melt if it were exposed like that in big decorative piles!" So, on this trip, I had been looking everywhere for the unexposed "real" gelato. Finally, here in this little beach town, we found it and BOY was it worth the wait!! It was incredible. I am fully converted to the unexposed "real" gelato!! We topped off our bike ride at a great Italian restaurant where the star plate was the shrimp gnocci (even I thought it was good and I don't even like shrimp!!)  

Finally on Friday we all packed up and determined to meet up in Carrara. However, Benjin and I took the long way there by way of the small coastal town, San Terenzo. The roads to get there were windy, we couldn't find any parking, and mommy was feeling over-touched wedged between the two carseats so that our luggage could filled up the front seat (gotta love European trunk space!) Despite all this, the moment we stepped out of the car on to the boardwalk, it was all worth it! The crystal clear water and cheerful town were spectacular. We walked along the seaside, playing leapfrog with our car from one illegal parking spot to the next. All too soon it was time to leave and meet up with the rest of the Facer gang. Fortunately, we were meeting them at another incredible locale! We met up right in the heart of the centuries old marble quarry, Carrara, from which masterpieces such as Michelangelo's David and his Pieta were crafted. We hiked up the mountain, climbed along marble slabs and looked down right into the quarry pits. It is just incredible what expert hands can do with raw materials! From there we made our way to the airport by way of a nice little park in Pisa. 

At the airport, due to issues checking our bag, and a customs officer who was slower than a sloth, we almost missed out on saying goodbye to everyone. Fortunately, the Lord answered our prayers and we were miraculously able to give hugs all around. While giving out hugs, Gideon started to cry. I think he had not fully realized just how much he was going to miss everyone until that moment and he was overwhelmed.

Looking back, we all feel a bit overwhelmed with gratitude for the fabulous family we get to be a part of, for the wonderful world we get to explore and for the intelligent individuals who teach us so much.... from a farmer explaining the intricacies of olive oil to a sister-in-law teaching us to flatten fettuccine; from Benjin's mom helping us appreciate art to my Medici book and the Laurentian Library. There is so much to learn and we are overwhelmed by the generosity of so many who are willing to share their expertise!! 

May this week be as delicious as a scoop of unexposed gelato, arrivederci! 

La Famille Facer