Italia with the Pinnocks and the Heat!

It has been a full year since we all braved this trip. Looking back, we laugh really hard. But in the heat of it, no pun intended, I think we all thought ice climbing in the nude looked appealing for the first time. Italia was HOT! Now that I have sufficiently cooled off, I can write about our adventures!

Jess, Jake, Liam, Andy, Bennett and I caught a flight to Florence. Benny's first flight! He did very well, and that was a relief. We walked over to the bus stop to catch a bus to Lucca, where we would be meeting up with the rest of the family. It was a hot day and we had to wait awhile. Our first exposure to the heat! We were relieved to arrive at the B&B where we would be staying. We got checked in, and then we caught a cab to where we would meet up with everyone. Laura arranged for us to take a cooking class from a chef up in this beautiful Tuscan villa! Upon arriving, we gave the missionaries a big welcome hug and then my daddy whisked Bennett right away! It was a wonderful meeting! We have missed Stevo and Josh so much! Now it was time to partay!!!!

finally gets to meet Uncle Stevo!!!!

girlies and the boys! 

Meeting Poppa for the first time!

Uncle Hughbie!!!

 We were taught how to make ravioli, a chicken dish and a peach tiramisu! I took breaks here and there trying to feed Bennett and catching up with everyone. It was a wonderful and relaxing setting! We then all sat down to a feast!

little family dinner pic

 We all went back to the B&B to get some sleep. No AC:(  Surprisingly, I slept well, but Andy didn't. We had to wake up super early to catch a train to the Cinque Terre, our next a

on the way to Cinque Terre

waiting at one of the stations. Love these girls!

We finally arrived! We were pretty tired, but happy to be off the train. The original plan was to hike to all five villages, but the heat and exhaustion got to all of us, especially hiking up and down flights of stairs with B in the Baby Jogger. We managed to get some fruit, cheese, and salami to snack on and we rested at one of the villages while some of the group took a dip in the sea! Wish I brought my suit!

Beautiful view of the sea

the Crew

what we wanted to be doing

isn't this tree amazing!

little trio and beautiful colors!

where we got some snacks!

where everyone took a swim

taking a rest. Much needed in this heat!

my fam

doesn't that look inviting?

 After hiking as far as we wanted to hike, we found a quaint outdoor cafe and had ourselves a delicious lunch! It was divine. And we were rather relieved to be out of the heat for a bit.

our cafe spot

This was one of the low points of the trip. The train ride. It was a bit longer, because we were going to Florence, and the train was pretty full. Then the train stopped at one stop and all of the sudden, it flooded with what seemed like a hundred Africans. We all felt like sardines packed in a can. And it was a smelly ride! Andy got pretty sick on the ride back, and we were very much relieved to get off!

We arrived in Florence and there was a bit of a mixup with our scheduled accomadations. No AC. Bah! After some rather heated phone calls, we finally got to the flat where we would be staying, and it had AC. It was so nice to put our feet up and sleep!!!

Andy had to fly back to Geneva to work for a few days. Bummer.  Having been to Florence with Andy the year before, I decided to take it easy with the babe. We slept in, took naps, pumped milk and met up with the group when we felt like it! It was really nice.

Favorite parts--Seeing the Bargello with Jess, Mom, Laura and Nettie (and the wonderful fan I parked in front of to nurse B), San Lorenzo Market, Mercado Centrada, Ciro & Sons Pizza (GF of course), almond and strawberry Italian ice, a gorgeous leather jacket I bought (and can't wait to fit into after this baby weight comes off), chilaxing in Jon and Laura's ultra-air conditioned hotel room, The David (oh the David:), and a tour of some of the architectural wonders of Florence by Jess and Jake's friend, Lorenzo!

Me and B. Andy had what we lovingly refer to as "the perch,"mastered. The only position that
B felt calm in. Here is me attempting it. I need my Andy man.....

Trying to calm the babe on our tour with Lorenzo

The David!

love my brothers;)

 Next stop--Roma! Florence was lovely, but I was super super excited to reunite with my other half! We met up with Andy at the train station and headed to our hotel. This time, lots of air conditioning. Thank goodness. We grabbed some kebabs for lunch, and then met up with our golf cart tour guides! This is a fun way to see a new big city you have no clue how to navigate. Plus, you get somewhat of a breeze as you sit in the back:)

Roma!

my sweet Daddy

view of the city!

The fam! Reunited at last!

One of our tour guides. Sweetest guy ever, and he was so sweet with B!

on the golf cart!

Beauties along the way!

One of our stops. Baby brain keeps me from remembering names of buildings:/

Our little football

The Parentals. Looking Metro and sexy on Ponte Sant'Angelo

oh Andy.

Love him.

In front of the Pantheon

I love his tiny-ness

Don't drop my baby!

The Colosseum!

Liam trying to console B

Sarah trying too.

Me trying.

One of my favorite pics of the day.

But I think this is in my top 3 of pics of B. epic.

At the Roman Forum. B decided he was tuckered out.

 The second ultra-low point of the trip was after the golf cart tour. Everyone headed off to Jess and Jake's favorite Roman Gelateria, but we needed to feed Bennett. It was soooooo hot and muggy outside, but we couldn't wait 'til the hotel. Andy and I parked it on a park bench, and tried to feed him. When he latched, I tried to convince Andy that I could feed him as we walked to the Metro. He finally gave in to my wishes, and I walked as briskly as possible with babe on boob and trying to stay as modest as possible. Man, it just got hotter and hotter! We finally got to the gelateria, but everyone was finished. We walked back to the hotel and I just burst into tears.

I think every new mother experiences this at some point after they have a baby. The realization that a baby just makes you miss out on some things that you really want to do. Baby completely depends on you, and sometimes, you just can't go get that gelato. It seems like such a silly and trivial thing now, but at that moment, post-partum rocks just came crashing down on me that night. I sat on the bed and nursed B while I sobbed to Jessica and while Andy tried to feed me melting gelato that we grabbed really fast at another less popular shop on our way back. As I ate it, I also was sobbing about how fat and flabby I felt. Wow. What a pathetic night! Jess reassured me that this was all completely normal and that I will feel better eventually. I think this was big time birth control for Annie Boo. Crazy sister am I!
Our next Roman adventure was the Vatican! Another heat episode to say the least. There was quite the crowd and it was toasty. I am grateful I had seen the Vatican with Mom and Jess years before, because the docents were shoving us through like cows. We were just trying to keep B from crying. Fortunately, when we got to the Sistine Chapel, we found a few spots on a bench and I was able to feed B. Stevo, Boo and Andy and I just sat and enjoyed the ceiling we had all come to see. It is pretty magnificent!

We were able to walk through St. Peter's Basilica and admire the surroundings. We thought about doing Bennett's baby blessing right then and there!

blessing?

Outside St. Peter's

St. Peter's Square

Sunday ended up being a restful chill day for Andy, Bennett and Me. The rest of the crew went on an outing (can't remember where) but we heard it was going to be hot and we were tired, so we just relaxed. It was rather nice actually.
The next day was pretty crazy. We were going to do Bennett's blessing, but then Jake came to out door and told us that Liam had fallen off the bed and injured his elbow. Poor guy. We didn't get too crazy with the itinerary, especially because most of the crew was catching a train back to Milan, although Andy and I did get to slip away for a couple of hours and see some of the main sights Rome has to offer. Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, beautiful alleyways (and two separate gelato stops to get us through the heat) and some much needed time together. Thank you Jess and Jake for watching our little guy with Liam!

Spanish Steps

Ponte Sant'Angelo

 After our outing, we chilled with Jess and Jake for a bit, we caught a cab to the airport. It was time to say goodbye to Italy! It was a pretty crazy cab ride, but we got checked in, ate some dinner, and then flew back to Geneva. Going back to Aaron and Kristyn's place, we were to be welcomed by glorious air conditioning! It felt really, really good. It was so fun to be with family and to be reunited with the missionaries!