Archive | holiday

life in an Italian villa {Part 1 of 2}

March 21, 2013 at 10:39 am

Because our house was too small to host my family (six adults and two kids), we decided to rent a house while they were visiting last week. Of course, in Italy “a house” is called “a villa,” and by just calling something “a villa” you have upped your rental experience by about 50%! Wouldn’t you agree?

Our villa was located about an hour from our home in Sicily, on the coast near the tiny town of Brucoli. We spent almost the entire week in the villa except for one lunch in Brucoli and one daytrip to nearby Syracuse (or Siracusa, as the Italians call it). I’ll share photos of these experiences soon, but in the meantime, here are a few photos from around the villa.

The beach was within walking distance of our house, so of course we went every day!

Elliott found the biggest worm we’d ever seen. Lena was amazed, and then I was amazed when she held it!

Gil and Lena were usually both up around 6am (yikes) and so I spent a lot of my mornings playing games with Lena and soothing Gil. becca-garber-villa-puzzles-blogging becca-garber-villa-sisters-cat

That brown streak is Siena, the cat, escaping from Lena’s prison. The pretty girl on the right is my dear sister Emily!

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Enjoying a spot of good weather with Eric and Em. Below, the crazy cat that we decided to bring with us… and thankfully she added a lot of joy and cuddles to the week away.

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Photos from early mornings with my Gil.

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We squeezed the swing into our little Honda Civic (along with groceries and supplies for a week, our family of four, and the cat… on my lap). We were so grateful for the swing that week!

Below Gil relaxes with my dear dad, Gil’s namesake.

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9 :: in family, Gil, holiday, pretty places, Sicily

Cinque Terre :: Manarola

November 15, 2012 at 2:37 pm

Christmas card photo, maybe?

We had been planning our trip to Cinque Terre with the Arthur family since… August, I think? In fact, we bought our plane tickets even before we went to the Amalfi Coast, which is some planning ahead for you! Elliott spent a lot of time on AirBnB, our favorite website for home away rentals. We finally settled on this apartment and extra room in Riomaggiore, one of the five (in Italian, cinque) towns of Cinque Terre. I recommend the apartment if you want a prime location for a great price.

We arrived in Riomaggiore on Friday afternoon, found the apartment with some difficulty, and went out for a delicious meal in town that night at La Lampara, which our trusty friend Rick Steves recommended (although Trip Advisor apparently does not).

Seafood spaghetti wrapped in foil (a local specialty) for me and stuffed mussels for Elliott. Below, Miss Becca with two little munchkins.

The next morning, refreshed and excited, we took off exploring. Our plan was to see whatever we could before the kids called it a day. Thankfully, they were troopers, and we were able to enjoy three of the five Cinque Terre towns: some of Riomaggiore, a lot of Manarola, and a bit of Vernazza (which I’ll share tomorrow).

Our plan was to walk the beautiful coastline trail called Via dell’Amore (Way of Love) between Riomaggiore and Manarola. The hiking trails between the towns are a major tourist attraction of Cinque Terre. Sadly, however, due to recent rain and mudslides, the trail was chiusa (closed). Le sigh.

We decided to take the train instead. Unlike the Amalfi Coast, where you must drive or take buses everywhere, Cinque Terre has an amazing train system. We paid 4 euro per adult for a ticket that would take us as far as we wanted to go in Cinque Terre for 6 hours.

Beautiful Manarola, the second town in the coastal necklace of Cinque Terre:

We popped into the cozy wooden “bar” (Italian for coffee shop) behind Lena for a mid-morning pick-me-up. Ahh cappuccino… how I love thee.

Lena and Lucas were having so much fun in this little hideaway. (The boards and barriers in front of doors are supposed to help with flooding.) Later, Lena got a smooch from Caleb. Already so popular with the fellas!

We found a beautiful vineyard hiking trail and followed that from the rear of Manarola back out to the coast. Along the way we could admire the carefully built dry stone walls (no cement), terraced vineyards and orchards, and spectacular views.

Prettiest location for a town cemetery… ever? And behind it was a fantastic playground!

To be continued tomorrow morning!

10 :: in Cinque Terre, friends, holiday, Italy, travel

down on the dock

October 17, 2012 at 1:00 pm

After the busyness and joy of Jonathan and Erika’s rehearsal dinner and wedding, the newlyweds jetted off to Ireland. The rest of us drove to a cabin on Lake of the Woods, where we spent a few days together enjoying the richness of fall and the closeness of family. The time for Elliott, Lena, and me to be in the States was coming to an end, and these days with Elliott’s family were quiet and sweet.

One afternoon I picked up my camera and captured the events of a few hours: Lena out on the dock with her Aunt Eden and me, watching her Uncle David kayak, eventually getting into a kayak with her dad, being distracted by a Daddy-Long-Legs, and later “swimming” in the lake (although she had more fun snuggling in a towel on the dock).

3 :: in family, holiday, Virginia

life in our chalet

March 14, 2012 at 10:22 am

During our trip to France, just as wonderful as speeding down the slopes and just as sweet as the boulangerie was the time spent with family. The little ski chalet was cozy yet accommodating and we spent many happy hours there cuddling Lena, making and eating meals, and playing games together in the evenings.

My mom and I traded “shifts” with Lena. I often skied in the morning while my mom was with her and then we switched in the afternoon. My sister Emily also enjoyed half days of skiing which meant Lena, Em, and I often had hours of quiet playing, reading, and napping time while the others blazed new trails on the slopes. I loved those quiet hours with two of my favorite girls!

Of course, being in France, there was a lot of emphasis on eating. We ate very well! We dined on local specialties, like this goat cheese that Elliott bought for me. (He knows goat cheese is my favorite food.)

We also cooked most evening meals in the chalet and ate together in the living room with our plates balanced on our knees. This was a spicy spaghetti with marinara sauce, compliments of my mom and Emily:

And another night we went out for cheese fondue, a specialty of that region of France. Lena enjoyed goofing off with her Poppy before the three-cheese fondue came bubbling and steaming to our table!

And then there were the quiet moments when it was just Lena and me, spending time together as we do every day. I never knew how much time a mother spends with her first-born child! There is a bond there that I can hardly imagine will be the same with the second, third, or sixth (?) child. I love these hours with my baby, whether we read books or explore pine cones, whether we cuddle each other or read/play side by side in our own separate worlds, whether we talk or not talk, for hours.

And lastly, here’s a photo showing that Lena can stand up all by herself! The week at the chalet you kind of had to trick her, like asking her to clap and she forgets to hold onto something, or helping her hold two toys in two separate hands and letting go of the chair or shelf. This week at home, though, I can set Lena down and she’ll stand there on her own for up to 10 seconds! Still hasn’t figured out the “taking steps” part, but we’re working on it.

4 :: in family, friends, holiday, Lena, motherhood, travel

Skiing in France!

March 12, 2012 at 1:43 pm

While this blog was so quiet last week, we were very busy. My family met Elliott, Lena, and me in France for a week-long ski trip! All the credit goes to the guy in red fleece in the photo below, our dear friend Daniel Roe.

Daniel went to school in England and took up skiing in the French Alps each winter with groups of friends. Daniel’s been telling us for years that we need to take advantage of his sweet connections and please come skiing with him. Finally he convinced us… and now the only thing we can’t figure out is what took us so long to get there.

Daniel’s friend let us use his ski chalet, a cozy little cabin located just a stone’s throw from a ski lift in the Grand Massif ski area. We were about an hour from Geneva and completely surrounded by the magnificent French Alps.

Every morning we found our ski boots warming by the radiator in the kitchen. (Thank you, Daniel.)

We ate breakfast and sipped mugs of coffee and then all bundled up for a day of skiing. Lena also bundled up for various adventures such as playing in the snow, visiting a local boulagerie for pain au chocolat, or going on walks around town. More photos of those activities later this week.

After that we headed for the gondola near our house which took us to the top of one of the ski mountains. My mom and her favorite son-in-law enjoy the ride:

Once on top, we snapped into our skis and prepared to hit the slopes. L to R: Elliott, Julia, me.

Look how beautiful it is! Elliott and I love to ski; we’ve skiied together since we first met in Boston and have covered many slopes in New England; Colorado; and Tahoe, California (on our honeymoon). Nothing we’ve seen compared to the quality and natural beauty of these slopes. One day my family covered a nine-mile-long piste that started in Switzerland and ran all the way into France!

We all agreed about that! Pictured below L to R: Emily, my dad, me, Elliott, Daniel, Eric.

It snowed twice while we were there, leaving behind a thick layer of fresh snow. All of us loved skiing “off piste,” or off the trails onto the fresh snow, like Elliott is doing below. We found a great green-level run that wound slowly down through the woods; the gentle slope and abundance of trees and snow meant we were blazing trails in the woods almost as much as we were on the piste!

We spent plenty of time on the ski lifts and standing in line for ski lifts. And, in general, not holding up the ski lifts with our antics. In general.

L to R: Emily and then Emily, Elliott, Daniel, my dad

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We also always looked forward to a long lunch break. Even our homemade sandwiches were fancier in France: fresh baguettes from the boulangerie, cured meats, and Camembert cheese. And chocolate. Lots of chocolate. For energy.

We pretty much always skiied together, accommodating everyone’s various ski levels. Along the way there was plenty of laughter, lots of skiing tips thrown back and forth, and exciting discoveries being made every minute as our skills improved with our knowledge of the mountains.

L to R below: Eric, my dad, me