Connor's First Soccer Practice

    This afternoon Connor had his first ever soccer practice. He has been so excited to play ever since we told him he was going to be on a team with his friend Noah. He said, "We're going to be the best ones." Haha! 

    When we arrived, the assistant coach greeted us and immediately gave Connor a ball to practice with. Connor went right out on the field and caught on really quickly. Aaron even overheard the assistant coach telling one of the other teams coaches that they were going to have to watch out for him.

 

Sunday Market

   Last Sunday we went to the market in Camisano Vicentino for the first time. We have been to other markets before, but this one was huge! There were all sorts of vendors. Some sold clothes, shoes, and home decor, and others sold fruits, veggies, hot food, and candy. Aaron and I decided we are going to go weekly to buy our produce and fresh flowers because it's so cheap.

Western Mediterranean Cruise: Marseille, France

      Our seventh, and last full day on the cruise, was spent in Marseille, France. Marseille is the second largest city in France and one of the most visited. I didn't have much planned for us to do in Marseille. I wanted to at least see one church, buy some soap, and mostly walk around and explore the city. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was breezy and never felt too hot.

   Early morning picture before we reached Marseille.

Western Mediterranean Cruise: Day at Sea and Valencia, Spain

Our fifth day was spent at sea. We had breakfast delivered to our room and all enjoyed eating on the balcony. 

 Our breakfast.

Western Mediterranean Cruise: Valletta, Malta and Gozo

   Get ready for a ton of pictures because this was our favorite stop on the cruise! 

   We spent our fourth day of our cruise in beautiful Malta. Out of all the places Aaron and I have visited since living in Europe, it's tied with Santorini, Greece as one of our favorites. I was sad when we had to leave, but was so happy we got to see such a beautiful place. 

 We woke up to this beautiful sunrise.

Westerm Mediterranean Cruise: Palermo, Sicily

We woke up to a really pretty view of Sicily on our third morning. We have never been to Sicily, so we were excited to finally get off the ship after having a relaxing two days on it. 

 Checking out the city.

Western Mediterranean Cruise: Civitavecchia, Italy

    Our second day on the ship stopped in Civitavecchia. Civitavecchia is located about an hour away form Rome, and since we have already been there we made the decision to stay on the ship for the day. We wanted this cruise to be a little more relaxed than last summers, so this made for a great start.

 View from the ship.

Western Mediterranean Cruise: Embarkation From Genova, Italy

    On the morning of July 23 we left our apartment in La Spezia and drove an hour to Genova. I had planned for us to walk around downtown and see some of the sights, but it was raining when we arrived. So our second plan was to go to the aquarium. When we parked our car and were shuttled to the ship with all our luggage they told us we could check in early. We thought okay sure, let's get rid of our bags and then maybe we could go to the aquarium after. Well we didn't get our cruise card right away and were told we would get it when our room was ready at 1, so that threw our plan to visit the aquarium out the window. Since we were on the boat by 10:45, it was almost empty! We were able to walk around, eat lunch, and go swimming without hardly running into anybody.

 First peek at our home for the next 7 nights.

Cinque Terre Day 2: Monterosso al Mare, Riomaggiore, Manarola, andVernazza + La Spezia

    Our second day in Cinque Terre was busy, hot, and tiring, which was why we were done touring the villages by 5, in our apartment by 7, and in bed by 9. The day started with breakfast at a nearby cafe that was included in our nightly rate for out apartment. We were so happy because the weather was cool and breezy, which was just what we needed for a day of exploring.

Our apartment was on the 5th floor... so many steps. 

Cinque Terre Day 1:Corniglia and Monterosso al Mare

    As most of you probably know from seeing my Facebook and Instagram is that Aaron and I just got back from our 10 day vacation exploring Italy, Malta, Spain, and France. We had a wonderful time and now I get to share all about our trip with you guys over the next several posts. 

    Our first stop was Cinque Terre. Since moving to Italy, we have been told visiting these 5 beautiful villages surrounding the Cinque Terre National Park was a must. The villages are located on the Italian Riviera and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Seeing them in pictures is beautiful, but seeing them in person was absolutely amazing. 

    Our first day included driving 3 1/2 hours to La Spezia, a town right outside of Cinque Terre, and checking into our apartment. We decided to stay in La Spezia because driving around the city and parking our car would be much easier, plus it was just a short train ride away from the villages. After checking in, we walked up the street to the train station, ate McDonald's {so not my choice, but with a hungry toddler you eat whatever is available} and bought our train tickets for the day. Our first city to visit was Corniglia.

    Corniglia is the only village not located on the sea. Because of this we had to climb 385 steps after we got off the train to get to the town at the top of the hill. It was hot, and tiring, but the view was so worth it.

 That smile says it all.