Pizza, Pasta and Claudia

We've just returned from a fantastic fortnight in Italy together with Rhona. We started with 3 days in Venice which was just spectacular (pic 1). The Jewish ghetto was a highlight as was taking a ride on a vaporetto along the Grand Canal. Travelling with kids brings its own challenges, not least chasing Ethan who made it his mission to climb every bridge in Venice (and there are lots) and chase every pigeon in St Mark's square (if you thought there were a lot of bridges....) (pic 2). Ethan finally started walking just before we left for Italy. Of course he only did so the day before he was due to see the GP to find out why he wasn't walking - typical.

Next stop was a week in Tuscany - we stayed in a magnificent Tuscan villa on a vineyard in Montale, about 45 minutes from Florence. We hired a car and after mastering the art of cruising at 130kph on the autostrade on the wrong side of the road in our rented Mercedes, we enjoyed visiting a different city each day. We spent time in Florence (Pic 3 - on Ponte Vecchio), Pisa (pic 4 - the obligatory 'holding up the tower' photo), Siena (pic 5 - Pizza in the Piazza), Lucca, Viareggio (pic 6), San Gimignano and Pistoia, each with something different to offer. Evenings were spent in the swimming pool overlooking the vineyards (pic 7) and enjoying the sunset overlooking the nearby towns. We took the opportunity to harvest some of the grapes (pics 8 and 9) and Noah particularly enjoyed sampling a drop of the finished product at the wine tasting evening.

Our last 3 days were spent with Claudia Schiffer in Rome - well not exactly, but she did happen to visit the Trevi fountain for a quick photo shoot while we were there - Meaghan managed to get up close and personal, paparazzi style and took some great photos (pic 10). We visited the Colosseum (pic 11), Roman Forum, Vatican City, a whole lot of piazzas and fountains and even squeezed in a bit of shopping. We do have one confession to make. After 2 weeks of eating nothing other than pizza, pasta and gelati (a real challenge for gluten intolerant Rhona), we were desperate for a change and after 4 and a half years, we finally introduced Noah to McDonald's (never had a tastier Big Mac). Ethan made short work of the McHappy Meal (pic 12) and we're sorry to say the kids are hooked.

Sadly we had to say arrivederci to Italia and we are now back in Oxford where winter is fast approaching.... it's already freezing! Rhona is already packed (a week before she is due to leave....is she trying to tell us something??) and we are looking forward to welcoming Sally and Mikki in a fortnight's time.
Shana Tova from the Lusts in Oxford xxxx