Cefalu, Sicily.

One of the highlights from our time in Italy so far was our trip with my parents to Cefalu while we were in Sicily.  We spent the majority of our time in Palermo, but one day we took the train up to this amazing little beach city and had a great day.  The train ride was gorgeous, right along the water.  The city is small, not super touristy, and beautiful!  We had one of the best meals we've ever had thanks to good food, company, wine, and an amazing location!  

When we found this little restaurant for lunch, we weren't sure if it was open or not.  Most lunch places don't open until about 1 pm, but being American, we wanted to eat earlier than that : )  We walked in and there weren't any other customers there, but the waiter assured us that they we open, then he walked away and we didn't know where he went.  I saw a sign at the back of the restaurant that I thought said outdoor patio, but I wasn't entirely sure and Brian couldn't see any real seating out there.  After a minute or so of deliberations, this cute little Italian lady comes out and says, "blah, blah, blah, blah. . ." and motions us towards the back.  Sure enough, we walk outside and find this amazing patio with our waiter standing there waiting patiently for us! I asked JJ what the Italian lady had said and he says, "she said we need to go sit down now."  Since JJ hasn't been around Italian as much this summer, I think he has forgotten a lot, but since I'm sure he hears this phrase in school all the time he will never forget it!

The view from our table.

Sicily, Part II.

One thing that Sicily definitely is not lacking in is cathedrals.  It seemed like there was truly one on every street.  We only went in a couple, but they were beautiful.

We ate at this amazing little Focacceria that was first opened in 1834.  I got so excited about the yummy food that we ended up ordering waaaay too much.

Poor Owen took a header in the hotel and got his first of many bruises to his forehead.

On our last day we decided to do something different and went to the catacombs.  Unfortunately you can't take pictures in the tombs or I could show you the once in a lifetime images that I now have in my brain.  It was an experience that I will never forget, but kind of wish that I could!  The catacombs contain approximately 8,000 mummies and some are very well preserved.  Some even still had hair!  JJ was running around laughing at all the skeletons.  Luckily he had no idea what he was truly looking at!  He still talks about the funny skeletons.  Hopefully he will forget the experience sooner than later!  

Sicily.

We took a nice long weekend trip to Sicily with my parents.  After lots of headache at the airport and almost not being able to get on the plane because Owen didn't have a ticket, we made it there safely.  We stayed in Palermo, which is an amazing old city.  We did the "hop on, hop off" bus so we got to see most of the sights.

This was my moms favorite building, it's the symphony hall.  She was obsessed with the horses running off the roof!

My Parents, Part III.

Well, since I didn't get a bunch of complaints about the number of pictures from the last post, I decided to post a lot again this time : )  

We did a ton of traveling this time that my parents were here.  One of the day trips we did was back over to the island of Ischia.  It was a beautiful day and we had one of the best lunches we've had since being here.  It was a relaxing day filled with walking, beautiful scenery, and wine.  Perfect : )

Poor little Owen fell asleep and missed our gelato stop of the day.

If you don't notice why I love this picture, look again!!

It's a good thing that we did a lot of traveling because one of the days we spent hanging out at home, this happened!

Owen in the Gardens.

Sorry for the excessive number of pictures, but I had too many favorites to choose, so I'm posting them all!  Owen had a fun time playing in the grass in the garden in Lucca while JJ and my dad ran around.  It was an excellent afternoon.

My Parents, Part II.

Brian had to work most of the time that my parents were here, but that didn't stop us from packing up the boys and heading up the road to Tuscany.  We stayed in a great little B & B in Lucca and took day trips to Florence and Carrara, then did a quick stop by the leaning tower on the way home.  It was an amazing little vacation.

Here's Lucca - 

We ate a lot of gelato.

This is the inside of the main duomo in Florence.  It was beautiful.

Florence was very hot and humid.  Owen had a great time.

My dad found these amazing gardens in Lucca.

JJ ran, ran, and ran until he was extremely hot and tired.

The tower in Pisa was very impressive.