Soccer Season

Soccer started.  Twice a week we (well, mostly Dave) drive the kids 40 minutes to Wiesbaden, the military base, for practice.  Their games are on Friday evenings.  Our lack of German language skills prevents the kids from playing on a local team.  Owen had his first game last week and Emily had a bye.  "If we win, I get to have ice cream tonight, but if we lose, no ice cream, " says the five year old.

Atrani, Italy

The next afternoon, we took the ferry to Atrani, a small town on the Amalfi coast.  We spent the next six nights in their three room apartment tucked 200 stairs up into the mountain.

Owen loved walking the stairs each day.

We enjoyed excellent pizza and Parmesan cheese,

as we looked out the apartment window.

We spent the days on the black sand beach.

We spent one evening in Positano, a famous town where stars dock their yachts.

A great end to summer!

Angri, Italy

My family comes from a very small town in southern Italy called Angri.  My grandmother's cousins still live there and welcomed us to visit anytime.  My inability to speak Italian prevented me from hopping on a plane, so when Giovanna, my Italian AND English speaking relative invited us to come with her, we booked our flights.  I broke my five day rule and decided to stay for seven nights.

Gio and her brother picked us up at the airport and her mother and aunts prepared Sunday dinner.  I wondered when the other dozen guests would arrive to eat all the food.

Angi, Gio's oldest daughter, entertained us. 

After dinner, we walked through the town to see the building where my great-grandmother was born

the Church she attended

and the streets where she spent her youth.

We visited the infamous Uncle Ameal who showed us his art collection.

We ended the day with pizza and Go Fish.