Lago Maggiore: Stresa

This past Saturday, we took a day trip to Stresa which is located in northern part of Piemonte.  It's located on beautiful Lago Maggiore.

Carlo joined his company's Recreational club and this was an excursion that we thought would be fun.  It's only 2 hours away by bus and it was a really good deal.  The price included the bus, the boat ride & lunch at a restaurant.

So we packed a bag with essentials for Valentina and were out the door at 6:50am!

on the bus!

Our first stop was at Isola Bella. It's one of the 3 islands on Lago Maggiore.  The palace on this island is beautiful and the Royal garden was amazing!  This Palace actually belongs to the Borromeo family- a royal family in the Lombardy region with ties also to the Catholic church. Margherita de' Medici (mother of Saint Carlo Borromeo) was the sister of Pope Pius IV.  The family still vacations here every summer.  They raise a flag to let everyone know that they are on the island.

our boat to Isola Bella

in front of the palace..

our first family picture!

Unfortunately, we were not able to take any picture inside the palace and by the time our tour ended, it was raining.  Somehow, we managed to remember everything for the baby... but forget to take our umbrellas.  So, we walked very quickly through the garden and then stopped at the bar so that I could feed VJ.

fountain at the Royal Garden

resident peacock!

After the tour, we hopped back onto the boat and it was onto Isola Superiore for lunch.  It rained the entire time we ate our lunch and afterwards as well.  We were lucky enough to find a covered patio for me to feed Valentina (it was already 3 hours from the last feeding) and the lady who owned it was nice enough to let us sit there without having to buy anything.  Once Valentina was done eating, we had 10 minutes to spare until we had to meet back at the boat so, we walked for a few minutes and enjoyed the island.

We ended our trip with some free time at Stresa which is the town we were in.  Luckily, the rain had stopped and we were able to enjoy a walk downtown.  However, it was still cold so, we had to make sure that Valentina was nice and warm.

still sleeping..

No matter how cold it was... we had to have gelato!

We really enjoyed this trip! It was a great way to spend some time exploring Italy and the best part was that we didn't have to plan anything.. everything was done for us! We'll definitely come back with my parents when they visit and maybe they'll be another organized trip we can go on!

2,113,128

That's the amount of people who came through our lovely city to view this....

The Holy Shroud

It is believed to be the actual cloth that wrapped the body of Jesus Christ.  The permanent display is a photocopy of the shroud  but this year... the cloth itself was on display.  To be honest, it sure does have quite a few interesting impressions left so, it could very well be real.  It's something you have to see for yourself.  I tried to point out the obvious such as face, arms, legs, & back of head.  

There have been so much study and research over this cloth and it has now become the one of the most studied artifacts in history.

Wikipedia link regarding Shroud of Turin

Official site of The Holy Shroud

Ragù alla Bolognese

Why has it taken me a over a year to learn how to make a simple Ragù sauce?  It's one of the easiest things to make yet, I had been buying it in a jar instead of making my own.  That is... until last week when Mamma Adelasia came over to FINALLY show me how to make her awesome sauce!

So, you need 1 carrot and half an onion.  Cut them in cubes and place them in a food processor.

and make them into small tiny pieces..

in a medium sauce pan, add Olive Oil and onion and carrots. Saute for a few minutes and then had ground beef on medium heat.

Brown ground beef. (at this time you could add some White wine for flavor-this did not have any)

Add a small amount of tomato sauce and cook for 5 minutes...

Add tomato sauce. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes or until sauce is cooked. (The amount of tomato sauce is up to you.  The picture below is enough for 2 meals)

Serve with Spaghetti or short pasta. 

Getting Crafty...

You've seen these.....

(photo courtesy of Etsy.com- Anya's Babyshop)

I think these headbands are just adorable! There's something so sweet about a tiny baby with a big giant flower on her head!  I asked my mom to find some for me and the ones she found weren't cute at all.  So, I asked a friend on Facebook about the ones she has for her daughter.  She mentioned to me that she buys the headbands on Ebay and then goes to the craft store and buys the flower and makes them  herself.

I hadn't thought about it before but after hearing that, I decided to use my new knitting skills to good use!  My knitting doesn't have to be limited to scarves anymore!  So, I went to the market and bought yarn and some fake flowers.... 

and ecco!... My sweet little baby now has the big giant flower on her head too!  You see, in Italy, there isn't anything like this for babies.  You'd think we'd have a lot of cute stuff because well.. Italian are all about fashion but to tell you the truth... American baby clothes/fashion is much cuter than Italian.  I got tons of compliments on Valentina's sleepers at the hospital. Everywhere I go, I get compliments on her outfits....

on her socks....

and even a simple hair bow gets a lot of attention.

so, you can imagine what kind of reactions we get with our new accessories!

Daddy's Girl

It's funny that someone so small has such a big impact on life and your own attitude.  Carlo and I continued to have discussions about family and how we would raise our children.  Having 6 nieces and nephews does teach you a lot, but being close to them teaches you more.  I helped raise the oldest niece and nephew so, I am familiar with the everyday goings on of a baby/child.  Carlo is not.  He has no nieces or nephews or small cousins that he is close to.

So, when we talked about diapers, baths & feedings, he was quick to say that I would be taking care of everything.  He even said that he would NOT hold the baby unless he was sitting on the couch or laying in bed.  (until she was at least 3 months old... then he would hold her standing up) He was terrified of holding something so small and fragile.  I tried to assure him that he would change his mind once the baby came.  I also tried to tell him that our baby would be cute.. at birth.  He disagreed and said ALL babies are born ugly... and ours would be no exception.

As I laid in bed after the delivery, I looked at Carlo and ask him... "So, tell me... is Valentina ugly?"  The answer he gave me was exactly what I thought it would be..... He said, "To be honest, I don't know if it's because she's my daughter or what.. but she's really cute!"

It's funny how things change so quickly....

Daddy & Valentina (2 wks old)

feeding Valentina (4 wks old)

(7 wks old)*

*I should mention that this picture was taken today (4/13/10) and before we took it... he helped me change a dirty diaper!

He's already starting to play games with her.  This is 'Ascensore' (Elevator).

The Prize!

Valentina's Birth Announcement! 

This was the prize I won from the Pay it Forward Giveaway at Fairly Happy.com

It was designed by Janeen at Precious Designs

Another year of Wedded Bliss!

Motherhood has really taken a toll on my blogging.  My anniversary came and went and I didn't even post ANYTHING!  So, even though it's late, I'm gonna post a small tribute to the man who has done so much for me.

To my husband Carlo:

Thank you for sending me a message on MySpace asking me to "enter in contact".

Thank you for being Italian.

Thank you for loving me so much that you asked me to marry you.

Thank you for showing up at our wedding.

Thank you for taking me on so many great trips. I love that we share a passion for travel.

Thank you for taking out the garbage.

Thank you for having a "grown up" job.

Thank you for buying a house for us.

Thank you for asking me to make that house a home.

Thank you for supporting me while jobless.

Thank you for loving & respecting my family.

Thank you for showing me your beautiful city & country.

Thank you for coming with me to find the church building when we first got to Torino.  (even though it was cold, wet, & snowing)

Thank you for introducing me to your friends so that I could have friends too.

Thank you for making me speak Italian in public and interact with people.

Thank you for spending the 47 hours of labor with me.

Thank you for cleaning the entire house while I take care of the baby.

Thank you for loving me.

Thank you for making me a mother.

Thank you for being a great father.

Thank you for 3 years of Wedded Bliss!  I look forward to the next 47!*


*I always said that I want to be married for 50 years... after that, we can both die happy.

Breast Feeding & Bonding

You know how you grow up imaging what life would be like and then you experience it... and it sometimes it's the same.. and sometimes it's different.  I remember when I was young and I would think about what it would be like to have my own apartment and live by myself.  Well, I never really experienced that.  I went from my parents house, to my sister's, to a house with 8 other girls, then another house with 5 other girls, to another house with 3, then back to my parents, then my own house that I owned with my brother and various roommates that lived with us and finally.. to my own apartment.  I lived alone for a whole month (maybe less)... until I got married and Carlo moved in.

During that time as a single gal, I would imagine what life would be like when I got married.  Luckily, it was exactly what I imagined and more!  Then... what would like be like when I have a baby.  My experience with my 6 nieces and nephews definitely prepared me for motherhood.  I have been an aunt since I was 18 so, I've had lots of practice with crying, colic, diapers, feedings and etc....

So, with the birth of VJ, I felt ready for anything.  In fact, while I was at the hospital, I had 2 different people tell me that I looked like I knew what I was doing.  I felt so proud and was honored to hear that.  At the hospital, the nurses at the nursery have the moms come in and show you how to bathe your baby and care for the umbilical cord.  After the demonstration, they asked if anyone had questions and/or wanted to try and change the dressing on the cord.  I said I was ok and everyone else was somewhat timid.  So the nurse had everyone position themselves in front of their baby... she turns to me and said, "According to me, You look like you already know how to do this. You can go back to your room."  I walked out of there happy as can be!  Then when I was getting discharged the Pediatrician went over some things with me as far as basic instructions and appointments that needed to be made.  Once she was done, she also said that I looked quite confident and I seemed like someone who's done this before.  I told her that I had 6 nieces and nephews therefore, being around babies is nothing new to me.

Once I got home, I felt happy, and confident.  Having my parents here to help was such a huge blessing.. and because of that, I was able to leave VJ with my parents while I had to go do her Doctor's assignment.  (In Italy, you have to go the CUP-"health services"- and request a doctor so that the government can pay them for your visits.)  I had bought some formula just incase I didn't get back in time to feed her, my mom could do it.  I had VJ practice by drinking some of my expressed milk from the bottle.  While I was at the CUP, all I could think about was my sweet baby at home drinking formula from a bottle.  It was at that moment that I realized how much I  LOVED breast feeding VJ.  I wanted to cry because I wasn't there to feed her, hold her, & look at her while she looked back at me.

From that point on, I decided that I would only bottle feed her when it was absolutely necessary.  While imagining life as a mom, I never thought I would enjoy breast feeding so much.  I love being able to stroke her hair while she looks at me.  I love the way she looks at me as if she's asking for permission to eat.  I love the way she opens her hand... waiting for my finger and then holds onto it.... not wanting to let go.  I love how she falls asleep and has milk dripping from her mouth because she is smiling.  I love how she knows when she's going to eat.  Her eyes light up and she "charges" in ready to eat.  I love how she cries when she changes to the other side.  She cries as if I won't give her anymore to eat.

It is because of all of those things that I am proud to be a mom.. and I am happy to live in a country where I am expected to feed my baby wherever I may be. Whether it's at McDonald's, in a Piazza, the metro stop, or even at church, I don't have to feel out of place for doing what is natural and beautiful.  I love that I am bonding with her and she knows that.  I know she knows who I am.  She smiles at me and that smile tells me that she loves me.

If I have to give her a bottle she'll take it but... we both know..... she'd rather have mine.