Gelato land!

We spent my birthday weekend in Italy and had an amazing time.  (Sorry for the picture overload...)

Caitlyn loved taking pictures of all of the sites.  She insisted on using her own toddler camera at lot!  Below is us in front of the Parthenon (taken with Bari's camera).  

Caitlyn was really inquisitive -- Bari and I went inside while Caitlyn was sleeping, but then later when we were walking by it again she asked if we could go inside so she could see it.  She also asked us to go into various stores.  For example, one time we were walking by a supermarket and she asked to go inside so she could see what kind of food they have in Italy!

Caitlyn's favorite part of Rome was the Trevi Fountain, and her favorite thing to eat was gelato!  (She usually wanted raspberry, but tried other flavors at times as well.  One time she had meringue!)  Below she is enjoying both!

To see a similar picture from 5 years ago (before Caitlyn), click here.

Caitlyn LOVED throwing coins into the Trevi Fountain.  Legend has it that by throwing coins into the fountain you are guaranteed a trip back to Rome.  She really wants to go back!

While we were walking around we stumbled upon a ton of people and media.  It turned out that the brand new Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, was leaving his first Parliament hearing.  It was big news in Italy because at age 39 he is the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history.

We walked around the Forum and Colosseum...

...enjoyed more gelato...

...and played on the Spanish steps.  Caitlyn loved running back and forth along the steps.

We found some amazing fresh pasta.  Here they are making it...

...and here is the finished product!  We ate here a few times.

For my birthday dinner, we visited Trattoria Der Pallero, a place we had visited 5 years ago on our first trip to Rome.  They don't speak much English, and there is no menu--they just start bringing food to your table!  It was a many-course meal:  antipasti (with various olives, cheese, meats, and bread), pasta (two different kinds), meat, dessert, and wine.  Here is a picture of us from 5 years ago:

And here we are this time:

We spent the final two days exploring some hill towns.  Caitlyn thought it was hilarious that we walked to the train station to catch a bus, and then went to the airport to rent a car.  She kept saying "that doesn't make any sense!"  

First we visited Civita di Bagnoregio, a beautiful town set high on a hill.  There are no cars--we had to walk over a long, steep, footbridge to reach it.  There were some gorgeous views.  Civita di Bagnoregio is the birthplace of bruschetta, and we enjoyed some different kinds.

The view from the town:

We then drove to a beautiful winery, Custodi, to try the famous Orvieto Classico wine.  It was delicious and a lot of fun.

Finally, we reached Orvieto, a wonderful hill town famous for its church, ceramics, and wine.  Here is the facade of the church, considered one of the most beautiful in Europe:

We visited this ceramics shop, Mastro Paolo, and spent some time speaking with the owners.  Caitlyn was really well behaved and did not touch any of the fragile objects.  As we were leaving, the owners gave Caitlyn a doll as a present (you can see the basket of dolls in front of the door in the photo below).  It is a doll that has a boy and a girl back to back, and if you turn it over there is an old woman underneath the girl's skirt!  Bari thinks it looks like Strega Nona, a character from an Italian children's book.

Italy was amazing.  Caitlyn says it was her favorite trip so far as well.   I can't wait to go back (to an different area) in May on our final trip before we return to America!