Tuscany - October 2009

By the Leaning Tower in Pisa...

A reunion with Uncle Ben and Finlay

First lunch at the Villa

The countryside was amazing and the weather warm and sunny

Cinque Terre - Italy, October 2009

After Rome, we went hiking in the Cinque Terre National Park area just north of Pisa. It was incredible! A little rainy to begin with, but then it cleared up so we could hike on the trails between the five villages perched on the clifftops and sample some more gelato. It is a very special part of the world and we hope to return again one day. Henry loved the hikes, gelato, local pasta and pesto and all the foccacia he could get his hands on.

Roma -October 2009

We flew overnight to Rome from New York. We arrived, totally exhausted (no sleep with an active toddler) but decided to hit the ground running and start sightseeing at the Coliseum. An awesome and weird place. Henry woke up just in time for this picture. Both Bryan and I are delirious with lack of sleep!

We found an amazing gelateria in the Trasetever area of Rome where we were staying. They made delicious, organic gelato from locally sourced ingredients. Everyone in Rome ADORED Henry- especially with his big blue eyes and mop of blond hair. The gelato owners had a professional photographer who happened to be there taking pictures of the store and couldn't stop snapping Henry. He was definitely the star of the whole place!

In the Palatine, overlooking the Forum.

Fire Island

Our dear friends Natalia, Nick and Theo have a place in Fire Island off the coast of Long Island- about an hour from NYC. It's an amazing place in a community with no cars and the only access is by ferry boat from the mainland. We were very excited to be invited. Another family joined us- Bea, Jeff and Leo and we all took turns cooking great meals and building sandcastles on the beach. Since we missed the last ferry home on the last night, we had to stay an extra day which added to the adventure of the whole weekend! We have many happy memories of our Fire Island trip and hope to be invited back next summer!

New Pre-School

Henry left Tiny Steps in September and started at Mangos pre-school in another area of Brooklyn. His days are more structured, with lots of crafts, music and outside activities. He seems to be doing well there and settled in quickly. He goes three days a week so that I can get into the office to work!

Cousin Cait and Farewell to good friends

Cousin Caitlin who is studying at Barnard is a frequent visitor to our place in Brooklyn. We went for a late autumn stroll in Prospect Park and came across an interesting art "egg" project in the background...

In September, we said adios to some really great Colombian friends who are moving to Canada. We put on a surprise farewell party for them in Central Park.

Trip to North Carolina- Labor Day, 2009

We flew down for a long weekend to Charlotte, NC in September '09 to visit Bryan's family. We found a nearby farm/park, and went for a long walk to look at all the animals. Henry is really into farm animals (I can't emphasize that enough!) and thoroughly enjoyed himself. We also celebrated Phillip's 11th birthday at the Lego store and had lots of fun playing kitchens with Victoria. The weather in North Carolina was wonderful and Larry and Jane were great hosts. Hope to be back soon!