Lugano, Switzerland & Torino, Italy

Our Italian & Swiss Holiday
August 1st-13th, 2010
We decided to take a true holiday this year and went on vacation to the Northern part of Italy and Lake Lugano, Switzerland. It was a busy holiday and although we did spend time relaxing at a beach, it was our typical site seeing and moving trip. We'd spend a two days in a location and then drive somewhere new, as there is so much to see and do.   The northern part of Italy reminded me a bit of driving in Colorado and we went through lots of tunnels in the mountains.   Chad was a great driver and the boys were stellar in the car!

 It was a wonderful trip and we enjoyed some wonderful weather and beautiful sites.  We also realized how easy the trips to Iowa will be in the future!

Our trip to the Home of the Ferrari!

August 2nd-4th
Lugano, Switzerland
We flew in to Milan, Italy and then drove the next day to Lugano, Switzerland. We chose this location because our friend, Meredith, recommended it, and we now understand why.  Lugano is full of tourists.  Many people were there on holiday and enjoyed the warm weather, the mountains and the beautiful blue lake.  It is located near the Italian boarder and so many Italians enjoy this as a getaway.

Will admiring Lake Lugano

The Beautiful Lake

Jack waiting for food!

We realized that not only was the blue water beautiful but also the walking paths surrounding the lake.  It was full of gardens and well manicured parks.  It was almost unreal how perfect everything looked and it was also fun to watch Will try to smell all the flowers.  He also is really into bugs so he found lots of BZZZZZZ Bees.  The weather was also nice while we were there, not to hot and very little rain.

The Boys!

Stores close early and Restaurants open Late

When we arrived, we remembered that the stores will close early around 6:00pm and the restaurants really only serve lunch until 2:00pm and open again for dinner around 6 or 7pm.  Late dinners with the boys is sometimes a challenge, but we picked up some snacks and that helped. It is interesting because both boys have really become pretty flexible as far as eating and sleeping patterns.  We're lucky that they travel and adapt so well.  Also, Will enjoyed ordering "pizza," which, as most things in Switzerland are, was expensive. 

View from our restaurant near our hotel

Jack in his shades!

Our time in Lugano was really just spent walking around the lake, shopping (I did buy a Swatch Watch), and enjoying the sun.  It was a relaxing trip and Will enjoyed taking the cable car from the city center up to our hotel.  It was only about a 5 minute ride and very convenient as the walk up the hillside would have been a challenge with the pusher.

Our hotel was also nice but the pool was about a meter and a half deep so the boys didn't get to do much swimming.  It was a bummer because Will enjoys the water.

The hotel staff was also very kind to the boys and upgraded us to a bigger room.  Will and Jack were all smiles when other guests spoke to them, there weren't many little ones their ages staying at the hotel so they got a fair amount of attention, which Jack always loves!

 It was a calm few days and we then drove to Torino, Italy.

August 4th-7th

Torino, Italy

We went to Turin (or Torino) because Chad had work there for a few days.  While he worked the boys and I enjoyed walking around the city.  This was the site for the Winter Olympics and most people in the city center spoke very good English.  Restaurants again were open after 7pm for dinner so we had to adjust a bit and feed Jack dinner and then we all went out.  There are long shopping streets and beautiful plazas in Torino, which we were able to take the time and enjoy when Chad was working.

When we arrived we were reminded that the Tom Tom is great, but a certain amount of common sense is  also required. When driving to the hotel, the TomTom instructed us to drive on what Chad pointed out was a pedestrian only street.  We were able to figure out our way, but it was good that Chad is a cautious driver. :)

Jack's ride in Torino!

"That in There"
Will also learned that he wanted to sample what we were drinking.  I would order a Coke Light and Chad red wine (which in Italy seemed like you can't go wrong with the house red wine which is often cheaper than the water).   I usually poured a bit of my Cola Light into Will's water cup. Just enough for the color to change and he would be very excited.

I stepped away with Jack one evening and Will pointed to the craft of Chad's wine and kept repeating "that in there."  He was getting a bit frustrated that Chad didn't understand and when I returned I found a sad little boy.  Will just wanted Chad to pour some of his wine into his water cup.  The language of a 2 year old.   It took me a second and we had things under control and Will got some of my drink instead.

Our Hotel!

One of the hotel turtles

We had a great hotel and a beautiful room in Torino.  It was nice to have wood floors that Jack could crawl around on and Will enjoyed visiting with the hotel turtles outside in the courtyard.  I would some day like to design a master bedroom like this particular hotel room. :)  I also had the best hot chocolates in the morning at breakfast.

Nap Time!  The boys always took great naps on holiday.
We tired them out and didn't bring the buggy board so Will did a lot of walking!

Arches, Shopping and the missing hat!
It is also worth noting that most of the sidewalks were covered and the arches looked beautiful at night and kept us dry in the rain.    Will, Jack and I walked around a lot of Torino during the day! There were sales going on and I managed to buy a few items of clothing for the boys. We walked around one morning exploring the city and Will admired the diggers.

Also after awhile I noticed that Jack's hat was missing. I remember seeing him chewing on it and then looked down later (as Will was on my shoulders) and noticed it was gone. We retraced our steps twice and walked another 90 minutes looking for his hat.   I HATE loosing or misplacing things.  It is one of my major pet peeves.  I am realizing that it is more challenging with 2 boys now and I easily get frustrated when things go missing.  The sad part was I really liked this hat.  Of course, I let it get to me and was on a mission to find it.  As we walked Will wanted to be carried because his feet and legs were tired.   Jack was getting hungry so we had to call the search off and the hat is probably in some corner somewhere.  Poor Chad responds in the most ideal way, we'll just buy another one at least you didn't loose the boys.  :)  Of course I know he is right but it still took me a few days to get over it and stop feeling incompetent.  I am realizing that it is hard to control both of my little men so if the worst thing to happen on our vacation was loosing a hat, life is pretty darn good.

You can see the Arches at night.

FERRARIS and Mini Coopers
Will and Chad admired the many Ferraris we encountered in Italy.  When you ask Will what kind of car he wants, he now responds "a Ferrari!"  He also developed this skill for pointing out Mini Coopers. I would point them out to him and we'd talk about colors on our walks.  He then started pointing them out to us, "Mom a Mini Cooper!"  He could spot them down the street and even notices old models.  It is quite impressive and you'd have to see it to believe it really.  Now when you ask him,"What kind of car does mom want?"  He responds accordingly, "A Mini Cooper!"

Two kids in a candy shop! 

We enjoyed our time in Torino and the city center had some beautiful Piazzas! Next it was off for the weekend in the Italian Rivera.