Tag: summer

Italian Labour Day Weekend in Sperlonga

Even though we had almost laughably bad luck after buying a car in Italy and then having it die 10 days later on our first weekend drive out of town, we’ve made the most of Italy’s underrated train system and visited pretty much everything within an hour or so of Rome, over the last two years.

With our final Italian beach season approaching, we set our sights on nearby Sperlonga, one of the few major beach towns that we hadn’t yet visited. Sperlonga features on many lists of Italy’s best summer destinations and as the May Day holiday created a three day weekend, we ventured off for a two night visit with a work pal, his wife and their daughter, almost exactly Aleksander’s age.

The train to Sperlonga is an easy hour away from Rome and we hopped into a taxi from the train station to get to our early season hotel.

The hotel was clean, comfortable, had seaside views and a swimming pool, mostly reserved for foreigners (including Canadians) at this pre-summer heatwave juncture. We enjoyed a seafood lunch at the hotel restaurant before taking the 40 minute or so walk up to the scenic Sperlonga town itself.

The views were typically fabulous, if overcast. The town’s piazzas, patios and alleyways were buzzing with European tourists and lounging locals alike. Aleksander, of course, was entranced with some kids kicking a soccer ball against the wall as we watched for the better part of half an hour. Eventually, Tom and family joined us for an apertivo as the kids chased bubbles spiritedly.

We scored some pizza al taglio as the evening closed in and were glad to share the experience with some adult and toddler friends, our first joint family weekend since arriving in Italy.

The next day, we hoped for a few hours of clear skies in order to enjoy some of Sperlonga’s famous sandy beaches. The stabilimemti were all within an easy ten minute walk and Aleksander frolicked in the sand for a good few hours. The sun peered out from behind the clouds and it looked like the gloomy weather forecast might be proven wrong altogether. Alas, after sitting down for lunch, the clouds and winds darkened and picked up and we had to call it a day on our first beach attempt of the year.

We returned to the hotel, the kids watched some tv as the adults indulged in some vino and convo. We discussed the amazingness of Italy, how every little town seemed worth a visit and how lucky our kids were to get such memorable experiences on the regular.

The next day was even rainier than the others and it felt fully acceptable to return to the beauty of Rome after the long weekend escape.

Again, the Springtime weather is proving to be a bit more unstable than in our previous years but we’re not letting that slow down our exploration. Next stop, our final weeklong Italian trip, to the southern heel of the boot, in Puglia and Salento.

Thank you Sperlonga for a great soft launch of our final Italian beach season!

Easter Weekend in the Amalfi

As we start to approach the twilight of our Italian days, we’ve become more active in getting some bucket list activities done. Even though we visited Ischia last Spring and the Amalfi on our honeymoon in 2017, it just didn’t feel right to leave Italy without having spent a few days on the fabled Amalfi coast this time around. So with Dalia’s sister arriving from Canada via Spain, we zipped down the coast from Rome for Easter weekend.

Although we honeymooned in Sorrento, our two night hotel stay was actually in the cliff-top outskirts of the city and we never managed to visit the town itself. This time we booked ourselves three nights in a comfortable loft apartment in adjacent Sant’Agnello – close enough for scenic walks but far enough to get a taste of the local area.

The Easter Weekend brought lots of crowds to Sorrento but also offered an insight into the deep persistence of religious life in Italy. The contrast of sunny coastline, full buzzing patios and the sombre Holy Friday procession was a sight to behold and we felt very lucky to experience both aspects.

Our Saturday plan to visit Capri was unfortunately rained out and replaced with a rather home-bound afternoon, full of good food, naps and time to reflect. We bought some lamb from the local butcher, stocked up at the village market and enjoyed our indoor day.

Thankfully the clouds cleared up on Easter Sunday and we got on a packed bus to Positano. I’ve always been a fan of off-season travel and Positano is a perfect place to visit before the summer crowds truly start to roar. The town was still busy for a gloomy April day but we made the most of our long walk down from the bus stop to the beach.

Positano is such a distilled jewel of the best of Italy. Amazing views, architecture, food and charm. Aleksander watched boys play soccer on the beach, climbed in and out of dormant fishing boats and even found a slide to frolic on for a while. The sun came out for an absolutely idyllic hour or so and we got to take some pregnancy shots featuring a massive Amalfi lemon.

We caught a ferry back to Sorrento after enjoying a fabulous beachside lunch in Positano and meandered around the rather bumping downtown alleyways of Sorrento before heading home. Although the weather didn’t quite cooperate as much as we had hoped, the long weekend was relaxing, inspiring and enjoyable nonetheless.

We left for Rome the next morning grateful, rejuvenated and with full hearts.

Summer’s Last Gasps in Gaeta

As the summer approached its end, we hosted Dalia’s brother back for another visit to Rome. We’re lucky enough to be at the point of having a few return visitors, which hopefully means both Rome and us are providing inviting travel experiences.

This time Robert returned with his wife and young son, just about one year younger than Aleksander. This was the first chance for the cousins to meet in person and Aleksander’s first opportunity to hang out with another baby outside of his pals at daycare.

As it was Robert’s birthday weekend, the timing seemed perfect for an out of town escape to help close the summer season and spend some extended family time together. We set our sights on Gaeta, a little bit further down the coast than we’d been before and still within easy striking distance from Rome.

The weather was not exactly on our side as heavy clouds jostled over windy seas to put a bit of a damper on our well intentioned beach plans. Nonetheless, we did our best to enjoy the almost entirely abandoned beach front as Aleksander frolicked and kicked anything in sight and we searched for any last slivers of September sun.

As the beachfront didn’t end up as the weekend destination we had hoped for, we spent more time exploring the narrow streets and squares of Gaeta itself – and, as always, were not disappointed.

We ate as much of Gaeta’s amazing seafood as we could and paired it with as many lovely white wines as we could find. We made the most of this September long weekend, discovered another gem of a locale in Italy and enjoyed some much needed fam R&R.

Our Second Roman Beach Season

Hopes were high for our second summer beach season in Rome. Last year we were able to visit about half a dozen popular spots near to Rome and this year hoped to fill in some of the gaps. In fact, we made our first ‘beach’ trip long before the season opened with a visit to Fregene in April, just to start getting the engines revved.

From there, we enjoyed a lovely long weekend on Ischia at the end of May to start the summer proper. Although we spent more time by the pool and walking and exploring the town than by the sand and sea, the hardcore beach set were already out in the small stabilimenti near our hotel.

Since we didn’t quite beach enough in Ischia, I insisted we go to Ostia the following weekend. We were hoping to find our new favourite beach club after surveying a few last year and ended up at a place called Venezia. Unfortunately, the pool wasn’t open until July and the sea quite choppy (typical Ostia probs). We still had a nice breezy bright day and got to dip our toes.

In June, we were caught up in out-of-Italy travel in Poland and France and likely missed the best sunning weather of the season in Rome. Very few complaints were made as we visited old and new favourites in both countries, including some beauties in the South of France.

We returned to Rome and faced an absolute wall of heat for the heart of the summer. It was noticeably hotter than last year and made all outdoor excursions almost unbearable during the day. Temperatures were the in the 37-38 range for the better part of six weeks and made the sand feel like lava. Although Aleksander had grown out of his habit of last year of eating sand, this year it was impossible to explain to him that he needs to stay off of it for the sake of his feet. All that to say that we mostly stayed indoors until Dalia’s mom arrived in August and we braved the heat for two beach days: one new in Anzio and another old favourite at Santa Marinella.

As the intense summer heat finally started to wane ever so slightly, we hosted Dalia’s brother and family and spent a few nights in the absolutely lovely city of Gaeta. We were debating between Gaeta and Sperlonga for a little bit but the prices were much more reasonable in Gaeta and we were not disappointed. Except, that as quickly as the heat had dissipated, the winds had picked up and seemed to signal the end of the this year’s beach season. In fact, we walked into the empty beach club and they let us stay if we ordered a drink, rather than the standard 40€ day fee. All good things come to an end and so did our enjoyable but a bit scattered and sweltering summer season of 2022.

As with all things travel related in Italy, you will actually never see everything and will always discover more to experience. Next year, we hope to get to Sperlonga, maybe the Amalfi, perhaps the coast near Tuscany and to finally make our already twice postponed trip to Puglia in the South-East of the country. We’re not exactly running out of time here but we may be running out of summers in Italy. We’ll really have to focus next year to get it all done!

One Month Ferragosto with Babula

It seems that we’re always a bit late in learning what’s actually happening in the Italian life right around us. Case in point, in late June we started to wonder about daycare in August as it didn’t seem they accepted our payment. Maybe we already paid and forgot?! Maybe it’s a shortened schedule. Or maybe, daycare, like the rest of Italy, is absolutely closed for the entire month!

Thankfully, Dalia has a good amount of flexibility at work and was able to secure the month off but four full weeks with our dynamic toddler is asking a lot of any individual. So we thought it’s the best possible time to invite and have Dalia’s mom stay with us for a few weeks. She also had some time available away from work and it seemed like a scheduling match made in heaven.

As my mom had come to visit us last Christmas, she had spent some time with us in Rome and with Aleksander after our departure from Canada. On the other hand, Dalia’s mom, babulya Lilia hadn’t seen our little guy in almost a year and a half. Even though we both try to keep our families’ informed of Aleksander’s development in photos, videos and calls, there’s just no replacing the real thing.

So as I mostly spent the sweltering days of August in the office, mom, daughter and grandson explored Rome, made crafts, put together puzzles sang at the piano, baked and had a fun time. Aleksander mastered Do Re Mi Fa So La Si Do at 21 months. It was great to see the growing bond between grandma and Aleksander. Dalia was also going through a significant transition in her weaning journey and having her mom nearby was exactly what the doctor ordered!

This visit, being Lilia’s first time in Europe, gave her plenty of things to google and learn about. One of our weak spots is leaning into the history of Rome and Dalia’s mom could always be counted on to share knowledge and facts about where we’ve been living for almost two years now. Her zeal for history and learning was eternally refreshing and inspiring. Dalia keeps many of these tidbits in her back pocket and shares them with our other guests.

Dalia’s mom left at the end of August with an Italian tan and many memories that we will all cherish. We look forward to creating more memories with babulya, whether it’s again in Rome or somewhere. Alla prossima, Nonna babulya Lilia!