Vita in Vicenza: Susan and Steve visit in 2013!! Italy & France!

After Taylor came back from Afghanistan in March he had block leave in April. Taylor's parents, Steve and Susan, flew in to visit for a week and a half. We had a good ole time running around Italy and France.

Our town of Vicenza.

Venice

Our first stop was Venice.

Bridge of Sighs

Saint Mark's Basilica

Burano

We visited the island of Burano which is known for their lace and brightly colored buildings.

Gnocchi Festival

One afternoon we ventured to a nearby town for a Sagra del Gnocco, or gnocchi festival.

It starts back here…baskets of potatoes waiting to be boiled. A few trusty Italian men are watching over the boiling pots.

The potatoes are then pealed and mashed.

Flour, egg yolks, salt, and olive oil are added and then they roll it out into long rolls.

They cut it into big chunks and then throw them down the line.

Then they roll those pieces into long gnocchi logs like you used to do with playdough when you were a kid.

Then they cut them into little gnocchi pieces.

They toss them into boiling water and it only takes about 30 seconds for them to float to the top.

Bowls of fresh gnocchi. Yum!

Asiago

We spent the day in the mountains in the little town of Asiago.

Steven found his vin brule that he had when they were here 2 Christmases ago!

The cherry blossom trees were in full bloom while they were here so we stopped by to take some photos.

The French Riviera

Eze Village

After a few days in Italy, we headed to the French Riviera. Our first stop was a small town called Eze Village. It is a medieval village built up on a peak overlooking the Meditteranean Sea.

Typical...

We found some interesting post cards of the town with a cat in a hammock?? Not quite sure what this means??

Villefranche-sur-Mer

We spent our second day in what use to be on old fishing village, Villefranche-sur-Mer.

They had a fortress overlooking the town that had some interesting art exhibits.

This is how Taylor and I keep ourselves entertained at many art exhibits…act like children.

We even got Steve and Susan in on our shenanigans.

Mougins

We stayed in this little town called Mougins. It was the cutest little French village!!

A man bringing boxes of produce down the street.

Cap-Ferrat Peninsula

St. Jean-Cap-Ferrat Village

We went for a walk around the peninsula...

There were lots of mansions along the way.

Antibes

Oh look, Taylor found a giant green onion!! HA!

A few weeks before Taylor had come back from the grocery store so excited about how he made a great find in the produce section. I hated to break the news that what he had thought was a giant green onion...was really a leek.

A hike around Cap d'Antibes.

Dipping our feeties into the cold water.

Nice

Pondering art at the Marc Chagall Museum.

French markets

Oh look…a rug with Taylor's name on it!! :)

Monaco

Monaco is a principality governed by Prince Albert. It is bordered by France and the Mediterranean Sea. We made a short stop here on our way back to Italy.