Feste Feste Feste!

First of all, I would like to wish you a Happy New Year!  Buon Anno!

I hope your Christmas and New Years was enjoyed with all your family and friends, and you appreciated spending time with them.  I sure missed my family, but I also had an experience I will remember forever.

Since I have so many pictures, I will describe what I did over my pausa (break) through the pictures, by writing in the captions.

Matteo's school put on a Christmas play, and he played Giuseppe!

Sara!

Sara and Diletta (her cousin..I love that her name means "the one you love the most") with Lola, the puppy that pees everywhere and jumps on everyone.

I discovered that Daria does not like dogs.

 

The adults table. We spent Christmas Eve with Simone's side of the family.

The charming casa of Simone's sister, Serena.

Schiaccianoci. Nutcracker.

Gesù bambino arrived after dinner! Matteo and his cousin, Filippo, (who wants to be a pilot when he's older) got Legos!

Dolce tavola. Sweets table! Or should I say panettone table, because that is the only choice during the Christmas season.

Chin chin! Cheers!

Christmas morning! Look at those happy faces.

Thanks, Baby Jesus!

We spent Christmas Day with Daria's side of the family, at her parent's house. Her mother's specialty is ravioli in broda (ravioli and broth) which is so simple, but you can't hate until you try it!

The day after Christmas, we went to Sirmione (a peninsula in the middle of Lago di Garda, right in between Milano and Venice) for a reunion with Simone's extended family. This is the quattro stelle (four star) hotel where we spent the night.

The town reminded me of Certaldo, Tuscany!

Most of all the children at the reunion.

Oh, and did I mention we got to bathe in heated thermal spring waters? After all, our hotel was named "Terme di Sirmione" :)

Castello di Sirmione

I loved the antique feel to it! This somewhere that I would rather live, than the city.

Quasi tutta la famiglia. Almost the whole "family". I found out that Simone has a very international family with relatives in New Jersey, Switzerland, and England!

Olive trees..

..and groves everywhere! The weather in Sirmione stays mild all year round, being surrounded by Lake Garda.

Although these are not the Dolomite Montagne, they were just a little ways away.

Ave Maria

Car ride home.  This is the life of an aupair.  :)

 Then my host family took a vacation to ski in the mountains for the last week off.  I stayed behind, as it was too expensive, so I got to do some exploring and relaxation of my own.

Cimitero Monumentale, a HUGE cemetery famous for it's artistic tombs.

I loved looking at the old pictures.

This one was my favorite.

An exquisite panini shop with over 200 choices.

It is a rare occasion to see the sun set, in gloomy Milano. 

For New Years Eve I stayed with Daria's parents, who live in Bovisio Mosciago (20 minute drive), since everyone and their mother goes skiing this week.

Gian Antonio, Andrea, and Enrica. Andrea has been Enrica's best friend for 17 years. <3

They took me to an old villa and garden.

The little towns around Italy are how their  traditions and cultures carry on.

The Italian's next giorno festivo (public holiday) is this Lunedì (Monday).  It is Epifania (Epiphany)!  I wrote in my previous post about it but I will make sure to post about how my host family celebrates this big day, as I received a special request to do so, from my mommy.  :)