34 weeks and sausage feet!

33 weeks, 5 days in Bellagio

This week is #34 for me and Bambino. In a month we could be meeting the little one! This past week has been fun, tiring, nerve wracking and exciting all at the same time. Between friends visiting, doctors appointments and dealing with my tired and swollen body, it's been a long but good week.

Dan and Stephna (our friends that live in Amsterdam) came down to Milan for the weekend and we got to spend some time with them and show them our favorite spots. They were only here for a couple of days, so their trip was short, but we were able to pack in some fun stuff. We showed them the bar at Rinascente that overlooks the Duomo, the Brera District, and brought them up to Lake Como. At Lake Como we toured around Bellagio and then went swimming near Villa del Balbianello. It was an awesome day! That night after returning to Milan we brought them to Pizzeria Spontini, and we found a new AMAZING gelato shop near Buzzi with the best pistachio flavor- Massimo del Gelato. It was really fun having them here in Milan and great to catch up with them! They are so much fun to hang out with :)



Dan's wallet- you think he wants to be George Costanza??

there were some strange art pieces in Bellagio
this time around

Remember how three weeks ago I had an ultrasound and they said that Bambino was TOO BIG? At that point he/she was about 5 lbs (way over the 3.5 lb average), so they wanted me to return this week to make sure that Bambino's growth evens out a bit and doesn't keep skyrocketing off the charts. On Tuesday morning I had another ultrasound and it turns out that the growth is starting to balance out. Instead of being over the 95th percentile in every category (most of them were way over at the last appointment), he/she is now closer to 90-95. Bambino is now about 5.9 lbs according to the measurements and everything is healthy. We just have one growing, healthy baby  that takes after dad :) If the growth continues at the same pace, he/she will be around 8-8.5 lbs at birth which is definitely OK with me!! But since Bambino is still bigger than they want him/her to be at this point, they want me to go in again for another ultrasound in three weeks to make sure everything is still ok. That's fine with me! I'll get to see that precious little face again :)



cooling off our feet on a hot day!

Since I've been super healthy throughout my pregnancy, and so has Bambino, they asked me to be a part of a fetal monitoring research study that is happening right now at Buzzi. Since I had time I volunteered. I sat for 40 minutes with a wireless monitor strapped onto my belly, and they just recorded the heart rate during that time. They are doing this to compare healthy women/fetuses to women that have had complications where the baby is not growing properly. It sounds like a really interesting study and I'm curious to see what the findings are.

How is my body holding up? Well... I now officially have "le piedi di salsicce" (sausage feet). The summer heat of over 90 every day is the main culprit in that. I rub them every night and try to put them up as much as possible, as well as exercising to keep up the blood flow, and it just doesn't work. They seriously look like sausages!! Even Josh couldn't believe how swollen they get. I've just come to the realization that they will be this way until Bambino arrives. My hands are starting to get that way too... Most days I can't wear my wedding ring anymore, so I've just put it on my necklace.

Oh the fun of pregnancy!! It's been a pretty amazing thing so far and since the worst thing I can complain about is having slight nausea in the beginning, and now swollen feet, I'm feeling pretty blessed!! I just hope the delivery will go as smoothly.

Family Time, More Family, and Preggo update

 Weeks 17 and 18 brought a lot of family time and some interesting new pregnancy experiences. It's interesting how each week things change during pregnancy. But first, the past two weeks have given Josh and I lots of time with our familes. The weekend after Easter we headed up to northern MN to spend time with Josh's family. His brother Casey married his high school sweetheart Leslie, and it was a great time to catch up with everyone and have some fun. In Milan before we flew to MN we found a chocolate egg for Easter with Pooh on it and we had to buy it for Josh's cousin Amy. She is in LOVE with Pooh. She was so excited because inside the egg was a coin purse with all of the characters pictured. These eggs are the typical candy given to kids in Italy on Easter.

Cousin Amy and her Pooh Bear coin purse

 After our trip to MN, we flew back to Milan just in time for the arrival of my Uncle Ted and his wife Alice. They have been on a two and a half month (or maybe longer?) road trip of Europe. They started in Paris, drove down to Spain, then across the coastline of the Mediterranean to Italy. We were able to spend some time with them for a few days in Milan and show them all of our favorite spots. Including the city center with the Duomo, Galleria, Castello Sforzesco, and Pizzeria Spontini. We were also able to get tickets to see DaVinci's "Last Supper" after many months of trying. We also brought them up to Lake Como to Bellagio and Villa Carlotta (more on that and "The Last Supper" later). Overall, we had a great time with them and it was great to see more family in Milan.

Bellagio, Lake Como

Outside Castello Sforzesco

In addition to the family fun, weeks 17 and 18 of pregnancy have been pretty good. The flight back to Milan was a little uncomfortable (mainly because my back was sore from the uncomfortable seat), and my feet seriously swelled!! After being in heels all day on Saturday for Casey and Leslie's wedding, then getting on a plane the next day, my ankles balooned. I had some serious kankles for a few days. But thankfully they have gone back to normal!! Now I understand when people say how good it feels to put their feet up! I could almost feel the swelling go down instantly!

This morning I had an ultrasound and it was so much fun!! Everything looks good and I was able to see little Bambino moving up a storm! I could see the heart beating, the stomach, and the legs and arms moving. I could also see the bones that have formed in the arms/legs. He/she was even nodding his head! It was pretty amazing. I'm not able to feel the movement yet, but hopefully soon!

Pizzeria Spontini with the Pizza Nazi, Alessandro

Cannoli for their anniversary

Right now, Josh has the camera (and our pictures from Como) in Belgium. Next weekend we'll be in Amsterdam for Laura Lew's birthday and Queens Day. I'm so excited!!! I'll post more updates with pictures after that. Ci vediamo! Ciao!

Hold on to your hats!!

a look at the first snow of the year! (peaking out from behind)

It’s now day four with Josh’s mom and Mike (Sunday), and we are on our way to Lake Como to show them the beautiful city of Bellagio. The mountains were SO clear that day, they were lucky to have such great views of the Alps on the drive there! We could see all the way to Torino! Well… it seemed like it anyway. The clear views were due to the strong winds blowing through. It was a windy day!! I have only seen the mountains like that a few times since we’ve been in Milan. Usually it’s really hazy due to the humidity and smog.

Bellagio is about an hour and fifteen minutes from our house, so we were there in time for lunch. The first order of business was to grab some food (the hunger monster was starting to come out). We enjoyed being inside away from the wind and the cold. This little wine bar that we went to has been a favorite spot of ours. They have great food, great wine, and a cellar/cave like atmosphere. Before we ordered Mike ran out to buy some smokes, so we had to wait until he returned to order our food. We planned on ordering for him, but the waiter would not look at us or come over to our table since Mike wasn’t there.  

NOTE: when dining in Italy, the servers will wait until everyone is at the table to take orders.  We took our time and left the restaurant mid-afternoon, just in time to walk around and enjoy the afternoon sun. We did some shopping and exploring (Bellagio is known for it's silk products- scarves, ties, etc). I'm sure by the end we were all wind burned, but it was really fun :) One thing that suprises me when going to Bellagio is how many American tourists there are. Of course, there are other nationalities represented as well... but around every corner you would hear someone speaking American English. The word is out on Bellagio!

Our lunch spot- its a little wine bar/restaurant

Enjoying some warmth and good food!!

a much needed shot of caffeine

white caps on the waves- this is VERY unusual for Lake Como

the ferry unloading people and cars

Mother and Son- they even dressed alike for the day :)
Pink top, gray shorts!

Apparently Belaggio is just too much for some people...
He was drooling... She looked bored!

After walking around for a couple of hours we drove back to Milan. We originally planned to take the ferry to the other side of the lake to see Villa Balbianello, but by the time we were ready to hop on the ferry the villa was closed for the night. So we just headed home. We had a very special date with the Pizza Nazi that night that we didn't want to miss!! Of course, we joke when we call him that. He's a very nice guy that enjoys giving people a hard time at the restaurant. He gives the place an atmosphere of feeling busy and exciting and ushers customers out of the restaurant when they are finished. He does this all with a smile on his face and has a good rapport with the customers. He definitely knows us by now and realized we were with parents, so he was on his best behavior. The Pizza Nazi didn't usher us out- he just pinched my cheek and gave us a smile. Of course, the pizza was a hit with Laura and Mike!! They said it was the best pizza they have ever had!! I'm thinking that everyone that comes to Milan will have to try it to see if that is true... But it certainly has been the case with Josh and I, as well as his mom and Mike!

Next Stop: Florence!!! (although Laura and Mike went to Rome for a couple of days before meeting us in Florence on Wednesday. I'll see if I can get some pictures to post)

*some of the pictures posted are from Mike and Laura's camera

Gotz comes to Italy #4: Lago di Como and... Hollywood!

Varenna

On Wednesday, the day before heading to the Domolmiti, Gotz and I got up early (well early for me!) to catch the 8:30AM train to Varenna on Lago di Como. With our muffins that we purchased yesterday in hand, we walked briskly to the train station (it's really close to our house) and purchased our tickets. After looking at the tickets, it showed the destination as Varenna, so that’s what we were looking for on the big boards with the platforms listed. Of course, this was not the final destination of the train itself, so that city was not on the board. This confused me and Gotz!! We were running out of time, and at this point the train was leaving in less than five minutes. I found a guy that told us which platform, and we literally ran to the train. We boarded and sat down, then the train was leaving. That was a close one!!

  

Looking towards Menaggio from Varenna

Varenna from the ferry

The trip is typically one hour, but our train was delayed for some reason, so it took an hour and a half to get to Varenna. But when we finally arrived, it was a beautiful sunny morning, with a few clouds. We grabbed a coffee, and then we were on our way! That day we spent time in Varenna, Bellagio and Menaggio. We started by walking around Varenna and it was a cute small town with a really old church! It dated back to the 1100's, but there was a church on the property before that. Apparently it was the first church in the Lake Como area. Gotz got a great shot of the medieval door, but for some reason we didn't take pictures inside.

Welcome to Bellagio!

Some fall colors starting to show

The perfect wine pour for tasting!

We took the ferry from Varenna to Bellagio (about 15 minutes), and arrived to see that all of the tour buses for the day were just dropping off people. We were in a tourist haven!! But, we still enjoyed it. Navigating through all of the people, we walked up the hill and window shopped. I also showed Gotz where we had a wine tasting with Jamie when she visited this spring. That shop is so much fun with its automatic pours of wine! We walked all the way up the hill and out of town a bit to see the other side of Bellagio. If you've ever seen the map, Bellagio is out on a peninsula on Lago di Como. The city is on one side of the peninsula, but you can walk up the hill to look out on the other side of the lake. Which is exactly what we did. It was nice! There weren't many people, mainly locals, and the view was nice.

a fun archway in Belaggio

After enjoying a few hours of walking around Bellagio and admiring all of the silk scarves (this is one of my weaknesses!!), we decided to make a quick trip to Menaggio. The ferry was about 30 minutes because it stopped at Varenna on the way to Menaggio. By the point we arrived, we were getting a little tired and needed refreshment. So, gelato and coffee were in order! We walked around a little bit, but weren't impressed with the town. Apparently we didn't go far enough because Josh said there is a cool city center on a hill (we missed that). We decided to cut it short to get back for the midafternoon train back to Milan. We had plans to hit the clubs that night, so we wanted some time to nap before going out. Our ferry back to Varenna was about five minutes late which didn't give us much time to get up the hill to train station. When we arrived at the platform, we realized that we missed the ticket office (about halfway down the hill into town)... So bless Gotz, he ran down to get tickets. Although... he wasn't sure where the office is, so he ran all the way back to the pier where the ferries dock. After running around town for a few, he arrived in time to see the train arriving. We quickly stamped our tickets and we were off! Phew!

I napped on the train back into Milan and Gotz was following the route on his iPhone. We got home and relaxed for a bit, made dinner and when Josh got home from work we all ate dinner together. It was like our own little family dinner :) We had a cocktail, got ready, and then went to Corso Como. This area is known for its clubs and nightlife. We arrived around 11:30PM, so we had a drink and waited until about 1AM to go to the club. We decided on Hollywood- this place is famous here. The club really doesn't get going until between 1-2AM, and stays open until 6AM. We stayed for a while, and I danced liked I've never danced before! It's been a while since we've gone dancing, and I was pretty excited about that!! As we were dancing, the place started to fill up, and a group of about 10 models walked in to take their reserved seats near the dance floor. Of course... all the guys in the place started flocking and dancing near them. It was pretty funny!! The guys in Italy are really aggressive- so if you're a single guy looking to meet someone, you better be on your game! If you are a single girl... be on your guard! It was a fun night out, but we had to leave just as the club was heating up. We left about 2:30AM, grabbed a cab back to our neighborhood, bought donor kebaps at about 3AM (omg!! sooo good!) and went to bed. As much as we wanted to stay out, we knew that we had to get on the road early the next day to get to the Dolomiti. We were all too excited about that to stay out all night. Hollywood was fun and I am definitely going back there!! Maybe when Lew visits in November :)

Hollywood! (you can see the men swarming in the background,
trying to get the attention of the models by the wall)

Coming up... the Dolomiti!!

Lago di Como, Where's George?

We have visited Lake Como a few times since I moved to Milan in February and it just gets better each time. Maybe that has something to do with leaves on the trees and flowers now that it is summer…? On the day I flew in, we drove up to Como and spent some time in the city, but the weather was too dreary to really enjoy it. We had some coffee and sat inside most of the time. The second time, we drove up to Cernobbio and Mennaggio, two beautiful cities! A couple of weeks ago, we also visited Lake Como with Josh’s co-worker Jamie and saw Bellaggio. Cernobbio is supposed to be home to George Clooney, so we called to see if he wanted to join us on our tour of Lake Como.


Me and Josh at the villa

Some interesting information about Lake Como (Lago di Como):

·         it is the third largest lake in Italy (next to Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore)

·         It is one of the deepest lakes in Europe- 1320 ft deep (400 meters)

·         Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace and Sylvester Stallone have (or had) homes on Lake Como

·         Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the clones, Ocean’s Twelve, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace have scenes filmed at Lake Como (and we visited a few of those locations!)



Me and Jamie in Bellaggio

Bellaggio- this was not Josh’s first time to Bellaggio, but it was for me and Jamie. The city is very picturesque, but there were a TON of American tourists there. It was weird to be around a bunch of Americans in Italy, I’m not used to that! There aren’t many Americans in Milan (at least not that I have met). When we arrived, we drove around for about 45 minutes before finding parking. It is best to arrive early in the morning for that reason (we arrived around mid-day). We walked around this quaint little town, looking at the seriously expensive cars, the expensive shops with silk (Bellaggio is known for its silk) and other fun things, and enjoyed the amazing view of the Alps. The weather was great, but a storm was rolling in from the Alps, so we took shelter in a wine shop while the storm blew through.  The wine tasting was great (as always!), and they had a machine that automatically poured a perfect sample for us. This machine also put the charge on a card the shop keeper gave us. We could sample as many as we wanted and the card kept a tab for us. Very nice! We hadn't heard back from George at this point... we were a little disappointed but the day was still young.


storm rolling into Bellaggio with the Alps
in the background



Bellaggio from the ferry

  
After our stroll through Bellaggio and our wine tasting we were pretty relaxed and feeling good. We decided to take the water ferry (car and all!) across the lake so we could visit one of the famous villas used in Star Wars and Casino Royale.





Some amazing flowers at the villa



Villa del Balbianello- this was the hospital that James Bond went to in Casino Royale, and was also the lake country home used in Star Wars that Padma and Anakin were married at. This Villa has an amazing location on a peninsula with views of Lake Como on all sides. The villa was built is 1787 for the Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini, and after several owners it was purchased in 1974 by Guido Monzino (the leader of the first Italian expedition to climb Mount Everest). When Guido died, it was left to the National Trust of Italy. After some time relaxing in the gardens at the villa, still no George... Oh well. We must keep going!

Jamie relaxing and enjoying the view



The house where Anakin and Padma stayed




The green where James Bond is sitting when
Mr Basil visits him to settle the money tranfer





Mr. White's house



On one of our previous trips to Lake Como, Josh and I also visited “Mr. White’s House” from Casino Royale. This house is currently a private residence, so we were only able to see it from the road. We felt a little like the paparazzi taking pictures at the road gate… but it was too amazing not to!



Cernobbio- the supposed home of George Clooney. We still had not heard from George, so we tried to text George again.... The Jolie-Pitts must have been in town visiting; otherwise I know he wouldn’t have missed a visit from the Thielens!! ;) On our way home from Villa del Balbianello, the traffic was completely stopped on the road to Milan. Cernobbio provided a nice reprieve from the parking lot we were sitting in on the highway, so we stopped and had dinner before heading back to Milan.

This was a lot of fun going to Lake Como, although it seems to be a very “American” tourist destination. I’m looking forward to exploring Lake Garda more (we stopped there on the way back from Munich and it was AMAZING).

My favorite part of Lake Como: Villa del Balbianello! The gardens and views are too great to pass up!