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| Carol and Gillian head to the train to journey back to Rome. |
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| Grandpa helps the boys pick plums |
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| Nonna didn't put enough sugar in the jelly we made and we didn't have pectin so picking was more fun than making jelly. |
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| These little birds lived above the old door bell |
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| One of three house cats. |
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| The arrival of Kekko's sister Maria Elena and Massimo. |
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| Brother and sister. |
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| Special dinner tonight is all seafood. |
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| Getting late. Time to go home and we will be back in September |
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| A trip to Lucca. On learning the cashmere factory that has been a wonderful inside secret for years (I went in 2001) has closed and opened a retail shop in town that became a destination. While the fathers and children ate Julia and Diana made tracks to Zazzi. |
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| Diana shows off her treasures. |
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| Note Brad's expression. |
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| Last time I saw this was just before they straightened it a bit and I couldn't believe the difference. |
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| At the top are the bells, as it is a carillon. |
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| View from the top. |
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| Clara's was a our favorite seafood restaurant and it is across the street from the Esselunga (big supermarket). |
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| 5 minutes from the villa in the next town, Cosanico, was this very local place with a fair smattering of tourists who have heard about it. |
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| We couldn't afford not to eat here. |
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| Wine tasting in Pietrasanta. Next to this patio is a huge private playground with no one there just for the kids. It was a glorious night and the food was great. |
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| If this looks like raw bacon fat you are close. It is Lardo and this is the part of Italy where the best lardo is made. It is pig fat cured in marble tubs. On a hot crusty piece of foccacia it is beyond sublime. They slice it paper thin so the heat of the bread melts it just a little. I think we ate 5 platters. |
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| Cheers! |
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| The boys crown their moms queen and march in with all the jewels on pillows singing |
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| Carol's dearest friend, Gillian, arrives from London to spend a few days. |
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| The adults plus Guilio. |
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| A special dinner tonight in Gillian's honor. |
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| Down the hill in the olive grove they are roasting a suckling pig..we named him George. |
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| Crispy skin and juicy wonderful pork. There really wasn't enough. We were looking for his other half. |
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| Jon and Brad got the night off. |
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| The night ended with Jon and Brad in a hot pepper eating contest. They more than upheld America's honor. |
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| Make your own pizza night |
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| Chef prepares the toppings. Dough is rising in lovely small balls pre-made in the Esselunga. |
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| Boys line up to make their pizza. |
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| Just like they like it. |
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| Kekko said it is illegal to fly a foreign flag without an Italian flag along side so he borrowed one from our favorite restaurant. |
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| Finally it is Flavio's turn. |
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| Taking Dario's away. |
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| This was a hit with the kids. |
