Riccione, Italy

 On an overnight to the beaches of the Adriatic Sea, one of PapaJason's clients invited him to come see his beach town, Riccione.

 First off the twins loved it because the hotel had a pool.

 Second they were able to play and swim on the beach.

 The daddies loved it because they could relax and get some sun.

But again the biggest draw was the beach.

Salinas Overnight

 More Italy pictures to follow, but first...

The twins headed to Salinas to see Abue & Abuelito. They said hello and immediately went to the garden.  Lucky for them there was still some fall fruits to pick.

 They were both excited to play in the garden and climb of the fig tree.

 While in Italy the twin's missed out on their cousin's 2nd birthday.  Happy belated birthday BabyMark! The remnants of the party were all over the house and garden.

 This was the first time Ada traveled with out her babies, by choice.  But luckily there's a few that live at Abue's house.

DaddyQuique was shocked when Navi chose not to bring Mono on the overnight.  He did not miss him, but there were plenty of new toys that TioTony brought from Mexico for them.

Bassano Del Grappa: Rosa

 Our next stop was with Jason's cugina, Caterina and her family who live in Rosa. Their house was under construction, most of the work outside, but the inside was ready for hosting.

 Caterina sent out invitations to all the cousins in the area for a dinner that evening and many of them came along with their children.

 This was the reason the Lopezjones' went to Italy...

So Ada and Navi can get to know some of their Italian cousins and practice their Italian.

The party was held in their taverna, a room in the basement of their house. It was a fantastic evening with great food and family.  This was the home base for the next week.

Alano Di Piave

 Down from the mountains to the foothills was the next destination, Alano Di Piave.

This is the town where PapaJason's nonna was born.

 

 And here is the old farm house PapaJason used to play in when he visited Italy as a child. The Lopezones' spent the night in the very same house his nonna grew up in. Odone and his family graciously hosted us.

One day Ermano (Odone's son) and his girlfriend took us to Valdobbiadenem, prosecco region, for gelato and a spritz.  There was some time spent at a parco giochi (playground) before the spritz.

Back in Alano there were plenty of relatives to visit. First, the twins visited Althea where they received many biscottini (pastry cookies), caramelli (candy) and sanbitter with their acqua frizzante (fizzy water).

Then on the street they run into another relative, Betina, where we head to the local bar for coffee and juice for the twins and even more biscottini from the local baker.

Back at the house Lisa, Odone's sister, and her husband came over for lunch to say hello. She chatted Ada up, but alas she was just too shy to reply back.

Here's Ada standing in the Fiume Piave (river), where her middle name came from.

A Bunny Service

 Yesterday the twins headed to Corte Madera to lay Jackie in her resting spot next to Pete.

They were happy to go to Corte Madera and see Nonna and Grandpa.  They seem to be unaffected by Jackie's passing.

Afterwards, Nonna made a great dinner which was had al fresco. The twins showed Nonna and Grandpa pictures of their adventure in Italy.

More On San Vito

 While in the Dolomites we had fantastic weather, except for one night when it rained.

 The area had many curious and exciting things to see.

 But the high light of Navi's mountain time was when Graziela offered the kids a horse ride.  (Pictures avbove: Giovanni & Camilla)

 He loved it.

 She love it.

And so did he.

The twins had a great time.  Thank you to Francesco and his family for hosting the Lopezjones.'

Oh and of course one more thing - gelato!

I Dolimiti

 The first part of the twin's Italian adventures started in the Dolomites, the town of San Vito Di Cadore.

 It was a beautiful place high in the mountains.

 There was a great park in the town's center that the kids enjoyed playing in.

 And some spectacular hikes.

 Ave and Elio were there too.

PapaJason's cugino Francesco and his family live in this alpine town.  One day another cousin, Renata, drove up the to meet the Adrianis for a lunch.

R.I.P. Jackie

While in Italy Jackie passed away at home.  She will be missed. Hopefully the twins will get her name right when she's buried next to Pete on our return.

Siamo In Italia

We made it to Italy.

And it's beautiful. 

Arrivederci

The twins are off on their European adventure. The dads are hoping they will sleep through most of the overnight flight. 

Best of luck to the daddies!

Back To The Basics

 The past three weekends the Lopezjones' have spent them camping.  This weekend is was back to our past routines. The twins went cycling in Golden Gate Park...

Went out for lunch and then later that afternoon calcio (soccer) practice.  Getting back to a routine was nice especially to get them ready for a big trip coming up which Ada and Navi are super excited for!!

Riding The Bus

 Well into their third week of school, things are going pretty good for the twins.  They really like their school and they have gotten used to public transport now.

 Every morning as the bus approaches Navi says, "I hope it's not crowded." He's thinking like a true San Franciscan.

Wednesdays are now the twins' swim day.  So right after early dismissal Ada and Navi head over to Crissy Fields, sometimes there is a little extra time and they can enjoy it spending it on the beach.

Slowly but surely our new routines are falling in place.

Prima Settimana Completa

The twins are finishing up their first full week of school - they love it! But of course if you ask them what they did in class they don't remember anything about their day.  Both are happy to be with their friends, they like their teachers and now there is a whole new neighborhood to explore.  The Alamo Square playground will be a new hang out spot for them, it's a block away from their school. Afternoon snacks can be had with a view of the Painted Ladies.