More of life under the Tuscan moon

    Well I can't call this one life under the Tuscan sun because I believe that's been taken so let's call it life under the Tuscan moon. Camp girasole was truly one of my favorite spots and definitely so for the boys. We all made so many friends there. The camp itself is very lively and has so much to offer. The cooking class will remain one of my best memories.  By the time we left we all were a little sad to leave our friends. Of course there was man and Gerry who we hope will come see us in two years in California, then there were the wonderful Irish families camped next to us we talked extensively too. Also for the first time ever camping through Europe we met another American family. They were from Florida and really friendly. Carla and Jose was there names, he was very interesting to talk to because he raced horses for 32 years. I picked his brain on that one evening and found it enthralling. The kids had an army of pals by the time we left. They played football 24/7 for four days straight and had an international brood of kids to say their goodbyes too. In the evening we would all meet up in the camp bar area where all the chairs were lined up for watching the World Cup. Tristan  showed up with five or six young Irish kids following him around. It was adorable they were all so cute. At one point he told me one of the little boys about seven years old ran into his arms crying because the Italian boys called him fat. He apparently was a bit fat, but Tristan reassured him that they didn't speak English and didn't know what that word meant. So sweet. I'm so proud.

   Then there were the girls. We have nicknamed Tristan Casanova.  He is really not interested in them but this harem of girls from italy and Ireland stalked him and Brock. The kids were under strict instructions to stay together and under no circumstances go to anyone's camp sight whether it's a boy or girl . At one point when they bought their  pizza the aggressive little Italian girls snatched the box from their hands and said" come eat with us" they of said no .. Good boys... The girls said they had set a table for them... Haha I imagine it had candles and the works. They were very insistent , Brock said he said a prayer ,  so cute,  in the end of course they turned the girls down, and then there were the Irish girls who followed them around like stray puppies. When we left the next day, three girls were waiting at the exit. They knew it was our day to leave. When our car pulled up you would have thought we had justin Beber in the car,  they all practically jumped up and down. Tristan said goodbye with a sheepish embarrassed grin, Brock was so scared he hid in the car. Girls will be girls. Let's be glad the kids are more interested in football and video games. 

  On our way to our next sight we stopped at a hillside town called San gimagnano . It was a beautiful very old town but very touristy. Again this is one of those times, when you hear someone say, you have to go to this place so you set out to find it and in the end your like , ok it's another touristy town. Every shop was meant for tourism, and the trouble with these towns, as I see it , is you don't get the true flavor of italy. The people are never quite as friendly probably because they are so sick of people, and the place is touristy so  there's no need to be extra nice because more tourists are two steps behind you. This reminds me of our Italian buddies at the restaurant in Verona  who when we asked about belagio replied " diareah" ... That has become our joke. If were not to impressed with a place we say  diareah. Well nothing in lake como is quite diareah, but belagio definitely did not excite me.  We loved the smaller town varenna much better.  We stopped at a jewelry shop and were smitten by the old man there who apparently liked us to because he gave the kids a turtle made from volcanic rock from his store.  And actually I liked lake Garda every bit as much as como. My favorite places personally are the towns where people just live. They are old and charming and when you wind through there narrow streets the air is filled with the scent of fresh laundry swaying in the breeze above your head, and sometimes the door to someone's house is open and you spy and old woman watching t.v. Or maybe cooking or their dog wanders out to greet you, and the people smile at you curiously because they wonder why you are here? Why are you not in belagio? I love the cafés in these small towns when obviously everyone knows each other and you stand out like and elephant in a tea shop. I particularly like visiting the cemeteries. The gravestones always have a photo of the person and I stare at them and  think what a wonderful life they must have had living their  life here and growing old here and what a lovely place to be buried. 

     After San gimagnano we drove to a thermal river spot we were told about by a Dutch man who lives in italy. It's a river where a spring from the mountain poars out hot sulphury mineral water. This place has been in use for two thousand years. The water has created these little tubs in the rocks that are like being in a hot tub. It's believed that the water can cure all sorts of ailments. It helped cure my bad mood for sure. 

  Yes I was In a very bad mood. This trip is not 100% awesome every moment of every day. Sometimes I am so tired from the constant moving around and the biggest problem for me is the car rides. I hate car trips. Even though we havent had to drive more than six hours at a time it still is awful to me. There is still the same fight we had three years ago. Who gets the window seat? I believe my kids would fight to the death to insist on the window seat. At what point do they stop this? It's pure hell. As I've already confessed, all my reasoning falls on deaf ears. I end up holding my ears and cradling my knees in the front seat of the car and rocking back and forth like a crazed mental person. When they were young If I served cake or ice cream I told them whoever grabbed to get the first piece for himself would get the smallest serving. Instead of instilling in them generosity in them , they quickly turned it into ,... "You go first, no you go first" .... My plan backfired. As hard as I try to sort this  fight out I fail miserably every time. 

   So by the time we got to the river none of us were in a great mood. Of course it smells like rotten eggs. So the first thing the kids say is diareah.... Little turds..,.. It was lovely... You can cool yourself in the river, then go back into the hot pools and even get a free massage under the pipe of hot hot water poring into the pool. You can rub the rocks together and make a mask for your face. I did it after I saw a few people doing it. My skin was glowing after. An awesome experience.   I believe everyone there was Italian. I will also add it was completely free. 

   Apparently Tuscany is full of these spots so we plan on hitting another one. 

   I'm missing my family and friends, especially my mom and dad. Mom if your reading this, I think about you guys every day and we all keep you in our prayers. Hang in there, we'll be home soon .