<strong>of</strong> Florentine hills, olive groves, grape vines, and cypress trees….“Yesterday we hiked the entire nine miles <strong>of</strong> the Cinque Terre(five towns dangerously hugging the coast along the Italian Riviera),a grueling, hair-raising hike along treacherous trails overlooking rockyseas below. A dream come true, although my exhausted children maydiffer with that opinion. Really, this hike is for Olympic training. Afterwards,we could barely walk to the train station. We didn’t get homeagain until midnight.”My fears that the kids would mutiny or erupt into civil warafter so much time together were unfounded. They got along great,much better than at home. All they had were books, some cards,and each other. No computers, TVs, sports, clubs, distractions. Wewere all Ipsans all the time and it was sweet. Visits from Americanfriends at different stops were added treats for all <strong>of</strong> us.We were getting pretty good at hand washing clothes. Sometimeswe were blessed to find a washer in our pension, but never adryer. Never. Planning is imperative to traveling with dry clothes.One trip with a backpack full <strong>of</strong> wet clothes can be very inspiring.Clothes had to be filthy and stinking before they became candidatesfor washing. Wearing socks several times became normal. I did,however, insist on clean underwear.Now we have a reference point when I explain that throwingbarely worn clothes in the hamper is wasteful.We used our accommodations as central places for touring.From the Alps, we visited the lake region in all its beauty and thespectacular Swiss seaside city <strong>of</strong> Locarno. From Florence, we visitedPisa, Cinque Terre, and Fiesole. We hiked a lot.September 27, 2005“Our adventure continues non-stop. We went to Pisa in the a.m.on Thursday. It was much bigger and more beautiful than I expected.The kids went up the leaning tower while I shopped. We got back toFlorence in time to go up to Fiesole in the afternoon to see the ruins.“Friday a.m., 15-year-old Mikey and I caught an early bus intoFlorence to see Michelangelo’s David with our friend Dick Sewall. Itwas awesome, worth the long wait in line.“Left for Rome. Went straight to our pension, which was actuallyan apartment with one tiny kitchen and three bedrooms rentedout to tourists. Kinda weird. The place wasn’t altogether spotless, andmy own standards aren’t high in that area. Well, we settled in andthen caught a bus to the Coliseum, the Forum, the Pantheon.... Nextday, St. Peter’s Basilica...nowhere is there a place more spectacular andawe-inspiring. While there we ducked into a medico <strong>of</strong>fice and showed12-year-old Catherine’s infected eyelid to the doctor. He wrote a prescription.Then we left but not before getting a mass blessing from thePope. He was addressing the crowd that day in St. Peter’s Square. Didyou know when he’s waving out the window, it’s to a group <strong>of</strong> about100 in a small enclosed courtyard? The masses in the Square are allcheering and waving at the Pope’s image on a screen.“Monday morning we stood in line for two hours to see the SistineChapel. WOW! It was worth it. I loved Rome. I could spend two weeksthere. I love the winding cobblestone streets, the incomparable sights andarchitecture, the streets teeming with people. But although my familyenjoyed the inspiring sights, they did not care for the long lines, orthe crowded buses, or the less-than-adequate accommodations…so, weditched Rome a day early and came to Priano on the Amalfi Coast.“The long winding curving Amalfi drive in the dark just abouthad 11-year-old Meredith sick in the bus. But we made it. And inthe morning... Nirvana. A lovely hotel. Our room has a balcony overlookingthe sea with a pool. There is also an awesome chef. Today wesunbathed on a pebbly beach and took a paddleboat around the coastto some grottoes.“I’m sick <strong>of</strong> public transportation. A car rental is in our nearfuture. But we are doing great. As William said, ‘Every day is betterthan the last.’ I can’t believe that today we are halfway through ouradventure.”“A hotel?” you ask. Well, the Internet pictures <strong>of</strong> this place wereso wonderful, I pleaded with the owner to have economic mercy on thislarge family. Being a mother herself and being a citizen <strong>of</strong> the greatItalia where madre and bambini are cherished, she gave us a break.In fact, many Italians were very kind to our big, American family.In a country where the average family size is 2.6 people, wewere an anomaly that generated lots <strong>of</strong> warm smiles. Even the hostelowner in Rome liked us. He let us out <strong>of</strong> our rental agreement so wecould leave Rome early. This allowed us an extra day in breathtakingPriano, from where we took the bus to Pompeii. What a fascinatinghands-on history lesson! We took another bus up to Vesuvius, wherewe hiked to the top to get a look in the infamous volcano. A gentleold man was at the base lending hiking sticks he had made. We paidhim a few euros so we could keep ours, and then dragged six walkingsticks around the rest <strong>of</strong> our tour <strong>of</strong> Italy and back home.Fitting In School WorkTrains became our schoolroom. Whenever we were on one, Ihad the children do a page or two <strong>of</strong> math or English. The pay-<strong>of</strong>ffor this small effort came as the school year wrapped up and wedidn’t have to do school through the summer. I was diligent aboutmaking sure they wrote in their journals—and what a precious treasurethose journals are to us now.On one train I met a like-minded mother. She and her husbandwere traveling around the world in a year with their nine- and 11-year-old children. They had lived with this goal in mind since theyfirst married. They bought a less-expensive house; they drove usedcars; they saved and saved. When they were ready, the father quithis technical job knowing he could get another, sold the car, andrented out the house. They were camping around the world so theyhad more gear on their backs than we did, but managed it well. Prearrangedsupply boxes full <strong>of</strong> new books, math pages, and favoritefoods were waiting for them at post <strong>of</strong>fices around the globe. Wewished each other well and parted ways at the next station. So weweren’t the only American family doing school on the road.After three days in splendid Priano, we expertly hopped a trainfor the eight-hour trip to the heel <strong>of</strong> the boot and remote Alberobello.In a c<strong>of</strong>fee-table book <strong>of</strong> Italy, I had seen a picture <strong>of</strong> thismedieval city and had become enamored.18 l The <strong>Virginia</strong> <strong>Home</strong> Educator
The Roman Forum.October 7, 2005“Alberobello is famous for the Trulli there. They are small coneshapedhuts, 400-600 years old, rich in history and lore. The old townlooks like a fairytale. We stayed in a trullo and felt like we were in theShire. It rained and that stunk, but we rode bumper cars that wouldbe illegal in the States, they were so fast.“Three days and we split for Sicily and the beautiful coastal town<strong>of</strong> Cefalù. The view from our house is astounding, <strong>of</strong> the sea, historiccity, etc. We dined on the stone veranda overlooking the ancient citybelow, really lovely.”“We also finally RENTED A CAR!!!!! Drove to Palermo to seeanother duomo (my kids are ready to kill me) and a Sicilian PuppetMuseum. Most unforgettable were the famous Catacombs <strong>of</strong> Capuccini,where something in the air preserves bodies for an unnaturallylong time. Hundreds <strong>of</strong> centuries-old bodies were laid out or hangingfrom the wall looking nowhere near 300 years old. It was bizarre, andlong after we’ve forgotten everything else, we’ll remember that place.“We drove to the homes <strong>of</strong> my grandparents, Le Carre Fridde, alovely, small, typical island city, and Prizzi, which was like Shangri Laon a hilltop. Had the driving experience <strong>of</strong> my life tooling in a Matchboxcar down those hallways they call streets.“Off to southern Agrigento to see the incomparable 3,000-year-oldGreek ruins there, and then home by midnight. Another day was spent hikingMount Etna, touring Taormina. Tonight we saw a marionette showfollowed by a stop for gelato. Pistachio is really my favorite. The puppet showsare very typical <strong>of</strong> Sicily and have a long history here. It was fun.“We have been hanging around the beaches and lying back alittle. Tomorrow night we leave for Chiusi outside Siena on a sleepertrain, which has the kids delirious with anticipation. I am havingentirely too much fun”My Italian-American mother and my aunt and uncle met us inCefalu. After a week in incomparable Sicily, we all went to Chiusiin southern Tuscany. We arrived on a Sunday, forgetting that Italyshuts down on the Lord’s Day. We were a 20-minute drive from ourpensione in Radic<strong>of</strong>ani, and there were no buses running there andno car-rental places open. Once again, the Italians came through.The owner <strong>of</strong> our pensione came with two cars to get us, and thendrove us back the next day to rent a car. Kind people, beautifulsights, great food. What’s not to like?October 13, 2005“We are in Tuscany now, a small medieval town called Radic<strong>of</strong>ani,30 miles south <strong>of</strong> Siena. We are staying in a renovated farmhouse.We swam in some local hot sulfur springs. Looking forward tosome good hikes over the next few days. The countryside here is incrediblybeautiful, and it’s understandable why so many movies are filmedhere and paintings painted here.”The groundskeeper in Radic<strong>of</strong>ani, Mauro, was soon our friend.He gave us directions to the best wineries; he got the storekeeper toopen his shop for us on that first Sunday so we could feed our hungrybellies; he showed us how he prepares honey, and makes olive oiland wine. Italians only drink three things: water, c<strong>of</strong>fee, and wine.Mauro was very interested in the concept <strong>of</strong> homeschooling,as were many people we met. It is almost unheard <strong>of</strong> in Italy, so Igot to explain in my broken Italian why we choose to homeschool.Everyone shook their heads knowingly as I shared how importantcharacter training is to us, the freedom homeschooling allows us asa family, and the difference we see in the heart <strong>of</strong> a Christian homeschooledchild. They were fascinated.After a week <strong>of</strong> castle-hopping, hiking country roads, and sippinglocal wines while watching purple sunsets, we took the trainto Venice.October 17, 2005“Just when I thought Italy could not hold any more surprises forus, we arrived last night in Venice at dusk under a full moon! Wewere awestruck. Certainly it is the most beautiful city in the world. St.Mark’s Square was fantastic under the moonlight and we enjoyed adrink while we listened to the orchestras play.“This morning we were in St. Mark’s Square to feed the pigeons.My children’s laughter was worth the early wake-up call. We went intothe Palace <strong>of</strong> the Doges and, <strong>of</strong> course, the creepy prisons with all theThe <strong>Virginia</strong> <strong>Home</strong> Educator l 19
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