4 days in Italy.

Warning: this is image heavy post :)

Day 1: The arrival.
We flew to Milan (it wasn't possible to get direct flights to Genoa for our dates). On our way back from the airport we stopped in Arona to see Lake Maggiore. The day was perfect, sunny and crispy and the views were breathtaking.

Day 2: The wedding.
The ceremony took place in beautiful Zoagli, a small town on Ligurian coast. While waiting for all guests to gather and for bride and groom to arrive, I managed to snap some photos of picturesque surroundings. The weather wasn't great but it didn't rain much which actually was great: the ceremony took place outside Torre Saracena, an old tower overlooking the sea and the hills (very romantic scenery to get married!). We all gathered under umbrellas to witness this special moment of M. and T. tying the knot.

View from Torre Saracena di levante:

The bride looked stunning.

After the ceremony we celebrated that beutiful day in a restaurant Chiavari. And guess who had a lot of fun... Little G. of course. She totally freed her spirit: I'd never seen my girl so happy and cheeky and cheerful and crazy and out of control at once. She is so funny! We are happy we could be there for such a special occasion.

Day 3: Visiting family.
On Sunday, after lunch with C.'s parents we all went to see some of the family in Vernazzola, one of the nicer parts of Genoa, very close to the sea. The weather was really ugly that day, terrible rain and strong wind and I didn't take many photos to share with you. I like this "shark" boat, it looks funny.

Day 4: The departure.
We had our flight back to London in the afternoon so before going to the airport we decided to have a short walk in Milan. There's something I really love about Milan. Although the city itself looks a bit too grey and dark, there's this special atmoshere in the air. People smile more, I think. I'd like to visit Milan for longer than a brief moment. We only spent there few hours or so as we did last year as well.

The last five photos were taken in famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

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Happy Weekend Everyone!

escaping from the city
up to Ligurian hills
hiking

breathing in fresh cool air
listening to cicadas
singing birds
and to our own thoughts

showing goats, donkeys and butterflies to our baby
taking photos
laughing

and talking about our future
(without coming up with the perfect solution)

Our little girl is six months old today. I can't believe how fast time flies... So far we've been celebrating with some artistic activities and banana puree for dessert. We're waiting for daddy to come back from work so we can have half-a-year anniversary supper together.

Happy Friday!

Look at this little guy- isn't he beautiful? We saw him few days ago on the wall in our little garden*. I'd never seen a gecko before. I grabbed my camera and took few photos of him- it was late in the evening so I had to use the flash. I thought that would scare him away but no. He didn't move, he remained still. In the morning he was gone.

(* that's what we like to call this little terrace ouside our flat; but it's a topic for another post.)

Ps. Thank you all for such nice comments you left on my corner view post. It is so much fun to visit all those beautiful places in the world.

It's been so hot recently. The sun blinds me and burns my skin but there is a nice cool breeze from the sea and that makes a big difference.

Looking for a shade, I find it under big chestnut trees on Corso Solferino. They create green tunnel where walking becomes more pleasureable.

* had a long, hot and foamy bath with mask on my face, glass of wine and book (so relaxing…)
* slept properly (with a few months old baby it doesn’t happen too often ;) )
* spent whole Saturday out with my little family
* have cut my hair (it feels so good now)
* bought new summer dress (can’t wait to wear it)
* found new shop with organic food (and left with heavy bags)
* baked some scones for Sunday breakfast and had them with apricot jam (my favourite)
* have made a plan to make my own apricot jam (strawberry or cherry or all of them)
* played Scrabble with C. (he won)
* had asparagus and egg for Sunday lunch (I love asparagus)
* baked spicy oat biscuits (so delicious!)
* kept filling up our flat with tasty smells (the smell of freshly made coffee while the cookies were still in the oven- even more delicious)
* did some knitting (the back of G’s new cardigan is finished )

Chiara+Alessandro

We went for our friends' wedding on Saturday. The ceremony took place in this small church in Chiavari, near Genoa. The weather was wonderful, the air was filled with laughter and happiness and the newlyweds looked beautiful.

Here are some photos of Chiara; I think she looked stunning.

What's one of the best things about Sundays? Lazy mornings and delicious breakfasts! I stayed in bed till 10 a.m and when I finally forced myself to get up- the breakfast was ready. C. prepared pancakes and we enjoyed them with plum, pear and fig jam. And we had a cup of cappuccino of course. I am a real cappucciono addict...
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Today was Bookcrossing Day in Genoa and we went to have a look. It was called "Ho lasciato Un Idiota e ho trovato Un Piccolo Principe" ("I left The Idiot and I found The Little Prince"). I think it's a very clever name for an event like this :)

It's been a long day and finally I got a chance to sit down and write. Today my thoughts go back to the day exactly one year ago- the day I found out Iwas pregnant. I will always remember that special day, that precious moment. I still keep this pregnancy test stick and whenever I see it- it brings back all the emotions I felt that day.

Now my three months old daughter is sleeping peacefully in her crib. Sometimes I still can't believe she's really here and she's my baby.
She has changed my life completely, she has given it a new sense. I don't really remember how I had lived before she was born.

Forget sunny Italia. It's been pouring down since early morning so I'm grounded at home. It's really ugly today, all the hills have disappeared in the mist and this heavy rain has destroyed my little flowers in the garden. My baby girl is not happy either, she has been grumpy for most of the day. I dream of warm blanket, good book, cup of tea and silence but instead I'm trying to catch up with the ironing. Honestly, I haven't seen the bottom of the laundry basket for a good month now...

Hope you're having better and sunnier day :)