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Comic Con was happening just as we got back from our trip: great timing! Obviously I got the ticket a very long time ago. As you may know, getting tickets is VERY DIFFICULT, and you often have to do several online attempts. I lucked out this year, so I would not have missed it.

In case you don’t know, Comic Con is the biggest event of its kind. It started out as a small gathering of comic books artists and fans, but has morphed over the years as the premier venue to display anything related to, of course, the comics world, but also pop culture in general. In fact in the past few years, movies and TV shows have premiered and have been presented here, which means that the small gathering became a monster convention, that regularly sells out in less than 1 hour. Lines to listen to talks are insane, as thousands of fans are trying to catch a glimpse of the hottest stars. I still remember going in the 90s’ and buying tickets the day of the show. Ah, the good old days. This is how Comic Cons looks like now.

I love going because I enjoy watching the art and books, but of course watching the super elaborate costumes that fans wear is another huge draw. Some of these costumes are quite elaborates, and often hand-made.

Hollywood and large TV studios have plenty of money for creating elaborate displays, like this one for Black Sails, a new TV show

I usually visit the Emotes table too, to get some character or book for Keegan. He loves them, and we get the chance to discuss feeling and behaviors.

This year’s timing was perfect: I was still on vacation, and Matt was still somewhat on vacation as well, so she could watch Keegan, who was not starting school till the following week. So, for the first time I did not have to worry about parking, as they chauffeured me around. Also, I have found out that children under 12 are free, so I called the boys to see if Keegan was interested on checking it out.

He was so excited! He has been asking for a while to go. He did great with the crowd, and even got a small prize at one of our exhibits. First stop was of course the Lego Booth.

We wandered around for more than an hour, and then we had to leave, since it was getting really late. It was a fun and exciting morning for both of us.

 

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Our trip in general was great, but maybe the highlight was the week we spent in Sestri Levante, in Liguria (Italian Riviera). This is the place where I spent most of my summers growing up, so it still has a very special place in my heart. What made the trip even more special was that we got to spend lots of time as a family: nonni, Keegan, the cousins, Matt and I and on the weekends my sister and Sandro. To sat this was a rare event is the understatement of the century. (-:

We also got to stay at a beautiful hotel, Vis A Vis, perched on top of Sestri’s main promontory, giving us incredible views of both coves, Baia Del Silenzio and Baia Delle Favole. My parents are returning customers, as they spent many summers with my sister’s kids there.

this was the actual view from our room

We drove in nonno’s car, and made it in a couple of hours. The cousins arrived a little later: what a great surprise for Keegan, when he got up from his nap. Of course the first thing they all did was jumping in the pool, which was beautiful, nestled among olive trees and heated.

Keegan was fearless and spent most of the time jumping from the diving board…while we spent most of the following week trying to get him to lower the volume of his voice. It was fun watching him, though.

After we all got changed, we headed down for dinner, to have a belated birthday celebration for my dad. The hotel restaurant was great too, with an incredible view and great food. Keegan was really struggling through dinner, though: we had a very late start and between the excitement, the tiredness, and the restaurant environment it was hard to keep him in his seat. We did have a delicious dinner and even got a cake to celebrate the big day.

We finally made it through dinner, and went to bed. We were all pretty tired, so we crashed early. Keegan slept with us the first night, so we all needed as much sleep as possible.

The following days we started our routine: morning at the beach, afternoon at the pool. The beach is the same beach establishment I went as a child…it is always weird going back as an adult, and even weirder seeing some of the same people still there. One of these people was my first “boyfriend” when I was a toddler, Leo, now married with two kids. I did see a couple of other old friend, which was very nice.

Keegan adjusted immediately, even if the beach in Sestri is definitely different, and more crowded than here in San Diego.

We even convinced him to get in the water, and we all swam to the sunbathing platform, that Keegan (as all other kids) used as a diving board.

Keegan’s biggest love, though,was the hotel’s pool. Playing with his cousins Naraiana and Samuele was absolutely the best thing he could ever ask for. On some occasion, large floaties were in the pool to play.

Mom and dad loved the longing chairs!

After the weekend, my sister and her husband had to leave to go back to work, so Keegan moved in his cousin’s room, and OUR real vacation started. While we spent lots of time together, we also had much time alone. Yeah! Often time we stayed at the beach past lunch, swimming or just relaxing. It was also nice to sleep alone. After dinner, Matt and I often went for a walk up and down the boardwalk, “facevamo  le vasche”: it literally means: we were doing “bathtubs”, but it refers to going up and down the boardwalk, with no destination. This was just what I used to do as a teenager, walking up and down…before sitting on railings and checking out the other people walking. Of course our walk was not complete without some delicious gelato, which was incredible, no matter where we bought it from.

One morning, we rented a pedal boat, and pushed it away from shore and had fun jumping and diving. The slide was fun…too bad it was built for kids and I barely fit, but this not stopped me from trying.

Guess who is having the most fun?

One other morning, we went swimming in the calm, transparent water of the Baia Del Silenzio (Bay of Silence). Keegan was very brave and climbed on rocks, even if initially he was scared and there were sea urchins around.

I even had the chance to see an high school friend, who was coincidentally there over the weekend. We had a nice walk down memory lane, especially when her husband, also an high school friend, joined us one evening.

My parents also had some visitors: a couple they frequent often in Milano was vacationing in the next town, and came to visit. We all had a delicious lunch together.

It was great spending a week at the beach, like the old days: we could sleep in most days, swim in the sea, sunbathe, play in the pool, have relaxing dinners and romantic walks. In fact this was on the few real vacations I took with Matt. And what to say about the food? Beside the daily dose of focaccia bread, we started the day with a breakfast buffet on the outside patio of the hotel, which provided a beautiful and delicious spread. A daily, at least, gelato was helping us to cool off. Keegan loved the flower-shaped cones. And at night, we dined in the hotel restaurant, with huge windows overlooking the sea and sunset, and outstanding food.

Unfortunately, the week came to an end too quickly. My sister and her husband arrived to spend the last weekend together, and despite a quick storm on Saturday morning, we were able to enjoy the last few hours.

On the last afternoon, we engaged in a furious touch football water game, boys vs girls.

Even if we were clearly outnumbered, we held our own. We all felt like kids again…except the price we paid the following day:lots of aches and pains. Despite the pain, however, the boys kept their exercise routine.

As we were leaving the pool for the last time we took one last look (and some photos) at the wonderful view.

The last dinner was outside, on the covered patio, and the food buffet style; the theme: Mediterranean Cruise. It was fun: they had live music and we all enjoyed some weird dancing.

It was time to say goodbye, not only to Sestri, but also to Keegan’s cousins, who were headed to another vacation town. The kids scribbled their goodbyes on the wall of the hotel tunnel, moist with condensation, and among many tears, we left for Milano.

it reads: ciao Sestri, Keegan

The week flew by, but it left with us beautiful memories, that will keep us company in San Diego. Keegan fell in love with Sestri, even if I suspect he mainly fell in love with spending time with his cousins. It is wonderful to see them getting along so well, despite the large age difference. Spending so much time together also made Keegan more likely to be speaking in Italian, and his
language skills definitely improved.

So, arrivederci e a presto Sestri.

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This year’s trip has been really special. For the first time we went back with Keegan at the beginning of Summer, since he will be starting kindergarten soon and we did not want him to miss any days. It was also special because Matt could join us, even if a week later.

We left the weekend immediately following Keegan’s graduation from preschool. The trip created a nice break and diversion for him, who was very sad about leaving his school and his friends. We flew British Airlines again, so we got to do most of our trip a night, which helped. Of course, it was very difficult for Keegan to sleep, and he was definitely the last kid to fall asleep on the plane, shortly after midnight. He was really tired, but he could not fall asleep. No surprises here: he always had lots of trouble sleeping.

We arrived on time and…surprise! Not only nonni were waiting for us, but also Keegan’s cousins, zia Cinzia and zio Sandro. Keegan was ecstatic! They did not drive home with us, since it was really late, but they came the next day to spend the whole days with us. The kids got along great, and played a lot together. Keegan’s favorite game was Nara’s Airlines: Nara would lift him up with her feet and toss him around, as if experiencing turbulence.

They even convinced him to help in the kitchen: maybe the fact they were preparing cupcake, a novelty in Italy, helped.

They definitely share a very strong bond, despite the distance and the age difference. It is nice to see. I love this picture we took at the beach.

The first week is always a little difficult as both Keegan and I suffer badly from the jet lag, but having Keegan sleep with my mom definitely helped. Grazie nonna. I also took advantage of my free time to see my own friends, before Matt’s arrival. Loredana is definitely the friend I get to see the most. On our first outing she took me to the brand new Magnum Pleasure Store right behind Duomo.

I did not care we single handed raised the age average of a good 10 years…I had to have my custom Magnum ice cream. Magnum is probably one of my favorite ice creams, and I am so happy is finally appearing here in the States too. But the store is another story. You pick the ice cream flavor, you pick the chocolate covering, and select from a choice of unusual toppings, and they crate the ice cream bar specifically for you. So delicious. I chose white chocolate, vanilla ice cream, pistachios and almonds crumbs.

YUMM!!!

Loredana has also became a sort of aunt for Keegan: the two get along great, and he absolutely adores her massages. And who wouldn’t? Loredana is a certified Naturopath. On his first massage he almost fell asleep.

He is also learning the right techniques, so he can give me a massage too.

Lori’s daughter, Francesca, is also another one of Keegan’s buddies. Again, the age difference does not seem to change their deep bond, and she is very patient with him, and indulges him in all the games he wants to play, let this be building huge block towers, going on piggy rides, or just cuddling.

We also went to visit her and Lori at their house in Vimodrone, a small town just outside Milano. Keegan got to see how they make bread.

For some reason,  Keegan wanted to take a picture with Cupid peeking from a store window.

We even got to catch up with my preschool friend Simona and her kids, just before they went on vacation. We spent a fun evening at their place, playing watching tv and eating delicious pizza.

Nonni took us to see Milano from the top of the Duomo and it was great: even if I had been there before, it is always beautiful to see the city from above. It was very easy too, as we used the escalator and did little walking…perfect for a very hot day.

I love the contrast between the centuries old Duomo and the ultra modern —and still under construction—new skyscrapers raising in Milano, which you could see in the distance.

We had lots of fun that first week, but of course we missed dad, so we tried to call him with Skype as much as we could. It was also a great excuse for Keegan to show him all the toys and presents he got.

Exactly a week after us, Matt arrived. His trip was somewhat adventurous, to use an euphemism. The trip started with British Airlines site being down, not allowing him to check in. During the San Diego-London trip he was not able to sleep, due to noisy neighbors. He was able to email me from the airport, though, so I know about his progress.

His flight was scheduled to land at 9.30pm, at Linate Airport, chosen on purpose because it is only a few minutes away from our place. I drove to the airport with my dad, and as we walked in we noticed all flights were diverted to Malpensa, another airport, about an hour away. Apparently a small Cessna plane crashed and lost landing gear in the middle of the landing strip! Panic set in: I just realized I had no way to get in touch with Matt and that he had no idea of how to get in touch with us. He did not even know nor my parents’ address.We drove to Malpensa, while I was trying to have my mom email him, in case there was Wi-Fi at the airport (there was not, as I found out later). We arrived just as the first passenger from his flight were de-boarding. They told us there was some waits for bags, and in Italy you can’t get out to meet your family and friends till you have your bags. So we waited, and waited, and waited some more. No news. Fortunately, finally, I spoke to an Italian family who was in touch with their daughter, stuck inside waiting for bags. We finally were able to leave a message for Matt, and more than an hour later (two hours after his scheduled arrival) he finally emerged, exhausted, but happy to be, finally, in Milano.

I am so happy Matt is here with us this year.

Nonno’s birthday was the following day, July 2, so we had a nice celebration for him at home. My sister and the kids were already on vacation, so we will celebrate with them at the beach.

This year, we took Keegan to learn a little about Milano and its art and historuy. We read a couple of books on famous Italian artists, like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo, so Keegan was curious to see some of their work. A temporary exhibit on Leonardo and his inventions was open just when we were there: what a great timing. It was a small exhibit, but it showed many of the drawings from the Codice Atlantico, and had a large multimedia component, that showed how the inventions actually worked. Some of the models were built in reduced scale. Keegan’s favorite was the Mechanical Lion: while it did not have a real life model at the exhibit, the multimedia screen allowed him to build it digitally by placing all the pieces — and there were a lot — in the right order. he built it and rebuilt over and over.

this is how it would look like in real life (from a different exhibit)

After the visit, we took a quick peak at Piazza Scala, which was right in front of the exhibit, and pose with, who else?, Leonardo’s statue.

On July 3, we toured the Castello Sforzesco, a renaissance castle nestled in the middle of the city. It has a beautiful fountain, right in front.

We visited its museum halls, and stopped at the armor room. We though Keegan would go crazy looking at all these sword and shields, and even a full  body armor on a horse.

We were wrong: he politely posed in front of some of the armors, but overall did not seem too impressed. I sure was.

What really interested him, surprisingly, was Michelangelo’s Pieta’ Rondanini, the last sculpture he was working on before he died, which he never got to finish. We read a book on Michelangelo before the trip, but I really was not expecting this much interest.

After visiting the inside of the Castle, we met up with Lori and Francesca, and played in the beautiful public park, that used to be the private castle’s gardens. They were preparing a big, private party to celebrate 4th of July, alas we were not invited. We tried!

The kids played around, did some exercises, and made wishes, blowing on dandelions.

After the park, we all had lunch, and an Italian lunch is not complete without some gelato, right?

Later that day, Keegan also got the chance to “try” Carmelo’s (Lori’s husband) car: a Land Rover Defender. He really liked it, especially after seeing it a photo as it was wading water in a creek.

This year we spent Independence day in Milano: we did not do much but we wore our patriotic shirt, at least Keegan and I. Matt conveniently forgot it in San Diego. Matt and I went to lunch with friends and then walked around. We went to my old high school, which was open because high school exit exams were still in progress. So we got to wonder around: it was strange to go back to the same classrooms, which looked exactly the same. I did not remember what floor I was, but they all looked pretty much identical. Same colors, same old paint…

Like any school, there were graffiti on the walls, but this being a Liceo Classico (humanistic high school), even the graffiti had literary inspiration. Of course, I could not cite the author or the poem off the top my head…but that is why we have Google, right?

quote from the poem Alla Sera di Ugo Foscolo

At night, nonni prepared a special dinner to celebrate the fourth of July, and we all enjoyed it. I helped with the decoration. We missed the fireworks, but the trip made up for it.

Our last cultural visit with Keegan took us to visit the new Garibaldi’s Station area. This area had been neglected for years, and is finally being developed in an exciting center, linking the station with one of trendiest areas in Milano. The construction is almost finished, so you can already see how the finished results would look like. These are the same skyscrapers I could see in the distance when we climbed up the Duomo.

They are breathtaking. I really love this new project. Not only they are building beautiful skyscrapers, they also incorporated art, fountains and sculptures.

We definitely squeezed in a lot in two weeks, and we were very lucky the weather has been pretty mild. No unbearable heat with 90% humidity! It was warm, but pleasant. We spent the rest of our time at the beach (see next post), and as always, the days went by way too fast. We had a wonderful time and as always we are very grateful to nonni, not only for their wonderful, and generous, hospitality, but also for giving us a much need break.

Grazie mille e a presto!

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