ZIO 'RICO!!!

Pietro's brother, Enrico, came for a visit while we were there! He lives in a monastery called Hauterive. It is close to Bern, which is in Northern Switzerland. Amedeo calls him Zio 'Rico, but he is also known as Frere Jean Paul. We were so happy to see him, it has been 3.5 years since our last visit. Usually, we go up to the Abbey to visit him, but with our energetic 2 year old, it was best to wait until he is older. Meals at the monastery are taken in silence. I don't need to say any more...just imagine all the rules, and all the subsequent breaking of every single rule.

Zio Enrico only is allowed 4 days of vacation to visit his family a year, so we were super excited that we could plan to be in Locarno at the same time.

Amedeo loved Zio 'Rico...Nonno went to the bottom of the pile after he met Enrico.



Enrico turned out to be a natural at reading bedtime stories. Amedeo was just delighted.



One morning we went to a playground....all of us had a good time.


We stopped again to visit Zia Armida...Amedeo is smitten with her also...she delighted in feeding him all kinds of yummy things.



See that sneaky look? Well, I told Amedeo that he needed to stop eating snacks since he wouldn't eat lunch. There was still a cookie on the table. He told me, "Mama, bug!!! On the ceiling! Go get!!!" So, I got up and took a look at the bug. When I turned around, everyone was giggling. He took the opportunity to snatch the cookie and shove it in his mouth while I was busy with the bug. I can see what the future holds...I need to get smarter.



Zio Enrico gave Amedeo a few lessons on his recorder. Maybe next year they can do a duet.


Next...more ZIO 'RICO!

Muesum of Transportation in Lucerne

We decided to take a 2 hour drive up to Lucerne to visit the Museum of Transportation. I am used to the awesomeness of the museums in DC and Baltimore, so I can be hard to impress. I was really blown away by this one! They had a huge exhibition and everything was in fabulous condition. We started off with the trains. These were all beautifully restored.



Our half pint next to a teeny tiny choo choo.



Here is one of the buildings that is part of the exhibit. I loved all the signs. If I came upon some of those on the road, I really wouldn't know what to do! They speak German in Lucerne, so that's why there are so many signs in German. My personal favorite is 'Ausfahrt,' which means 'Exit.'



Here is a neat way to display their collection of automobiles. These are a bunch of giant, steel shelves. Not impressive, huh?


Well, then this giant yellow robot thing goes and gets the cars and brings them down for you to see. It was fascinating to watch!



Pietro got to have a car crash. It is 13 km/hour. He said that it definitely gives you a jolt and gets your adrenaline pumping. Amedeo and I declined to have that experience.



They had an outdoor exhibit with construction vehicles that the kids could climb. They had smaller ones that they could sit on and drive.


Many of the exhibits were interactive. This is one of the first airplanes ever built. You steer from a sled while you watch the flight on the computer screen. I found this to be really interesting and fun. The National Air and Space Museum is okay, but gets boring after the 10th airplane. This museum really drew you in and let you experience things.



The outdoor exhibit had 200 scooters that you could ride. I tried to convince Amedeo that he should try, but he was reluctant.


Up next, ZIO ENRICO! (Guess who was a big hit?!?!?)

Visiting Zio Marco and Zia Agnese

One afternoon, we decided to visit Zio Marco and Zia Agnese. Amedeo is contentedly eating a cookie in this picture...you will see that is a theme when we go to visit relatives.

Amedeo is blissful since he is the focus of our conversation.



Marco and Agnese have 4 grandchildren, so they are well prepared for their visits...here, Amedeo is testing out a push-trike.


Who wouldn't want to come and visit them, when you can see this lovely vista from their living room?!?!?

As a side note, I feel like we are back to normal regarding jet lag. However, I am completely lacking in focus. I am not sewing or knitting or anything. I seem to have lost my forward momentum. Mostly, I find myself doing laundry, or staring at the endless internet. Mostly, I need to find an engrossing project. That will come.

We are still working on finding contractors for our window, roof and siding replacement. I rejoined Angie's List. We went on a drive this morning to check out houses with similar plans, just to see how they went about changing siding and windows. I took pictures out the window so we could compare and contrast. Our house has vertical wood siding, and now most houses have horizontal vinyl siding. Everyone seems to like a bland mushroom color for the siding. Come on, people! Soooooooo boring!!!! How about fuchsia, bright blue or yellow?

Sometimes....

...You just have to take Nonno to the playground. He was very good...no tantrums, no cane throwing, and he kept his teeth in his mouth.



We brought Amedeo also...just so Nonno would have a playmate.



Pietro had a good time testing the black and white feature of the camera.

I like this pic!



And, we rounded out the morning by attacking the birds in the park. He would start out by nicely throwing bread to them. Then he wanted to catch them. Fortunately, the birds were smarter and faster.

Cardada

We decided to take it easy one day and hang out in Locarno. They have a little tourist train that drives all around the city. Amedeo loves trains, so we decided to try this one. Pietro seems to like trains too!


Amedeo was very quiet and serious during the train ride. We thought he might be scared or worried. It turns out that he was just very focused. He didn't want to get out when the ride stopped.



I can't remember what day it is...but we took the cable car up to Cardada along with i Nonni. Once we made it to the top, we found a see saw.


The restaurant where we ate lunch is behind us.


We did a little walking in the woods. They had a totem poll and a fort...both amusing for a tot.


Then we found another play structure. I found that most of the play equipment in Switzerland is a little different from the ones here. The only plastic that they use is the slide. The rest is made of wood. Around here, nearly everything is plastic or a composite.

A whole flock of Bernasconis!


They built an overlook above the treeline so you could see the view very well. That area of the lake is the part that stretches into Italy. My geography is notoriously bad, so I rely on Pietro to correct me if I am wrong!


More mountains, more valleys...Pietro?


Yesterday we had a big group o kids come and play in the backyard. As they are getting older, larger groups are getting more and more chaotic. The yard works well for this. I am thinking that we will spend lots of the summer outdoors or at the playground.

Our train ride to Bellinzona

The train station is close to Pietro's parents' apartment, so we finally gave in to Amedeo's persistent request: I want to go on a train ride! There is a nearby town, named Bellinzona, that is famous for having 3 castles in close proximity.

Amedeo was an angel on the train. I think if we want to travel anywhere, we should go by train, since the novelty doesn't wear off for him.



Here is the largest castle. We were lucky enough to have another beautiful day. I can't tell you much about the castle. It is old and recently restored. It dates back to medieval times. Everything was written in Italian and I was busy trying to prevent Amedeo from falling off a parapet, so I just tried to drink in the beauty of the scenery instead of getting a history lesson.



We took an elevator up to the castle inside.


After that, we could roam around, appreciating all the old rocks.



In the large tower, we had a good time climbing up all the stairs.



Pietro took a few snaps from the top. Here is part of the piazza in Bellinzona. That is one thing I regret. America is deficient in the number of lovely outdoor spaces in which you can shop and eat. I guess we just like our A/C and shopping malls.



We decided to take a snack break after all of that climbing.

The end...no, just kidding. More pics tomorrow!

Swiss Miniatur

Here we have 3 generations of Bernasconi men.


We decided to visit a very famous tourist trap about 45 minutes from Locarno, the Swiss Miniatur. It is a scale model of various mountains and buildings in Switzerland. It is a large, outdoor exhibit. There are lots of cars, trains and airplanes for a toddler to see. Fortunately everything was glued down, so he couldn't make off with anything.


Amedeo dragged Nonno and Nonna all over the place...


Part of the exhibit involved a child sized train.


We ate lunch in a nearby restaurant. After we drove back into town, Romi had to water the orchard. Amedeo had fallen asleep in the car, so I stayed with him for a bit.


Then, Pietro kept watch while I went to check out the plants. They have grapes, kiwis, blueberries, cherries, plums, figs, and probably some others that I am forgetting. All of it is on very steep land....I suppose most things on the mountain are.



Annita's sister, Armida, lives close to their orchard, so we decided to drop in for a visit. Several of you commented on Amedeo's sleeping...we were waking him up early, giving him short naps and putting him down late at night, so he was super sleep deprived. When we let him sleep, he slept HARD! He didn't wake up when we took him out of the car!


Zia Armida and Pietro enjoy a drink.



We had to wake him up to have a chat with the matryoshka dolls.



Here is Armida's balcony. Amedeo thought I was leaving, so he was crying.


We packed a lot into the day...I think everyone was tired after all of this!