Fourth of July weekend in Prague

David was lucky enough to have an extended weekend for the Fourth of July so we decided to take advantage of that and travel!  We didn't have a particular place in mind so instead we let skyscanner.com do the deciding for us.  We typed in the dates we wanted to travel and where we were leaving from and it pops up the most affordable places to go - Prague was top on that list.  Here's a photo journal of our trip!

We flew out of Rome and had a direct flight to Prague (gotta love direct flights!).  After collecting our luggage, taking our shuttle and checking into our hotel, we were unloading in our comfy room by 4.  After doing a little research, I decided that the Grand Hotel Bohemian was the place for us and it turned out it really was!  Located right in the heart of Old Town Square which is one of the biggest places for tourists to explore.  The location was perfect, the staff was very friendly and accommodating and the included breakfast was a perfect way to start each day.

 

After unloading our bags and resting our feet for a few seconds, we loaded up the stroller and headed out to explore Old Town Square.  Each night there are exciting talents happening on the square, everything from countless musicians to bubble pros.  We were starving and ended up getting dinner early at the White Horse sitting at a lovely table outside so we could continue to enjoy our surroundings.  David had some yummy pork and potatoes, I had chicken schnitzel and potatoes and Mads had a combination of the two. 

Short walk from our hotel to the square

The historic Astronomical Clock on the square

After dinner we walked around a bit more and found the sweetest little man singing and playing the trombone and sax.  Mads and I decided that this was a perfect time to try out one of the traditional desserts, Trdelnik (or "turtleneck" as David called it :0)  It's rolled cinnamon bread baked over charcoal, what's not to love about that?

 

To finish out our night we found a little caffe and enjoyed frappacino.  Unfortunately, this is also where Mads accidentally buckled her little finger in her stroller when all she was trying to do was buckle in her little bear for "his safety."  It took quite some time for her to recover from this and everyone in the caffe felt her pain and heard her cries :0(

Good news is, Mads eventually recovered and was feeling back to her old self :0)

The next day was luckily a bit overcast because we had a big trek ahead of us walking to Prague Castle.  We made it there by noon so that we could see the changing of the guards ceremony and enjoyed beautiful views of Prague, musicians and walked the gardens.  The neat thing about the Prague Castle is that the current Czek President resides there - cool, right?

Mads had the best seat in the house to watch the changing of the guards!

Changing of the Guards Ceremony

 

Mads walking the gardens of the castle

We headed back to the hotel for some much needed naps before heading out and eating at James Dean Restaurant for lunch (so disappointing...we had heard the burgers and shakes were great there but they definitely were not).  We walked back to the square for more evening entertainment.  Mads' favorite event on the square was the lady with the bubbles...she was a pretty big hit with the toddler crowd!

      

While we still had energy, we decided to check out the famous Charles Bridge that evening.  It was as beautiful as the travel books depict it and my favorite part was seeing all of the talented musicians set up on the bridge playing their little hearts out.  We decided we weren't just starving for dinner so we grabbed some Prague ham that was being roasted in a little kiosk on the square. 

 

For our last full day in Prague we started out by touring the Jewish cemetery which was interestingly sad.  Some 12,000 gravestones are crammed into this small plot of land the Jews were allowed for nearly 300 years.  Bodies are buried 12 high with an estimated 100,000 bodies buried in this small area.  Visitors would place coins or pebbles on the graves as a sign of respect.

  

We hit up a pizzaria for lunch and split a yummy margharita pizza and some icea cream with strawberries for dessert.  Then it was time for our 3:00 boat cruise!  We sat on the top deck for this one hour cruise to see and photograph some of Prague's main attractions.

  

Mads gave our boat tour a big thumbs up :0)

After the boat tour we took some much needed naps...

Then headed back out to souvenir shop and check out one of the local churches, Church of St. Nicholas.  We bought ourselves a Bohemian crystal flower vase from this sweet lady in the photo. 

  

That pretty much sums up our trip, we headed back to Naples the following day and are already ready to travel again - just don't know where yet :0)  Stay tuned!

We're Baaaack!

Alright, it's been awhile...like 7-8 months awhile, since I've last blogged, that's no good.  We've had several opportunities to travel in the 9ish months we've been here and I regret not blogging about each one of them.  So let's change that and get to bloggin'!  First up, Fourth of July weekend in Prague!

*By the way...aren't these faces of Mads priceless?!?  I found a DIY project inspired by a fellow Instagrammer and capturing these silly faces was the first step.  Daddy was behind the camera and mommy was creatively trying to get her to make the silliest faces possible.  I love how these turned out, she's the best <3 span="">

Picture Collages (for those who don't have Facebook ;0)

Exploring the streets of Santa Maria.

Celebrating Thanksgivig by having our Italian neighbors over!

Grabbing some lunch after going to Santa Maria's HUGE market.

Our neighbors and Madelyn's new friend!!

Our Santa Maria Home

We have been in Italy just over two months now and in our new home almost a month.  We have finally unpacked all of the boxes and rooms are coming together.  Before I take you on a tour of our home, let me give you a little background of the beautiful city we live in, Citta di Santa Maria Capua Vetere.  

"Capua Vetere" means "Old (or ancient) Capua," and is a city built by the Romans.  It's current population is approximately 34,000 people and is home to the historical amphitheater where Spartacus once fought.  This amazing piece of history is just a short walk from our house, craziness.

Ruins of the amphitheater.

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Also located in this town is the Arco di Adriano. 

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

The arch was built in the 2nd century in honor of the 14th Emporer of Rome, Hadrian.  Arco di Adriano is located on the Via Appia, an ancient Roman road connecting Rome to Brindisi (and runs through the city center of Santa Maria).  There's a yummy gelateria on Via Appia we enjoyed with a friend recently.

Now that you know a little bit about where we live, let me share with you our villa.  Please, come on in!

After looking at numerous homes with three different realtors, we found "the one!"  We fell in love with not only this home but the beautiful town it is in.  Here is a picture of one of the streets we frequently walk while enjoying one of the numerous shops or cafés.  This is in the city center of Santa Maria.

Ok, back to the house.  When you first walk in, you enter the main level which includes our dining area, living room, kitchen and one if the banos.

Immediately to the right...

The always interesting bano...

The cucina...

Living room...

Dining area from kitchen...

View of patio from cucina, there's a nice little yard we plan to enjoy once it decides to warm up...

And that pretty much wraps up the main level.  Let's head downstairs, shall we?

Here is our other (and warmer for the time being) living room.  The door to the right is David's gym and then behind the pocket door is another bano, laundry room and door to the garage.

If you turn around from this point you will see Madelyn's play area...

That's it for downstairs, now we will head to the second floor, aka the bedroom level.

Master bedroom with bare walls...

Madelyn's bedroom...

Mads' bano...

Wardrobe/Office and you guessed it, another bano (too many banos to clean!)...

And last but not least, we head up to the third level, aka "guest suite."

Guest room...very bare at the moment but will be nice and cozy for our first guests soon!!

So, that's it folks!  That's our home.  We really love it here and are blessed to have wonderful neighbors both American and Italian.  We've got plenty of room and welcome guests anytime so start planning a visit!!  

Tomorrow I'll blog about our new-to-us Italian car we got today!

Hugs and love from Italy!