Week 40 - Sofia's birthday

We came home from Berlin on Sunday. Carlotta was so glad about the small hair things we bought her. We spent a lot of time at the riding school as the weather was very nice and warm. Carlotta often did her homework there and I made focaccia for lunch to eat there.
This week it was Sofia's 13th birthday. Another teenager in the family now. We celebrated her birthday with a cake at the riding school and afterwards we went out for dinner to a chinese restaurant. On Saturday evening Sofia had invited a few friends to our house. Two of them slept over and they had a nice time. On Sunday Sofia had a dressage competition. She likes jumping more, but I think it was a good experience.

Week 39 - Berlin

On Monday Carlotta's swimming school started and she liked it. We went to the park one afternoon. On Friday all three children went to spend the week-end at their friends' houses and on Saturday morning me and my husband took an early morning flight to Berlin. Armando run the marathon there on Sunday. There wasn't so much time to visit Berlin as the marathon took half a day and the day before we had to go to the marathon expo to pick up the race number. It also felt a bit lonesome to walk around there alone while my husband was resting at the hotel or running the marathon, so I think I won't go on marathon travels without my children or a friend anymore. I got a general glance at Berlin. I didn't fall in love with the town, but I'm sure it would have been more interesting if I had seen some art exhibitions and if I had had company to share it all with. The nicest part of our trip was when we had a beer at a pub with other Italian marathoners before leaving. It was very easy to get to the airport by train from the town center and it only took about 20 minutes. This was our first time travelling without our children.

Week 38 - Riding and swimming lessons

We tried a new riding school and spent lots of time there this week. Sofia and Carlotta sometimes did their home work there. Only on Monday we didn't go there and Carlotta had her first lesson at the swimming school. She liked it. There was a show jumping event at the riding school at the week-end and Sofia partecipated. We had lunch at our old riding school with one of Sofia's friends. Missing it all quite a lot, but now we are trying to get used to the new place.

Week 37 - Back to school

This week school started for the girls on Tuesday and for Daniele on Wednesday. The evening before school started we had to take my mother-in-law to the hospital. She had been staying at our house since June because she had a cancer, was 83 years old and too weak to stay home alone anymore and needed help in cooking. On Wednesday morning she then passed away. The funerals were on Saturday. It was sad for my husband, but in a way a relief as it had been quite a stressing summer for him. She didn't have any pains and we didn't have to find another place for her to stay, she spent only the last two days at the hospital.
We went out for lunch and dinner a couple of times this week.
When I went to Finland in July I didn't imagine that it would be our last summer at our riding school. Our riding teacher left and went to another very expensive place, so we had our last riding lessons this week and had to look for another riding school. It's not so easy as we all have a bit different needs and me and Sofia aren't beginners anymore. This week we tried in a couple of places. Sofia wanted to go to a place where lots of her friends were riding, Carlotta wanted to stay in the riding school where she already was and I wanted to find a place with nice horses and a good riding instructor, not too expensive and a nice place to spend some time in. I also wanted to find a place where we all could go. Not very easy!

Week 36 - Back in Rome

Back to summer, beaches, cappuccinos and nice restaurants. Nevertheless it felt difficult to leave Finland and all the people there and get back to my life here in Italy. We did the best of it anyway. It was the last week of holidays for the children before school started. I booked two nights in a farm house near Sabaudia where there are beautiful beaches and went there with Sofia and Carlotta. Daniele's football trainings had started already so he preferred to stay in Rome. We had relaxing days in Sabaudia. In the evening all the guests had dinner together, which was really nice. We spent most of the time at the swimming pool which we had all for ourselves as everyone else was at the beach. In the afternoon we went to the beach and then in the evening back for dinner. Very, very nice!

Week 35 - Last week in Finland

This was our last week in Finland this summer. The weather was really nice the wholeweek. On Monday we did some shopping and on Tuesday had a pick nick in the Katariina park by the sea. We do like picnics and I think there are so many nice picnic parks and places in Finland. A few of Daniele's friends from Lovisa play football here, so Daniele took the bicycle and went to see them training. On Wednesday we had a riding lesson in the nice riding school we have found here. On Thursday we had lunch in a little restaurant called Villa Aurora. It's beautifully furnished and very nice, but my children didn't like the food. Actually they were a bit unlucky, because even the desert happened to be a coffee mousse, so it was nothing for children. The last two days we spent visiting friends and on Saturday we partecipated in a little club competition at the riding school and said good bye also to the horses. On Sunday we flew back to Rome.

Back to summer photos - Week 34

We have been back in Italyfor almost a month now and it's time to catch up with my week photos. It has felt a bit more difficult than usual to settle back here and I really miss summertime and especially Finland and everything there, but slowly I'm filling my days here and trying to make the best of it.
Our second last week in Finland was full of happenings. I really tried to do most of the things from my to-do in Finland list.
As schools started in Finland the weather had become less summery and the nights already very cool. On Monday there were some rain showers in the morning, but in the afternoon it was sunny and Carlotta suggested a picknick. So out we went for a late afternoon coffee to the beach. Carlotta took a swim, too, but the water was really cold and the air was cool and windy. On Tuesday we went to the nice swimming pool in Kotka. For the first time Carlotta was able to swim with us in the big pool outside without any problems. The water was warm and as schools have started here it was very empty - only us and a few Russians. There are quite a few Russian tourists in Kotka as it isn't so far away from the border. On Wednesday we got our lazy teenagers to the Santalahti camping site. The thing that convinced them in the end was the Mini golf course. Carlotta and Sofia took a swim, too. On Thursday we went to Hamina, the nearby town where we hadn't been this summer at all. There is a very nice cafè. On Friday it was our last chance to go to Kaunissaari, an isle about an hour from Kotka. The boat traffic to the other isles had stopped already, as lots of things stop as soon as the schools start. Daniele went to spend the week-end with his friends in Lovisa and me and the girls spent the day at the isle. We had a pick nick basket with us and also swimming suits, but didn't need them, because it was quite windy and the cold sea water didn't tempt us. On Saturday it was a really warm day again. We went to Lovisa where there where the old houses' days. Many families who live in the old wooden houses had had opened their homes and you could walk in and see how they had furnished them and renovated them conserving the old style. There were garden cafés and flea markets everywhere in the town. My brother and his wife also came there, but we didn't have so much time to spend with them because we had to get home to take my mother and her friend to the bus that took them to see a ballet. On Sunday we had managed to organize a lunch with some of my relatives in Santalahti. It was a very good choice as we were able to spend the rest of the day there swimming and playing mini golf.