Laghi, Italy

Back in the fall of 2019, we took a last-minute, spur-of-the-moment day trip to Laghi, Italy.  It's not far from us, but worlds away in that it's a pristine, quiet town in the foothills of the pre-Dolomites.  I'm a member of a local Facebook travel group, and a few people there had mentioned it.  The town is tiny, tiny, and is flanked by two small lakes (Laghi is "lakes" in Italian.  We parked and took a nice serene walk around the lakes, then tried the only restaurant in town for lunch.  (Trattoria Dalla Santa).  We actually stopped in to the restaurant before our walk to ask if they could seat us, since there's 6 of us.  They told us to come back in an hour, so we did. 

It was a beautiful, slightly cool fall day, and our family all enjoyed the stroll around the outskirts of Laghi.  Afterwards, we really enjoyed eating at the Trattoria.  Their specialty is homemade pasta with a choice of three sauces.  Gnocchi is really good there, as the right kind of potatoes grow in the foothills of these mountains.  I got their homemade gnocchi with sage-butter sauce.  It was so good!  I hope we can go back to visit this beautiful place sometime soon., as soon as this craziness is over.

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More Northern California Fun

Here are some other pics from our Northern California trip last summer.  Above is a beach on one of the state parks.  Below is a delish Thai curry- California-style with avocados!!  It was SO good and pretty too- we went to a little Thai place in Crescent City really close to our hotel. (Although we left the kids in our hotel with some Little Caesar's Pizza... lol... their first time having it!)

 Famous Victorian-style houses in Eureka and Ferndale, CA.  The first pic is Carson Mansion, Eureka.

This bathroom, below was my fave.  It's inside an Indian restaurant in Crescent City, CA.  They had a great lunch buffet and then as a sweet surprise... this double-toileted bathroom.  Best thing ever. 

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California Redwoods!

At the tail end of our Northwest trip last summer, we spent a week in Northern California.  We spent the time in both Eureka and Crescent City.  We went on lots of easy hikes, drives, etc to see the Redwoods.  Eureka had a great zoo with redwoods right in the zoo that we loved. Some highlights- Fern Canyon- this was our favorite hike.  You hike through a canyon where the walls are literally covered in ferns! You'll need water shoes.  Below is the only pic I really have without our fam in it (I don't share people pics here). We hiked to the end and back, and then went down and had lunch at picnic tables on the beach.  Other assorted pics, below.  The last pic is of my meal at a great restaurant we stopped by after hiking in the redwoods all day.  It was a great trip!

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Oregon Coast 2019

After Central Wa, we drove down to the Oregon Coast.  We all love the Oregon Coast, no matter how many times we visit.  We stayed in Rockaway beach at the tiniest cabin ever, but it was just what we needed at a great price.  We crossed the street every day and walked down to the beach.  Some of the fam rented beach bikes one day and rode those around.  One night, my fave, we had a beach campfire and made S'mores.  Our Airbnb had firewood and matches, and I walked to the nearby post office and took all the grocery fliers for kindling.  Lol.  We spent some time in Seaside, Or, too.

Eating clam chowder at Mo's restaurant.  Picking blueberries near Rockaway Beach.

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Seattle, Washington

Seattle and the surrounding area is in my thoughts right now while they deal with the Coronavirus.  Seattle is such a nice and beautiful area.  While staying in Bremerton last summer, I took two day trips over to Seattle on their awesome ferry system.  One time with my daughter to meet a friend, and another time with just my husband.  I'll share some pics of both days below.  The first time I went, it was nice and sunny.  The second time, it was raining.

Eating a delicious crab melt at Cutter's Crabhouse on the water.  We also ordered an appetizer of friend cheese and veggies.  I couldn't finish everything.  It was so good, though. 

Clam chowder in a bread bowl with Caesar Salad at Anthony's, above.  Below delish Creme Brulee cheesecake with Northwest berries, also at Anthony's. 

Above, view of Seattle from the top of the Space Needle.  Below, riding the monorail away from the Space Needle. 

 Above, cookies from Nordstrom's coffee shop in Seattle.  Below, Ivar's clam chowder on one of the ferries.

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Malta Vacation

We spent 8 days in Malta in June.  It was beautiful and we loved it.  We had an apartment right on the water (the pic above is our view).  It was really hot there, but there were so many nice places to swim.  We went swimming every day except for one (and that was the day we had to pick up the rental car.)  We went to the island of Comino to see the Blue Lagoon, and also the island of Gozo. 

 Popeye Village, above.  Where the Robin Williams Popeye was filmed.  

 Above, a dry riverbed meeting the sea- perfect swimming spot.  Below, salt flats. They are all over some coastal areas.  We bought sea salt from a lady selling it on the side of the road.  

 Maltese food.  Below, rabbit, the traditional dish.  

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