amici

I must admit that I was a little worried about bringing Holden to Italy - where he had no friends, no family except for Dave and me, and didn't speak or understand the language at all.  I knew it would be a difficult adjustment for all of us, but also knew it would potentially provide invaluable experiences for us all.  And while it is extremely difficult for me to be away from my family for so long (I miss everyone, especially my mom so badly) I knew that four months in a totally new and strange environment would definitely be a manageable amount of time.  At three and a half, I wasn't sure how easily Holden would adapt or make new friends.  But it's funny how children behave and how they perceive the world around them.  I suppose since he didn't see Dave or me worrying or acting anxious about moving to Genova and since we always talked about it in an exciting and positive tone, maybe Holden felt that he didn't really have anything to worry about.  So far, he has been making so many friends.  Every time we are at a park or playground Holden finds someone to play with.  

playing soccer at Spianata Castelleto

Its amazing how children are hardly aware of the language barrier.  Often, Holden will ask me what a sign says and I will reply "I don't know, I can't read the Italian" and he replies "You are like me now because I can't read signs either".  When we are in a piazza or a park he often finds a friend to play with and they talk to each other, he in English, they in Italian and they run around and play together and sometimes I have to tell the child he doesn't understand them because he doesn't speak Italian, but most times, the language barrier is not that evident and they can deduce from each other's actions what they are playing and what the rules of the game are and they play together harmoniously without needing to understand but just enjoying each other.

I was told that Holden would be treated very well in Italy since Italians generally love children and the Italians in the villa are no exception.  His new best friend is Giudi, our tour guide.  He walks up front with her on the tours leading the class around and won't let me get too close.  

Holden and Giudi

Holden and Giudi leading the students on a tour of Chiesa San Lorenzo

He also really loves Christina, the cook.  He spends much of the mornings helping her prepare lunch. And he even tries some unusual foods just because he helped her cook them, like octopus salad and beet green fritatta.  

lunch with the Italians

After lunch, he helps Fabrizio (the gardener, who also used to be  professional soccer player) or Giudi make coffee for all the Italians, and he loves to blow kisses (baci) to Lucia (the housekeeper).  Fabrizio and Lucia gave Holden a bike on Friday after lunch.  He was ecstatic!

Holden's new bike

Silvia, who is the director of the villa, is constantly teaching him Italian.  So villa life it pretty good; we have a cook, a housekeeper, and a gardener.  The villa and its views are beautiful.  The garden is full of fruit trees and even has a pond full of fish and turtles that Holden feeds his apple peels in the afternoons.  We also have our own private garden that we often use for eating breakfast and playing soccer.

our private garden

soccer on the terrace

view of the sea from the main garden

view of our garden from the terrace 

view of studio from the terrace

view of surrounding villas

Holden with a lizard in the garden

And living with the students isn't too bad.  They are generally pretty respectful and they love Holden as well and provide him with lots of entertainment.

playing guitar with one of the students

In addition to all the friends Holden has been making, we've also done a bit of exploring in the city of Genova.  Some days we just go on walks in the garden, finding interesting rocks to collect or trees to climb or grass to dig.  Other days we go into the town and ride the funicolare and explore the maze-like web of streets, usually finding a gelatteria or pasticceria (ice cream or pastry shop) along the way.  Holden is very big on Italian dolci (desserts).

view from Spianata Castelleto (one of our favorite hangouts and where a great gelateria is)

Genova public library

sailboats in the harbor 

cave at Villetta di Negro

waterfall at Villetta di Negro

plate of fritto misto (not quite what we expected)

Holden eating one of the fried fish (that looked like minnows)

We've also visited three exciting places:  il parco avventura, la citta dei bambini, and Nervi.

We stumbled upon il parco avventura in Righi which is a natural park even further up the hill than Castelletto during a morning jog (hence Holden is in his pajamas in the photos).

view from Righi

Holden was very interested and so I inquired if he was old enough - completely thinking he would not be allowed to participate - but the owner somehow managed to adjust an adult size harness to fit Holden's tiny waist.  He was so excited!  First, he practiced with climbing on logs and ropes but then he discovered the zip line and went on this about a hundred times.  Then, the guide decided to take him to the adult zip line and he rode on this for about a hundred more times (not sure if I want Nonni to see these photos!).  We have also spent some time hiking in Righi on the many trails and exploring the observatory.  It is the highest point in Genova and offers incredible views of the entire city down to the coast.

il parco avventura

La città dei bambini, the children's museum of Genova, was a lot of fun and offered Holden a chance to play with some children his own age.

la citta dei bambini

Then we spent Saturday in Nervi, the easternmost point in Genova.  Nervi is like a suburb of Genova, smaller and slower and also much warmer.  We began exploring Nervi by taking the seaside walk and watching fisherman, kayakers, and sunbathers from the rocks.  This seaside walk offered some astounding views.  Then we went into Nervi Park, which is like the Central Park of Genova.  It was a great place to have a picnic and play some soccer.  It also has the best playground in Genova.

Nervi

We leave Genova this week for almost two weeks of travel in Barcelona and then the Veneto region of Italy - Venezia, Vicenza, and Verona.