Just Ice and Whiskey

17-Nov-22

We're having an adventure in Tuscany (Toscana)!

Olive grove!

A playhouse in desperate need of maintenance, but who cares?

We stayed at the Guadalupe Tuscany Resort, which was nice, but has definitely seen better days. They were very kid friendly.

When we left for our adventure today, these bales of hay were on fire.

I don't think it was intentional.

Part I: Massa Marittima

Our first adventure spot today is Massa Marittima. It has been inhabited since prehistoric times and there is proof of Etruscan settlements as far back as the 9th century BC.

A monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi in Remembrance Park.

The park is a memorial to those lost during WWI.

We're going over here to look for a geocache.

Max was unsure about the adventure down these steps.

I swear there's a trail here. KC helped me find two geocaches, aka treasures.

A map of the town.

This is a very smug lamb. Like, someone didn't believe it and the lamb turned out to be right.

Google tells me this says "His blood is the protection of liberty."

Dan breaking the rules. We then had to explain to KC why daddy could go up there but she couldn't. Thanks Dan.

Woo! Illegal selfie!

(Illegal because he wasn't supposed to be on the wall. Not that he couldn't take the photo.)

It is pretty. Today is supposed to be the only nice day of our trip.

Strawberry tree. No, really!

KC and I discovered we could climb a tower to go walk along other parts of the castle walls.

Dan and Max stayed below to waddle around the piazza.

I found this sticker amusing.

Pretty!

That's the wall Dan climbed onto - over on the right side.

KC saw this slide and desperately wanted to go play on it. It's on private property though.

*sad face*

NO momma! I don't want to take a photo. I'm mad at you.

(Because I asked her to take a photo with me.)

KC and the view.

A bronze relief map of the city.

Spoiler: there's a geocache behind that rock in the hole.

Brick, stone, stripes, steps! All the mediaeval building materials!

The Cathedral of St. Cerbone (to the right) was started in the 11th century.

We stopped to have lunch after this. It was nice, so we ate outside. KC made friends with all the Italian grandmothers that were out sightseeing or having a lunchtime stroll. She would yell "CIAO! Buongiorno!" and wave at anyone who passed by our table. A pack of grandmas were thrilled and came by to fuss over her. Then they realized Max was there and started fussing and cooing all over again. (Max was hidden in the stroller.)

KC was also the lunchtime entertainment for the gentleman sitting next to us.

Look! We're in a quaint Italian alley/street!

Egyptian themed door knocker? Why not?

We had to walk up a big steep hill after lunch, pushing the stroller with both girls in it. It was not fun.

The courtyard of the Saint Augustine cloister.

I was intrigued by this very detailed painting above the door on what is otherwise a very plain façade.

See? There's nothing else there.

Back to the car for more adventures!

Part 2: Miami Beach

I thought, it's still nice out and there are beaches nearby, let's go find one. This was harder than Google maps made it out to be. Much of the beach front access is exclusive to resorts. I thought I found a spot that we could walk out on a pier, but it turns out the pier is for commercial purposes only. After moving the car twice and walking around in circles and ALMOST completely giving up, I found a public access trail out to the beach. HUZZAH!

There's the pier we can't go on.

The beach had a lot of these....hairballs. I didn't know what they were at the time, but I suspect now that they might be chestnut husks. Or the kraken is having some major digestive issues. Please let me know if you know they are something else and what that something is.

UPDATE: Thanks to Ann, I now know these are Sea Balls.

The water wasn't warm, but it wasn't as cold as you might think.

I don't know if you know this, but KC LOVES the beach.

I thought we were going to end up with a very wet child.

Under the pier!

Nothing exciting here, I liked all the colors and textures.

Max was less sure about the beach.

I think she liked getting to walk around a bit though. It's hard always being in a stroller or carrier.

It was a nice beach and quite a few people were out walking.

I don't know what she was doing, but she was having fun.

Everyone was pretty tired by this point, so we went back to the resort. We had an awkward amount of time before dinner and some naps were missed. It made dinner a little difficult and bedtime even more so, but I think it was a good day.