Easter means Ski-ing!

Well it does in our family anyway!! I don't, but everyone else does. I'm still the one that organises it, so, with this in mind, this year we went to Pila/Aosta. Pila is the resort and Aosta is the city where the cable car starts. You can stay up at Pila which is very much a traditional resort, so not much to do except drink and eat in the evenings, which is fine if you don't have a family and can stay out late. We stayed down in Aosta - the passes covered the 17 minute trip up the mountain everyday, plus our apartment was a 5 minute walk from the lift. Even better was the huger supermarket next to the apartment which even opened on a Sunday and was still open when we arrived Sunday evening! Very useful!

Alex didn't take any lessons this time but I think we will return to this resort so he may well enroll next year. Antonia had 3 individual lessons and came away with her first badge! She has a bronze with one star, so she is on the rungs now!! She even came down a red run with her instructor when the blue was closed. This is her 2nd proper season and she was much more resilient than last year. There were no tears and she did well. She also slept like a log in the evenings!

Aosta itself was interesting. It is the most northerly city in Italy - so there is a cathedral. It is named for Augustus and he has a triumphal arch there. The ruins are amazing. The old walls are in great condition and you can really see how it must have looked. Very interesting. 

We ate loads of Polenta but one of our favourites was the ham and cheese toastie served in one of the restaurants on the slopes!

On the way back we had a flying visit to Milan - basically the square outside the station! Looks interesting though.

I'm now going to be lazy and put all the piccies over on Antonia's blog - I should have uploaded them before I wrote all this and now it will throw out all the text and I cannot be bothered with all the messing to get it looking right again! So head over there for piccies!!

Yakko's Countries of the World song.

While looking for Alphabet songs for Antonia I came across this! I love Animaniacs and you can tell a lot about a person from their sense of humour! Not sure what this says about me......

Carnevale '09

This is Antonia and her BFF in Piazza Ognissanti just before the annual Carnevale Parade set off. We arrived not knowing that her friend and two other families from school were going to be there so it was a really nice surprise! The children in the second photo are all from her school. Fun was had by all and as it was a mild day, no coats were needed. 

So for all of you no longer in Italy, enjoy a bit of nostalgia! ;)

No phone, no internet - a lovely, quiet birthday!!;)

It was my birthday on Tuesday. This is the year I officially start counting backwards, so that must mean I am staying the same age, I think! Still too old, especially when you have a 4 year old that thinks you can, and should do, all the things a much, much younger mum should do, like run without getting out of breath, think that Winx are amazing fashion icons, that kind of thing!

Having said that, I chose an Xbox360 game as my birthday present......So who am I kidding! Finally, finally, I have my hands on a copy of Guitar Hero! Sorry, this game isn't just for teens and men! It's great! Even better when you can attach a mike to the controller and sing along too!!!! Luckily we have a detached house....! Have you ever tried "singing" a Beastie Boys song - don't!! It was huge fun for all of us, even Antonia who can strum along to Oasis on Beginner quite happily, very funny to see as the guitar is the right size for her. She Rocks! (This is terminology from the game, honest.) Alex was the real star being able to play a good few on Expert - good to see his education isn't going to waste.........

We also woke up to find the phone and internet were off. A very kind friend called telecom for me who discovered there was a fault. They told me it would be off until today, Friday! As it turned out they came the very next day and fixed it all. One up for telecom I think! It was actually restful not checking e-mails or doing anything at all to do with the net! One day without was fine, any longer and I think it would be just too much!

I've had my husband and son here all this week for half-term. It ends far too quickly! Alex went to a party in the UK at the weekend before returning here. He goes back early Sunday - too soon! Easter isn't far but it really isn't close enough!

Anyway - tell me your favourite Guitar Hero tracks! And how well you play them...;)!