Province of Belluno

Natalie and I loaded up in her car with Addy and Bowser. Addy and Bowser are quite a cute pair. Nate and Seth drove the rental with the other little ladies. We began our trek toward Porffabro and the uphill drive. The road grew more narrow and began to twist and turn A LOT. The last time we drove this intense of a switchback was in Montenegro in the summer. However, this one came with more warning signs and construction. Natalie and I were questioning our husband's judgment as we followed. At many points during the naseating ride, the road was only wide enough for one car with the added fun of drop offs. Surprisingly, we didn't encounter any traffic coming from the other direction and we made it there without throwing up.

The zigging and zagging up a questionable switchback road to the town of Poffabro made us all woozy. I do not typically get car sick. That was some kind of RIDE! This did not detour us from following our noses to yummy food. We ate delicious paninis, beer and crepes.

This "Nativity Hunt" makes for one of my favorite Christmas memories we have made thus far! This sweet town, known mostly for its history of making house shoes, puts out unique nativities during Christmas. I think many towns in Italy do this through the holiday season as well.

The girls loved the scavenger hunt feel as they ran up and down the narrow streets discovering a different nativity at every turn. You had to keep your eyes peeled, looking at all heights so you wouldn't miss one. They used all types of materials to create these nativities, from colored pencils, hand carved figurines, paintings mimicing Van Gogh's Starry Night and a silly one with baby Jesus in a motorcycle side car. It was so fun to see all the varieties.

Along the hunt, we stumbled upon a man carving little creatures outside his home. He was so kind and had the girls sit on his wooden reindeer and hand made sled. He made an impression on Mabel and she kept saying, "He is super kind, momma." Natalie decided to buy our girls three carved creature. Demi chose a bunny, Addy chose a hedgehog and Mabel chose the squirrel. So fun! Natalie has been too kind along this trip.

We explored all through the town and ended up finding a hiking path. We followed and found statues depicting the story of Jesus' crucifixion. This hike was a steep climb! The twelve statues took us through the story from Judas' betrayal to the empty tomb. I found this hike to be beautiful, especially during Christmas, because it pointed us to the cross and resurrection of Jesus creating a full picture of the gospel story.

Demi found this set of statues to be incomplete though. She was quite bothered that it ended with an empty tomb. She suggested they create two more statues showing Christ going up into heaven and Jesus reappearing to his disciples. And Mabel was mostly excited about a plastic slide at the end. Ha ha! Addy was relieved the steep climb was over and we could now go back downhill.

On the next and last day, we hiked and picnicked again near Aviano. The girls loved being outside so much! They raved (and even journaled) about all the hiking and playing outside. What a beautiful place and with great friends that go back nearly 20 years!

Oh ya... One last thing! We popped into the city of Sacilly for the Christmas market and delicious pizza! This pizza place made these bread stick things that tasted like a savory Texas style donut stick topped with arugula. Their special kind of pizza was extra soft with a bit of sweetness to it. The pizza came out in one large piece. They don't cut the pizza at all and it's usually a serving for one person. It's is fun to experience all types of pizzas! We haven't encountered a bad one yet. This one was quite different from any other pizza we have had. Addy went from silly to almost sleeping really fast that night. She is notorious for falling asleep at dinner ever since she was little. She managed to stay awake for this pizza though. :)

What a fun trip! Friends, hiking and food! So thankful to have had the opportunity to reconnect with such great friends!! Natalie and Nate are just awesome, generous people. The girls have so much fun with them!Read more