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We celebrated my birthday with our typical weekend outing--skiing. We had great weather and great snow so it was perfect. Even more exciting is that Jonas is now going down the intermediate slopes so we can do more skiing with the entire family together. It is so much fun! Jonas says, "I want to do it all by myself; I won't be crazy!" to assure us that he will do his turns and not just bomb down the hill. Daniel is feeling pretty proud that all of his work with Jonas in the harness seems to be paying off.

After skiing we stopped by for dinner at a little diner we've noticed a few times in St-Cergue. It opened up just a couple months ago and we met the owner, a Swiss guy who spent a couple years in Connecticut. His goal was to make the place all-American, and we think he succeeded, down to the twangy country music. The food was delicious and definitely tasted like home. I guess the only thing that didn't feel American were the prices--20 francs (about $22) for a burger and fries. But I don't think that is going to stop us from becoming regulars!

It was a great birthday celebration. If only it ended with a dip in some Alpine thermal pools it would have been perfect....

Italian Christmas: Capri

For our final day we headed out early to catch the boat to the island of Capri




We took the minibus up to Anacapri
I was trying to capture how easily we could have plunged to our death.

Taking the chair lift to the top of the island


I love European picnic lunches

Hiking down
Capri



Back in Sorrento
The kids loved playing in the bath at the hotel. Emily was nice enough to watch the kids so that Daniel and I could go to the thermal spa this evening. And the next day, having completed our perfect Christmas trip, we were back on the plane heading north to good old Switzerland.

Italian Christmas: Positano

The next day we headed down the Amalfi coast on one of the most exhilerating bus rides of my life to Positano




Have I mentioned that we quickly became addicted to the picked-daily perfectly-delicious mandarin oranges which we found in abundance?



Hiking down to the beach


The kids loved having a beach day



Daniel found this delicious homemade mozzarella cheese. The best I have ever had for sure.
Daniel put himself to work while Emily and I checked out the shops. Isn't he sweet?Hiking back up to the bus stop.

It was an exhausting day for some. But it didn't end there for Emily and me. At our hotel there was an amazing thermal spa, the perfect place to relax after the perfect day.

Italian Christmas: Volcano day

The day after Christmas we headed out to visit Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius.We started the day by hiking up Vesuvius. We got lucky because the week before it had been closed due to the ice. It was still icy when we went up, but at least week got to go.
At the crater






Emily was insistent on getting a "steamy" kissing picture of us.
Hot chocolate warmed us up on the Circumvesuviana train on our way back to Pompeii.
Pompeii was fabulous. The kids never tired of climbing all over the perfectly preserved destroyed city.






After Pompeii we headed over to Naples to visit the Christmas market. I loved the grittiness of the place, but I can't say the Daniel and Emily appreciated it very much. In any case we did manage to enjoy some delicious pizza in the birth place of pizza.


The kids go to watch them cook the pizza in the wood-burning oven, and they were even given some dough to place with while we waited for our pizzas.



This 7-cheese pizza deserves its own photo



Daniel appreciated the tagged religious statues.

This is how Emily felt about Naples. She said, quote: "I can't believe I told people I was going to Naples, Italy for Christmas." It was an adventure, though.