summer

 The world street performance championships were held in Dublin. All kinds of performers from all over the world were in town for the event. There was a lizard man, all kinds of musicians, balloon artists, jugglers, flame throwers, flame throwing jugglers. It was a great event and it of course involved a fun fair, food vendors, and all kinds of kid activities.

 There was an area in the park set up with these Elephant Pillows. Perfect place to relax.

Max REALLY enjoyed the Piano Man Juggler. He had a piano on the ground and would juggle the balls and bounce them off the piano to play songs. It was quite impressive. The video I attempted to post hasn't worked. Just imagine the greatness.

 

 There was a day nice enough to spend at the beach. A glorious day. And in fairness there have been other nice days...just exaggerating a little bit :)  When we arrived the tide was in so the beach was small. As the day went on the tide went further and further out and the boys had a great time finding shells, climbing on rocks and jumping in the tide pools.

Catherine took this great action shot! What a day.

 On a separate occasion on a different beach the weather was a bit more Irish.

 The day was a series of sunny warm bits and lashing rain. When it was nice, it was very nice. And when it rained...it really, really rained! Luckily, Catherine had her car that day so we had somewhere to flee to and wait out the shower. It really kept things exciting.

To the right, over the sea, was beautiful blue sky.

Max is 4!

 Max got new shoes. Superman Converse. Rockin!

 And he turned 4!! We filled his room with balloons for when he woke up. The day before his bday, Max and I went to the shops to get supplies for his cake. He was really milking the whole birthday thing...when we walked in he spotted a chocolate glazed doughnut with sprinkles. He points it out and says that is what he wants for his breakfast tomorrow. Birthday boy has spoken! That is what he got.

 He chose brownies instead of a birthday cake. We had brownies and chocolate frosting and SPARKLER CANDLES!!

 FOUR is going to be a good year!

 His birthday was a really nice day. Sunny and warm and we all went to the zoo. If you look closely you can see an orangutan in the background.

 

 The scurvy crew at Max's pirate party.

AAAaarrrgggghh

sunshine and huge lemons

 A couple of good lookin' guys on the way to dinner.

 A pondering bambino.

Lizards of some sort on the building next to the Tratoria

Soooo that's their version of the Calzone. Oh boy!

Check out the size of that lemon!

Sun's out Guns out. Love him!

 

 Views from the rooftop pool. We spent half our time here and half at the beach every day. PERFECT days.

Yep...this pretty much sums things up.

Family shot

Just workin it on our last night in Maiori. Oh to be tan...

Let's go back to Italy!!!!

Now that I finally finished up on our Italian adventure, I can get on with the rest of life that we have been living since mid July. How did I get so far behind?!
Ciao

capri

 Mmmmm yum

Capri was very pretty. There were gorgeous flowers growing everywhere and the buildings were all white so it had a very clean and elegant feel to it. We spent part of the day with a guide taking us to various hot spots and then we just wandered in and out of shops and stopped for a bite to eat. Lovely day.

 Onf of the streets. White everything.

 He works out

1

Excurrrrsion

 Our first night in Maiori and we just wanted to soak it all in. The city was small, more of a town really and the area was gorgeous. The houses up on the hill looked just like they do on postcards and at night the hillside just lit up. Rome had set the bar pretty high as far as meals...so once again we embarked on a search for a tratoria. We wanted something low key and obviously with outdoor seating. We wandered and could not decide on a place...until we came through the tunnel above. It was just there. We decided to do take away since the place was full and we wanted to sit outside. Somehow on this trip I was put in charge of all communication with non-English speaking Italians. In Rome we didn't find it to be an issue, but in Maiori it was all Italian, everywhere. As it should be. I was trying to describe that I wanted some house wine to drink outside while I waited for the pizza to cook....the answer I was getting was that they didn't have house wine in bottles, just the pitchers. I tried again. They discussed amongst themselves, two of the employees went downstairs and came back a few minutes later with a litre water bottle filled with the house white. I guess that couldn't have really worked out any better for us!

 Our dinner and our wine. The pizza did not disappoint.
The following day we set out on an excurrrrrsion. We were picked up bright and early in front of the hotel and set off to Amalfi where we got on a boat to Capri! And, not to name drop or anything, but I found out after we returned from our holiday that Jessica Alba was on vacation in Almalfi during this time...our paths didn't cross in the short time we were in town.

 Waiting for our boat...looking at little fish.

 The Coast Guard Dog obviously takes her job, and UV protection very seriously.

 

 Positano. Seriously a postcard town. Just a quick stop to drop off/pick up fellow excursion seekers.

 He's on a boat. Up top with the wind blowing, couldn't be happier.

 Capri sighting.

Arriving on the beautiful island of Capri.

 Look closely...this is a taxi!

 Looking down at the sea from a lookout point in Anacapri...Anacapri was the higher point of the island. Gorgeous blue water.

 It should be clear by now that there will be an action shot at any and all scenic viewpoints.

 Mt. Vesuvius in the distance.

 Hey! Just me, in Anacapri. The Capri docks and Sorrento in the background.

Ciao for now.