Il Frantoio

The villa we stayed in was one of the best parts of the trip! Because our family is so big, we couldn't all fit into one place. So David and I and my married sisters all stayed together in beautiful Il Frantoio. The kids had so much fun together and we absolutely loved having a home base. We will miss this home sweet home!



Here's all of us (minus the Stewart kids) in the villa the day we left.

These are some pictures of our drive in...the first one is the view from our villa looking down the road you enter from, and the second is the road up to the next villas, where the rest of the family stayed. It was truly a beautiful spot surrounded by olive groves!

We were lucky enough to have a Smart car as our rental. We got the four-door version (since we had to put a car seat in the back), but it was still a sweet little ride! Driving in Italy really is quite scary, but David did a great job. His California driving skills came in handy! The roads are so narrow and everyone zips in and out of traffic, but so were we after a few days! I was amazed at the tight spaces this car could fit into. It was awesome! David's already looking to buy one to drive at home...

I have mentioned before about how positively wonderful the food was. Well, here's the lady behind it! Our sweet chef, Teresa, was the best part of the trip for me, and not just because of the great food she made for us. She was so cute with the kids and was always mindful of them. She told us that she was so excited when we came because she loves to cook for families. It "made her heart grow big" (as she put it!). She truly is a wonderful lady, and I am so glad we got to know her. We will definitely keep in touch with our favorite Italian friend!!

Here's Teresa and Andrea (the cute girl that helped Teresa and did the housekeeping duties) in the kitchen of the villa. We love these two!

Here's a random picture of Abby that I just had to post! She found David's socks (luckily they were clean!) and loved putting them on! I thought it was so funny! This picture was taken at our villa, so it kind of goes with everything else...