ITALY!!!

Well, as most of you know, Vimal and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary by going to Milan and Lake Como. While the travel on both ends was quite challenging with an 18 month old (here's some advice: BUY THEM A SEAT!), the overall trip was wonderful. We rented a house in Lezzeno, a village about 10 minutes from Bellagio, on Lake Como and as you can tell from the photos the views were magnificent. From our balcony we could see the lake, the Swiss Alps, and the French Alps. Oh, and we were directly across the lake from Sir Richard Branson's villa...if only we were so lucky! Anyways, I had a really hard time narrowing down the pictures so there are a lot posted here. Feel free to skip some if they get a bit redundant for you.

Near the Duomo and some fantastic shopping in Milan
Ellis is checking out the Italians
We were obviously not "blending in" to the culture, what with the bright orange backpack and all
Duomo in Milan
More Duomo
Having a snack with mommy in the plaza
Waiting to see Michaelangelo's "The Last Supper"
Having a snack as we wait to see "The Last Supper"
This is the building where "The Last Supper" hangs...kinda unimpressive, huh?
Vimal and I loved this department store sign
Just arrived to the house in Lake Como...Ellis is sharing a nectarine with daddy on the balcony
I mean, c'mon, could the view have been any better?
Rowing competition being held out our front window
I couldn't get over the fact that the rowers were standing up (though it's not very clear in this photo)
Reading "The Belly Button Book" with her Nonna (aka, my mom)
It's impossible to describe how much I love this face!
Access to the lake from our house
Making friends with the Italian kiddos next door...this relationship would blossom throughout the week
Who doesn't love ruffles on a baby tushie?
This became her default outfit of the week
She liked the gelato (her face is smeared with it in this pic)
Eating Watermelon gelato in Bellagio
Bellagio...gorgeous but thank goodness we didn't bring a stroller
My mom called this one her "Italian prison" picture but it's really the porthole at the front of our house. You can't tell from here but she had just finished crying and her cheeks were streaked with tears
Nonna hates getting her picture taken!
The swans came to visit everyday. Not sure what sound a swan makes, but Ellis quacked at them constantly
She was really quite happy the whole time we were there
Blueberries are definitely her favorite fruit, no matter what country they grow in
View out the front of our house
Our rental car, an Alfa Romeo station wagon
More of the kids next door. About a hundred times a day, Ellis would yell "Hi" to them and they would yell "Ciao" back at her
Vimal was so excited about having "line dried" clothes that he did our laundry the whole time we were there
This was pretty much where Ellis stood everyday, staring down at the kids who were playing next door (by the way, I think she's standing just like her daddy in this picture)
We could only find quarts of milk for Ellis, so we went through A LOT of them (and a Coke Zero or too as well)!
Walking down to the lake with Ellis
More time with her new "friends"
Splashing in the lake (I thought it was too cold)
Just checking things out