Today, I got up early with Beckett around 5:45am when he woke me up and we quietly went outside to let Jay sleep in for Father’s Day. Beckett and I enjoyed a quiet morning around the beautifully landscaped villa. We are staying at Villa Fenicottero which translates to Flamingo Villa. It has this name because it borders a bird sanctuary where lots flamingos migrate to. Fun facts – the flamingos we saw were actually white and they fly! The picture below shows Beckett adorably waving and saying hello to the decorative flamingos around the property. Notice the sweatshirt – he only needed it for about a half hour because it warms up so fast here!
We left around 11:30 to drive to the Vendicari nature preserve which has protected beaches that are set away from any roads and buildings. We parked and walked for about a mile to the beach. Once we got there, we saw a sign that said “no beach games” with a big X through a picture of a pail and shovel, so even though we brought a few small toys for the kids, we kept them tucked away. This must be to protect the beaches from any plastic litter people may leave behind. Brooke was a good sport about it and built a little sandcastle and found lots of shells to decorate it.
We swam in the warm water, which, again, was super shallow and clear making it perfect for the kids! Check out how far Jay and Brooke are standing in the water! The water was barely up to Jay’s knees!
Next, we walked over to check out the remains of a tonnara (an ancient tuna fishery that operated from the 17th to the 20th century).
Brooke was excited to count 12 crabs in this passageway. Unfortunately, Beckett was in a pretty cranky mood because he didn’t nap so we knew the clock was ticking on this outing.
The walk back to the car was brutal for all of us due to the heat. But towards the end of the walk, Brooke and I cooled off with a refreshing granita before the car ride home. Beckett missed out because he fell asleep in the stroller. Which, of course ruined any chance of him sleeping back at the villa or in the car. Oh well!
Jay used the charcoal grill at the villa to grill us some hot dogs/sausages for dinner with Grammy. Everyone else was still out on separate outings, so our little group of 5 ate early and enjoyed our meal at our usual “American time.”
Then, we spent another nice evening catching up with everyone outside!