Elba Family Vacation – June ’24

Elba Family Vacation - June '24

samkaserer

In June, we headed back to Isola d’Elba with Vanessa’s family for a week in the sun. Before we left for Italy, Vanessa’s mom Deidre and niece Anistyn came to spend a week with us in Amsterdam.

Cycling the Amstel
Acai bowls
We each got a lego
Workspace
Massimo Gelato

Time flies when you’re having fun and we had a great time doing family friendly sightseeing and playing many games. We took Anistyn to the MOCO Museum, the Upside Down, the Lego Store, and even rode bikes up and down the Amstel. Our diet consisted of daily mango, Acai bowls, gelato, and green dip from the hummus guys. It was truly a vacation before the vacation and we were really happy to show Deidre and Anistyn our life in the Netherlands.

Deidre had left a few days earlier so Vanessa, Anistyn, and I made our way to Schiphol airport via public transport and caught our 2-hour flight to Pisa. From Pisa, we picked up our rental car and drove about an hour to Piombino, on the coast, to catch the last ferry of the day out to Elba. The ferry takes about 45 to an hour and we drove right off and onward towards our hotel.

Suite #1
Turkish bath
Resort garden

For this trip, we would not be staying in the apartment Vanessa’s family had bought earlier in the year, as it was rented out. Instead, we checked in at the beautiful Baia Bianca resort on Biadola Bay. What a treat! This is a special place and I hope the pictures do it justice.

Our room view
Tennis
Walking to dinner at next resort
Neighboring resort
View from further down the beach
Ness in her element
Oyster cheers

For the next week, we laid at the beach, swam, read, and generally enjoyed a leisurely pace. We played many games including dominos, Oh Hell, pennies, and more and enjoyed some fantastic meals.

Annie digging a hole with a beach tank in the back
Digging a hole to China
Boogie boarding
Made it to Porto Azzurro to see their apartment. The town was much busier than our last visit in early spring.

On a sadder note, I learned that on June 22nd, a dear friend Jack Howley had passed away in Flagstaff. I was filled with mixed emotions; to be in such a beautiful place with good people while still being away from home and missing out on some of the important things in life. I felt a bit helpless to support my friends Ry and Ty back in the states but we were able to connect and they have a strong community around them there.

Cornetto al pistacchio

After some good fun in the sun, it was time to return to the Netherlands. We made the return trip back to Pisa and Vanessa was able to visit her favorite Gluten-free bakery before we got to the airport. Thank you Elba and major thanks to Yuerg, Deidre, and all the family for a wonderful trip.