Such a big city, our first mistake was to assume it was like most other cities, well documented, well understood, easy to find highlights. We started researching last night, picked out the few highlights we thought sounded interesting and the figured we'd make the most of our last day of shopping in Italy. We're just a few hours south of Milan, has to be good right? Well on a Monday most shops don't open in the morning. The morning ends around 3:30 w...

Lazier by the hour, we didn't get to breakfast until well after 9. Everyone is sold on beach club day, but first we "drag" the kids to Portofino. The bus ride takes ten minutes or so, every possibly inhabitable part of the shore line has been privatised, you can even "Beach Club" on a pier. But the tiny bays are beautiful all the same, old castles, fortresses and family homes dot the shoreline. At Portofino we're surprised how small it is - a tiny bay, m...

I've read all these blogs of trekkers bouncing along Cinque Terre - should you walk or run from Monterosso al Mare to Vernazza? But Liguria begs you to sit and admire, or at the most stroll. We had plans to get around by train, but this morning found out we could take a once a week boat trip along the coast and tour a few of the villages from the sea. We started out in Riomaggiore entering from just best to the boat ramp, we got to walk up from the bottom, ...

After our long lazy and late dinner last night, no one was in a hurry to make a start today. Eventually the warmth of the Tuscan sun filled the room and soon enough we were back at Il Campo for a Coffee and brioche breakfast in that same glowing sun. Last nights laziness spilled into our morning, Sienna just puts the mental brakes on everything, very enchanting. Eventually though then pull of Pisa had us on the road. An hour and some change later we were pulling...

We'd planned to be on the road by 7:30, but Serg's infectious hospitality meant we kicked around feeding the Ducks & Swans until closer to 9. By the time we got out of Sirmione the car was adding minutes to our arrival time every time I blinked.  We made it to Modena around 11:30. We'd come to checkout the world's number one restaurant, Osteria Francescana. By check out I mean watch the kitchen hands load the veggies as they arrived and snap a s...