Soon after my last blog posting, we ran into trouble.... Our apartment sewer backed up and the apartment flooded. For various reasons, we decided we had to move, and do it right then. I looked for a hotel for an hour, while Shannon packed our suitcases. We headed for the Hotel Marciano late Thursday night, and we really hated leaving that wonderful neighborhood! Friday was a really, really big day. We got up early and traveled out to the Palace of Versailles, th...

We arrived in Paris on Tuesday afternoon after a rough travel day from Venice. We arrived there in a rainstorm, and we left there in a rainstorm.... Our airport experience was miserable, and we were tired and cranky by the time we finally arrived at our Paris apartment around 5pm. That night, we ended up eating just down the street from our apartment and calling it an early night. Our second day in Paris was much better! We slept in late, and then headed out for...

Here's a quick update from Venice.... We arrived in a driving rainstorm! Check out the video section to see some video from our arrival at Marco Polo airport in Venice. After arrival, there was a one-hour boatride to Venice, where we got soaked running to our apartment. Our very cool apartment is right on the canal, with a view out to the waterfront. It's a short 10-minute walk to St Mark's square, and there are great food options all around us. The first night w...

Here's an update from Rome. We hopped on a train early Thursday morning for La Spezia, then changed to a nicer, faster train bound for Rome. We arrived in Rome around 2pm, and after lots of searching we finally found our apartment around 3:30. Rome is a challenge! Our neighborhood is wonderful, though. It's a trendy spot called Trastevere, just across the river from the ancient center of the City. We have good bus connections to other parts of the city, and we've...

Here's a quick note from Riomaggiore (part of the Cinque Terre along the Northwest coast of Italy). We got up at 5am Tuesday to catch an 8:10am flight to Pisa. With the Underground, the Gatwick Express train, and the strangeness of the British airport, we made the flight with just about 20 minutes to spare. After landing in Pisa, things got crazier. We missed a train, then spent 20 minutes looking for the next train, and struggled again at the central train stati...