The gondola capital of Italy was too quick to enjoy properly. Venice is a city that seems like it would be best enjoyed at a relaxed pace. Although we did go into town the night before, we only had a few hours in the city during the day before our flight to Paris left. In the morning, we had to turn in the car, so the plan was to drop me to do laundry while the guys took back the car. Our car ended up going back to a different place than originally expected...

We made it to the tower of Pisa just in time for the thunderstorms! These dollar store umbrellas sure have come in handy. The only really bad thing about the weather is that our schedule is all off. Kylie is hoping to talk with her friends at school via Skype today, and we should already be in Venice versus still traveling there. We'll see if we can make it work.

We made it through the mountains through Lucca and stopped in a small town called Pistoia, deep in the heart of Tuscany. We were planning on going to eat, but ended up at a local grocery store instead and picnic'd in the van, as we head to Venice. We had to take an alternate route due to a freeway closure, and it probably took us a little longer with the crazy rain. We only saw one accident, two Mercedes in just a small fender bender on the side of the mounta...

It didn't take us more than a few hours to get to Florence, but it is a pretty low key city. Apparently there was a national holiday in Italy, and many shops and places were closed due to that, and it being Sunday. We did get to see the second of the famous there in Italy, #1 is the Collisium, #2 is the Duomo (huge cathedral) in Florence, and #3 is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Duomo is incredibly colorful with white, greens, and rusty reds and oranges th...

We were headed to Florence when our stomach's told us it was time for lunch. Jeff mentioned he wanted to eat at a proper, non-touristy Italian restaurant. So, Adam picked Orvieto for the location, and I turned on my data for a minute to download restaurant suggestions. Wow! We hit Orvieto on just the right day. A local festival was in the works, and every residence and business had a flag hanging from their entrance, doorway, or window. There were flowers eve...