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...

Road trip!!!!!! Ok, so we are really in a mini-van and not chinqua chente. There are 6 of us so the mini van was our only option. We were trying to get on a train this morning, but three ticket terminals shut down on us, and by the time we got up to the ticket window, our third option train was sold out. While the guys were in line at the ticket window, I got in line at the car counter. I may have smiled a time or two, but at the end of it, a previously nearly...

Rome was different than expected. It is green and hilly, and the city is nestled in between all of it. After arriving on the plane from the beaches near Venice, we were freezing!! Rome was about 10-20 degrees cooler. We went straight to the hotel to drop off our bags and change. Then we hit up a locals mostly trattoria for what I thought was incredible pasta and pizza. Although Adam did mention that if we keep waiting to eat until we feel like we are starving...