A Passport is a Girl's Best Friend

“The Creator made Italy by designs from Michelangelo.”  – Mark Twain We grabbed our train from Lugano and headed south for our next stop, Florence. The capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture including Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture, Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and da Vinci’s “Annunciation”. Every turn is breathtaking. Another cold front has hit Europe so we saw snow in northern Italy from the train. Snow in northern Italy The rain greeted us in Florence, but at least it was mild. mmmmm first dinner in Italy, pasta. Piazza della Repubblica This we rolled out of bed late as we are all still recovering from colds. We once we finally got moving we went to see The Baptistery of St. John. Since the line for the Duomo was way too long already and wasn't open for another hour, we decided to go to San Lorenzo Market. A giant indoor market where you will find clothin...

When I was researching Florence, and asking friends for recommendations, everyone told me to go to Tuscany countryside. Yes, would love to..... but how the heck do I manage that with a toddler and not knowing anything about Tuscany.....or how to speak Italian? Finally, someone recommended Anna's CoolTours . I am not a tour bus fan, but this is different. I talked with Anna about what Duane and I would like to see with the caveat of the fact that we have a toddler in tow. She was more than flexible and came up with a customized private itinerary that work work best for us. Anna promptly picked us up at our apartment for our private Tuscany tour at 9:30am and whisked us away to the countryside. She also has a little one so she provided a car seat and knew that we needed a flexible schedule with Grayson. Our first stop was in a teeny tiny (population 500) medieval town called San Donato in Poggio, that is about half way between Florence and Siena. No cars are allowed in 2 of the 3 roa...

Oh Lugano, even when you are raining you are beautiful; your lake, alpine scenery, adorable downtown, and parks, all of it. We got in just in time for nap time for G. After we walked downtown and found something to eat.  We walked around the lake. Swiss like George Washington? found some puddles to jump in and enjoyed the nonstop epic views  Sunday, we met up with Andreas and family at the park next to the train station, Parco Del Tassino Nikolas and Gray hanging out Oh how much has changed in 10 years Sunday night we had a great dinner at Andreas house with the family filled with amazing food, fantastic wine, endless entertainment with kids, and heartwarming talks. Makes you wish that all your friends lived close. But for now, goodbye Switzerland! Next, FLORENCE!!! Also, vending machines in the US definitely don't have 1) condoms or 2) cannabis tea...also, what is a Bifi?