The Herzing Three Do Italy! The Basic Overview

 

Tip toes in the Mediterranean! We spent our first night in Fiumicino, 

a 'suburb' with the airport and about 35 minutes to downtown Rome.

Raine's #1 favorite thing to see in Rome was the Trevi Fountain! 

We were expecting a little fountain like the one we met our tour guide* at (Turtle Fountain) 

in the small Piazza Mattei, so when we turned the corner and saw Trevi, we were in awe! It is huge!!!!

Other favorites were the Colosseum, St. Peter's Square / Vatican -The smallest country in the world! 

And the Keyhole of the Knights of Malta. (IYKYK.)

Lunch in hilltop town Pienza, near our villa. Side note: The small town road trip is very curvy and up and down hills. Be careful. I totally threw up in the car.

Tuscany treated us well. We stayed at a beautiful Villa in Chianciano Terme, southwest of Siena in the Val d'Orcia. The special occasion for our visit was the marriage vow renewal for our friends Amy and Ross Mulder. We were honored to be present for their beautiful and touching ceremony. The  family of the Stinson/Glick/Mulders made us feel very welcome and we enjoyed hanging out, playing games, going out to dinner, and swimming. Raine also had fun with Harvey and his cousin Alfie playing tennis and jumping on the trampoline.

We were also able to spend a day in Florence, which is the city I always dreamt of returning to and I was thrilled to find my old apartment and show Raine and Dan where I studied. The same pastry shop was still below the apartment so we chatted with the women and ate some sweets!

Raine's #1 fave in Florence was the stunning Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence Cathedral).

He was so impressed with how large the cathedral was that he had us time him running around the entire thing. (He clocked in at just under 3 minutes.)

We visited Florence's "town hall," Palazzo Vecchio, with a copy of Michelangelo's David in the Piazza della Signoria. That led us to Ponte Vecchio, a medieval bridge spanning the Arno, where I had wished upon a star that I would someday return with the love of my life....!

Our time in Italy was far too short ... Just 5 days. Raine became a true world traveler and the most enjoyment I had was watching him marvel at the cities and excitedly take pictures and videos. He also had a relaxing stay at the villa even though I forced him to participate in a cooking class! He actually did really well. He didn't last the entire 3 hours but he cooked the panna cotta that we all enjoyed for dessert!

*We had an amazing tour experience in Rome with Arvin, a guide with Turtle Tour Rome. I booked it easily through Viator and I can't recommend it enough. He was knowledgeable and fast, as well as interested in involving Raine and teaching him. He had great recommendations for restaurants, too!

See all of our trip photos on Flickr.