This summer our family had the adventure of a lifetime. We got to explore Italy for a month while I taught in a study abroad program. It was an absolute delight and dream come true. I realized I hadn’t shared many photos with y’all yet, so here goes.
Eric & me
We lived in Siena for a month with day trips to Florence and Pisa. We also spent three days in Rome. It was a whirlwind, but a dream come true in so many ways. My oldest is an ardent fan of Lisa Bergren’s River of Time series which is set in medieval Siena. Living in Siena made the books come even more alive. When we were in Rome she did something that her favorite character in another series did. And then she inhaled the entire Percy Jackson series (again) while living in places that scenes from those books occurred. It was a book lover’s dream.
A smaller group of my students in Pisa. The tower really does lean!
The kids taking advantage of one of the public fountains in Siena.
Me with a random Einstein statute at the Banfi Winery, a fascinating tour the students and I attended.
This gives you an idea of our walk every day to and from our apartment and the amazing view from the apartment. Talk about peaceful! We would all love to visit there again!
Our time in Rome was magical. We proved you can hit the top 10 list in 2 full days and 2 half days — and that includes 5.5 hours here at the Vatican Museum.
The Trevi Fountain was AMAZING. I think that was my pinch me moment in Rome. It was bigger and more impressive than I anticipated.
I mentioned my oldest likes to read…It became something my husband did to take a photo of her reading on her Kindle everywhere. 🙂
I hope you enjoyed this short tour. There are so many great experiences I could share, but we’d need to find a booth at a coffee shop and a lot of time. Where have you traveled?
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Wow what an experience. Thanks for sharing.
It was incredible!
I never felt the sense of awe as I did when I first traveled to Europe. It truly is another world, the old world. Heidelberg, Frankfurt, East & West Berlin, Paris, to Austria across the Alps, Luxembourg, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Dachua concentration camp, Neuschwanstein Castle, plus other castles along the Rhine River, the Louve, Versailles, plus many more places.
Just so many moving events that I can reflect upon, in my later years.
Europe is an amazing place. Each visit reminds me just how amazing. You’ve been some amazing places, Betty. I’ve been to a few of those but many are still on my list.
I really enjoyed your pictures.Thanks for sharing them.
Thanks, Diana. It was an amazing trip.
What a fabulous trip!! I had to laugh at the photos of your daughter reading everywhere she went. I was once exactly like her. My mom has pictures of me, stopping to pose for a photo in front of a some wonderful tourist attraction or another while clasping a book in my hand.
It was a running joke of our trip. She read 24 books while we were gone!
Looks like an amazing experience for you and your family. Thanks for sharing it with us.
It was great to get to do this while all the kids were still home. That won’t be the case much longer.
Beautiful pictures. Would love to have an experience like that. My husband has been to Italy and loved it. I bought a picture that reminded me of Tuscany as described in a book, The House of Wind, by Titania Hardie.
Thanks for sharing. Would love to see more.
Thanks for sharing your photos! I, too, have traveled to Italy! Hubby and I went in 2014. It was a trip I will never forget as I met Debbie Macomber while standing in line to see the David in Florence!!! I couldn’t believe it! There she was, standing in line like everyone else! No one recognized her. That was hard for me to comprehend! I did go over and speak with her quietly for a few moments. She is lovely. I have a photo of her and I. Cinque Terra, Sienna, Rome…wow. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.