We just got back from a wonderful tour through Italy with my in-laws, Doug and Dianne. We started in the south and made our way to the north of Italy. We had amazing weather, delicious food and sooo much wine!
Sorrento – Alex and I flew to Naples a day before the Hempel’s arrived so we could all meet the following morning to head down to Sorrento together. We were happy to spend a night in a new city but glad that it was only one night; we were shocked by how dirty Naples was. However, we couldn’t leave without trying their famous pizza. It didn’t disappoint, it was delicious! The next morning we left for the train station to pick up Doug and Dianne. We squeezed ourselves on a train with tons of other people and rode the hour to Sorrento. We spent the next 3 days exploring beautiful Sorrento. We drove through the Amalfi Coast, took a boat ride around the island of Capri, visited a limoncello distillery, found a great wine bar and much more. It was a great start to our trip!
Orvieto – We left Sorrento and headed north to Orvieto with a stop in Pompeii along the way. It was incredible. I didn’t realize just how big the ancient city actually was. We walked around for a few hours, taking in all of the sights and history of the place. It was very interesting. After, we continued to Orvieto. It was such a cute little town, perched high on top of a hill. We checked into our hotel and walked around the town for a bit, finding the perfect place to eat dinner. Then we bought some wine and sat on our balcony enjoying the rest of the beautiful evening.
Florence – The next morning before heading off to Florence, we toured the Orvieto cathedral followed up by a guided tour of the caves underneath Orvieto. Apparently, each home in Orvieto has its own cave used now for storage or wine cellars. Many of the southern facing caves were used historically as …. umm… live food storage for the wealthier crowd. Packed in each side of the caverns were man-made pigeon holes to keep the local food source readily available. Let’s just say we did not try the local delicacy. After the tour we grabbed a quick (bird free) lunch then hopped in the car and made our way to Florence. We dragged our luggage through the city until reaching our apartment in the heart of Florence. We of course deserved some wine after that so we stopped at a restaurant for a glass and a delicious fruit and cheese plate. We then wandered around the city for a while until finding a restaurant to eat dinner. The next morning we split up so that each couple was able to see their ‘must haves’ in terms of museums / sites around the city – way too many things to see and do in Florence to get to them all in 2 days. Alex and I toured the Uffizi museum (finding a statue that looked oddly similar to my brother), admired the statue of David in the Accedemia museum, climbed 414 steps to the top of the Duomo tower and visited the Medici Chapels. It was a long but good day of sightseeing. We all met back up for dinner at an awesome restaurant recommended by Alex’s Aunt and Uncle (thanks Dave and Mary!). The next day we did some more sightseeing in the morning (plus a little leather shopping), then hopped on a small tour bus for a little wine tasting tour in the Tuscan countryside. We got to sample wine and olive oil from two different winery’s. It was really fun, informative and of course delicious!
Venice – The next morning we hopped on a train and headed for Venice. We stayed in a really cool apartment that used to be a Palace. It even had a balcony overlooking the canals and steps leading directly into the water. After settling in, we headed out to explore the beautiful but confusing city; so many canals and tight passage ways lined with tall buildings on each side. We grabbed a quick bite and an aperol spritz, of course. After walking around for most of the afternoon we stopped and picked up some wine, cheese and olives and sat on our balcony watching the gondolas go by making our own little Italian happy hour. We decided it was the perfect night to take a gondola ride ourselves. The canals were a little busy but with the sun setting, it was an absolute perfect time to be on the water. The next morning we did an excellent walking tour of the city which brought us to many of the not so touristy areas. Afterwards, we explored more of the city, had drinks again on our balcony (it’s not every day you can watch gondolas from your own private balcony) then had an amazing meal for our last night in Italy. The next morning we dropped Doug and Dianne at the train station where they headed off to Rome for the next 3 nights. After picking up an awesome Venice mask, Alex and I left for the airport to head back to Köln.
We had a great time in Italy. I wasn’t ready to leave this beautiful country or such great company! Thank you Doug and Dianne for joining us on this unforgettable trip! We had such a wonderful time and will cherish these memories with you both forever.
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Thanks for capturing these moments, Sunny! You make a wonderful travel agent! Every leg of this trip was fantastic. It was a truly our most memorable trip, and the best part was spending time with you and Alex! We love you! ❤️
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Excellent pictures to go with the narrative! Another great trip, looks like you had such good weather too! Italy really is a special place, Glad you all had a wonderful time!
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Thanks for the trip info. DOUG and Dianne came over for Mothers day and showed us pics of the trip. What a nice event for all of you..Grandpa could relive when he was their in the army. We are both good . Busy with yard work now. Always think about you both. Love grandma .
“WordPress.com” wrote: > a:hover { color: red; } a { text-decoration: none; color: #0088cc; } a.primaryactionlink:link, a.primaryactionlink:visited { background-color: #2585B2; color: #fff; } a.primaryactionlink:hover, a.primaryactionlink:active { background-color: #11729E !important; color: #fff !important; } /* @media only screen and (max-device-width: 480px) { .post { min-width: 700px !important; } } */ WordPress.com hempelsc18 posted: “We just got back from a wonderful tour through Italy with my in-laws, Doug and Dianne. We started in the south and made our way to the north of Italy. We had amazing weather, delicious food and sooo much wine! Sorrento – Alex and I flew to Naples a day b”
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