This was our first family trip to Europe and we covered Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Lake Garda and Verona!
Rome was beautiful with so much history that I was amazed at how well they have sustained these structures for so long, each with its rich history. We did the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palantine Hill, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and each had its own beauty. We ate the best gelato near Trevi fountain. I have never had Kumquat gelato and it was really awesome! We also went to Vatican City museum and Sistine Chapel. St Peter's basilica is the best church I have seen from inside!
Florence is probably the most beautiful city with its beautiful sunsets and all the art. We did Michelangelo Square, where Surabhi fell trying to climb the statue and slit her chin. That night we went to the hospital and got it glued back. That would be the only tense few hours on the trip. We did Uffizi with a guide and it was awesome. I also hiked to Boboli gardens and of course the beautiful Ponte Vecchio.
We did a one day trip to Pisa and it was really beautiful. Climbing to the top, we felt the tilt. Before that we had Pizza watching the Soccer WC in Italy!
Next stop was Venice. We probably walked the entire city in 2 days, going to various touristy and non-touristy areas (well, almost all of Venice is touristy, so...). Highlights were a nice gondola ride, an amazing restaurant that made ketchup from scratch for our kids and an amazing Polenta meal on the canal!
Next stop was off the beaten path to Lake Garda which is a tourist spot but more frequented by locals. Its a beautiful alpine lake where we had dinners on the lake. It was just beautiful. We took the cable car to Monte Baldo which had unbelievable vistas. There were Alpacas on the top which made my day.
Finally, we came to Verona, the home of the real characters that inspired Shakespeare to write Romeo and Juliet. We saw the first century arena which still houses concerts. It was really surreal to see something operational that is from the 1st century!
We never rented a car, but used trains all over Italy. I loved the trains! They were fast, clean and fun!
Rome was beautiful with so much history that I was amazed at how well they have sustained these structures for so long, each with its rich history. We did the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palantine Hill, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and each had its own beauty. We ate the best gelato near Trevi fountain. I have never had Kumquat gelato and it was really awesome! We also went to Vatican City museum and Sistine Chapel. St Peter's basilica is the best church I have seen from inside!
Florence is probably the most beautiful city with its beautiful sunsets and all the art. We did Michelangelo Square, where Surabhi fell trying to climb the statue and slit her chin. That night we went to the hospital and got it glued back. That would be the only tense few hours on the trip. We did Uffizi with a guide and it was awesome. I also hiked to Boboli gardens and of course the beautiful Ponte Vecchio.
We did a one day trip to Pisa and it was really beautiful. Climbing to the top, we felt the tilt. Before that we had Pizza watching the Soccer WC in Italy!
Next stop was Venice. We probably walked the entire city in 2 days, going to various touristy and non-touristy areas (well, almost all of Venice is touristy, so...). Highlights were a nice gondola ride, an amazing restaurant that made ketchup from scratch for our kids and an amazing Polenta meal on the canal!
Next stop was off the beaten path to Lake Garda which is a tourist spot but more frequented by locals. Its a beautiful alpine lake where we had dinners on the lake. It was just beautiful. We took the cable car to Monte Baldo which had unbelievable vistas. There were Alpacas on the top which made my day.
Finally, we came to Verona, the home of the real characters that inspired Shakespeare to write Romeo and Juliet. We saw the first century arena which still houses concerts. It was really surreal to see something operational that is from the 1st century!
We never rented a car, but used trains all over Italy. I loved the trains! They were fast, clean and fun!
