Italy

After our cable car adventure, we continued south, picking up a permit sticker to drive through Austria. And that's about all we did in Austria, was pass through. It didn't take long to reach Italy, and we started thinking about our destination for the night.

Marc had a conference call he was required to be on, so we wanted to be settling in around 6, for him to make his 7:00 call. We could have covered more distance had he not let me navigate. To my defense, he did ask me to look for a non-toll road that was a bit off of the beaten track. We ended up driving up and down a mountain, a slow and winding journey that reminded us of a mountain drive we took in Maui with Pier, Nathan, Manon and Nathan a few Christmases ago. Many of us ended up with upset stomaches. We were pretty close to that again this time. But again, it was beautiful. And we got to see some local livestock.

I can see how cowbells are necessary up in the mountains.

Our first gelato in Italy.

The Elefant Hotel, in Auer, where we spent Tuesday night.

We don't see these on the highways back home.

We arrived in Firenze late Wednesday afternoon. Despite the drizzle, the kids, and Marc, couldn't wait to try out the new soccer ball at the park around the corner.

I'm amazed at how, in so many places in Europe, there's little fanfare when it comes to statues, monuments and landmarks. You just round the corner and come across something fabulous.

Our first pizza in Italy.

Desserts were yummy too.

Check out the ceiling in our Arizona Hotel room.

The next morning we took another stroll.

Motorcycles seem to outnumber cars.

This bridge had buildings on it that housed a variety of shops.

Fabulous new art too. How could you not be inspired here?

Another statue busker.