Il Nostro Giro Italiano

Ciao a tutti!

My parents are back en route to NYC and I am back in Bologna after what ended up being a wonderful two week spring break together, when we did a grande giro italiano, a big Italian tour: we hit Bologna, Florence, Rome, Tuscany, Venice, and Lake Como. There were far too many laughs and stories to fit into this blog, but here are some of the highlights:

Mom and Dad ready to start the hike up to San Luca

Climbing San Luca -
Shortly after arriving in Italy my parents were brave enough to commit to hiking the 666 continuous porticoes up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, just outside Bologna. The legend tells that the sacred image of Madonna di San Luca (Virgin by Saint Luke) was brought down to Bologna in 1433 and miraculously stopped the heavy rain, from then onwards the sacred image was (and continues to be) brought down once a year from the church, and the porticoes were built in 1676 to protect the painting during its descent.

St. Peter's Square in preparation for Easter Sunday mass

Visiting the Vatican on Good Friday -
This day was too much to take in at once - in one day (one MORNING, really) we saw the Sistine chapel, Michelangelo's Pietà, Emperor Nero's bathtub, St. Peter's Basilica, and countless incredible sculptures, paintings, maps, and tapestries. We all agreed that this morning spent at the Vatican was by far our favorite experience in the eternal city.




Our knowledgeable tour guide, Leo, informed me that looking through this keyhole would give me a peek inside the papal apartments. Too cool!

Grapes beginning to grow in the vineyard where we stayed

Drinking Brunello in Montalcino -

We were lucky enough to be able to stay a couple of days at a family friend's vineyard in MONTALCINO, TUSCANY, where they produce Brunello di Montalcino, one of Italy's best wines. We had a wonderful time doing so! The town was small and quaint, the food was incredible, and the wine was even better!

The plaque on our Olive tree - we bought this olive tree in the vineyard a couple of years ago and each year they send us three bottles of olive oil from our very own olive tree! Coolest investment ever.

I had never seen a GPS point me into water before when there wasn't a bridge

Putting our rental car on a ferry to cross Lake Como -
Lake Como was, simply put, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life. We stayed in Bellagio but in order to check out some of the other towns surrounding the lake, our GPS instructed us to put our car on a ferry across the lake. We obeyed.

Unbelievable two weeks. Photo albums to come soon!