European Christmas Vacation

Go south they said, it will be warm they said, Go to Italy...

 

Before we planned our Christmas vacation we tried to plan on a place close enough to drive to but far enough south for warm weather. We found a sweet little island off of the coast of Italy but we never could book a place through a third party website so we went with a place near Pisa Italy. My husband worked tirelessly on the internet researching where to go and what to see and what to do. We have come to the conclusion that to explore Italy we would need about 365+ days to see all the wonderful places found there.

 

The minute we pulled out onto the autobahn at 6 in the morning December 27 to start our trip it started snowing. It snowed through Germany, through Switzerland and through Italy. It was a very long road trip. My husband drove tirelessly for 11 hours straight, 2 hands on the wheel. Have you ever heard the sound of tires parting with pavement? I have. It is the sound I hear in my nightmares now.

 

About the time we made it to Pisa the snow stopped. We did not see snow again except for the day we toured Florence but it was mild and melted off fast. In spite of the rough beginning to our vacation we managed to make many memories. The following photos are evidence of those memories.

Arrivederci and Happy New Year!

 

 

Day 1:
Road Trip



Day 2:
Rest, Relaxation, the Mediterranean Sea



"Stone Pines" or "umbrella trees"



The Sea



A beach with a view

 



A view from our drive every day


 

 

Day 3:
Pisa and Lucca
 

The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Baptistery (pictured in the foreground)
The Cathedral (beside the tower)

Tourist!
There were hundreds of tourists which was a surprise for us.

Resting outside of the gift shop.

 

A closer view of the Cathedral

The Cathedral was built in the shape of a cross
so it could be seen that way from Heaven.

A closer view of the Baptistery



After Pisa we drove to the city of Lucca

We rode around the city in this 6 seater bicycle

"We are eating Italian food in Italy!!"




and of course, Gelato

Ended the day with fire and marshmallows.

Day 4:
Sight seeing on dell Isla d' Elba
The kids' first ferry ride

Day 5:

Florence and Giotto's Bell Tower

We climbed 414 steps of narrow staircases to the top.

Spectacular view of Florence

and of course a reward of gelato.

 

 

 

Day 6:

Livorno Aquarium and time on the beach.

Rob took all the pictures

posted on day 6.

Day 7:

Our travels home were without snow.

We took a rest stop at

Castle Grande in Switzerland.