We finished off our three weeks in Italy, heading south to Pompeii after Rome. Pompeii was an amazing site. It was stopped dead in its tracks one August morning in 79AD. And now, nearly 2000 years later you can still see brightly colored mosaic floors, beautiful frescoes painted on the walls, water pipes, bakery ovens, and the best preserved building in town--the brothel complete with little rooms with beds and very revealing paintings. We went even further south to the Amalfi coast where the cliffside villages are built up the mountainside and are really beautiful. Last weekend we took a [View Full Entry]

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We're in Rome now, having left our little home of 10 days in Tuscanny. It was a cozy spot to explore the region. Easter was spectacular. We went into Florence and took part in a celebration that dates back about 500 years, where they explode a cart of explosives when a dove flies in. For a couple of hours prior there are people around in medieval costumes and armor throwing flags, beating drums, marching carrying all manner of medieval weapons. They then march to the plaza in front of the big church with a giant and very old cart which is [View Full Entry]

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We are really having a great time. We are renting a small house in a little town in the hills of Tuscany. Well, they call them hills, but driving around they feel more like mountains. They are steep and the roads are very windy, and it takes about an hour to get to a place that the GPS says is 10 miles away. But at least it is always a charming and beautiful hour as you pass old castles rising on a hill, olive trees and scenic little towns. We have been to Siena, and Pisa, and Florence, and the town [View Full Entry]

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Our first week has been magnificent. We flew into Nice and got a car which we will have for the next 3 months. We drove around Nice and Monnocco and on to Italy. We first visited Cinque Terra, which was amazing. It is five medieval towns seperated along a seven mile stretch up on cliffs, or down by the sea. Chase broke his ankle on New Years eve, and only got the cast off two weeks ago, so I had wondered how he would handle the hike. Luckily the leg is holding up well. We hiked all day, up and down [View Full Entry]

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The boys and I will be leaving Sat. the 8th of March for our latest adventure. Last year we visited our 50th state, so now it's time to head back to Europe. Four years ago we spent several months covering several countries and this time have decided to try some different countries. We will spend a few weeks in Italy, a couple of weeks in Greece, head over to Istanbul, then up through Eastern Europe: Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland...on into Scandinevia for a month. We will be traveling by car, as by the time you multiply train tickets times [View Full Entry]

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