After the trans-Atlantic flight, the sights of Florence and the isle of Elba, we continued our exploration among the tranquility of the Tuscan countryside, where time definitely slows down amidst a stunning backdrop. Pienza is a place that was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The entire surrounding valley was included on UNESCO’s World Cultural Landscape. Pretty heady stuff when you get right down to it. Stick your head out of our hotel and it is easy to see why. The colors and the contour of the landscape flowing so gently, it is a scene right out of movie. More on that later…. Our temporary domicile was conveniently located so that when we crossed the street we were within the walls of the old town, which like the many others we have encountered is ... read more

Sometimes the universe propels you in the right direction. In our years we’ve realized that you end up where you need to be. With a world of change behind us, we set forth to recapture the essence of who we are: EXPLORERS, voyeurs, and sometimes just curious. These are rather insatiable traits that seemingly cannot be ignored for long. What better place to feed this passion than the city that simply oozes creativity: Florence. From the climes of Pittsburgh, we first stopped over in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia and boarded a plane to Frankfurt, then to Florence. Although most choose to fly in and out of Rome, we wanted to start this voyage in Florence, hence the strange connections. We will eventually make our way to Rome towards the end of this journey. The ... read more

Once you’ve arrived in the “city so nice they named it twice”, you come to the realization that in order to do almost anything, you need a ticket. One for the theater, one for the “hop on hop off bus,” one for the helicopter ride, one for the museum, one for the….well you get the idea. And of course if you arrive without a ticket, there are plenty of folks ready to liberate you from some of your money on most sidewalks in Times Square and other nearby locations…..about every twenty feet or so that you walk. “Hey! Let me make you a deal on some tickets……” We love cities and NYC is alive and energetic!! In a short time you will feel the personality of this city---- this magical city. Music fills the air with ... read more

Rich in history, politics and scandal, the city remains one of the loveliest major cities in America. Tourists around the world flock to the city on the Potomac River. Nearly 600,000 people call this city home. From the West Wing to Watergate the city enchants its guest with bureaucrats, blossoms and a burglary. This visit we are here to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. In 1996 we were fortunate enough to live in this vibrant city for a very short period of time. Since then we have dreamed of coming back to do more exploration. Our most recent visit was in 2008 and the city continues to beckon our return. On our arrival to the city, we stood in the courtyard looking at the historical Watergate hotel and pondering the events that occurred in 1972 ... read more

When you board the plane your mind instantly starts wandering; you can almost feel the warmth of the tropical winds, high humidity and imagine the wonder of diving along a coral wall looking into the deep blue abyss around you. Your journey to the islands starts as you relax, unwind and leave the day to day behind you. You grab a brief moment to think about the fact that you fled the cold Pittsburh winter to stare at the clear turquoise waters, scuba dive, relax and read. Sitting on the tarmack waiting to for the plane to be de-iced, we are in search of a few days without phones, beepers and blackberries. For the uninformed we want to let you know that only 11 days before we left for the islands, Pittsburgh was hit with 21 ... read more