Venice Via Kid's Books!
August 29, 2008

We love the idea of making up kids itineraries
from good children's literature! I think it helps
ground the experience in a deeper way

Catching Capri
April 28, 2008

They say it is one of the most beautiful
islands in the world and it has a lot of
glamour attached to its name,

Where in Heaven is Mozart?
April 16, 2008

This is our little "Mozart" and she is 18
months into a multi year, open ended trip
around the world, we started when she was 5.

Pompeii...Buried Alive!
April 2, 2008

Mozart has always been fascinated by Pompeii
since she read a book about it several years ago
with that exact title, “Pompeii....Buried Alive!”

Bavagna Cheese, Please
April 1, 2008

Is it really the best cheese in the world as
some say? I am not sure about that, as we
had a spectacular cheese in Amsterdam

Ahhh...Umbria!
March 30, 2008

How many Californians have lived thirty nine
years in Umbria? I doubt if there are very many,
but I was lucky enough to meet a very

Where Is Pinocchio?
March 28, 2008

It is a little funky, a little fifties, fun for a
kid and full-out-Italian, so as a traveling
family with a seven year old

Pisa & That Famous Tower
March 13, 2007

Traveling kids like name brand sites because
they hear and read so much about them,
so for that reason alone, we had to put Pisa

Kid's View Of Florence!
March 11, 2008

Florence can be a fascinating place for
kids and it is a great city for walking
around amongst great art.

More Fabulous Florence
March 10, 2008

Oh, how can one describe the glories of
Florence on a sunny day in late October
when all the crowds are gone?

Armonia Make-Overs!
Monday, February 22, 2008

If you ever need your hair done in Florence,
we know the place to go! Armonia is a large
salon right next to the main square in Florence,

Boboli Gardens
February 19, 2008

On a beautiful sunny day, we took in more
of Florence as we leisurely crossed the
famous Ponte Vecchio 

David, DaVinci, Music & More
February 17, 2008

For over 500 years people have been admiring
Michelangelo’s magnificent David, one of
art-history’s greatest

 

The Uffitzi
February 15, 2008

Mozart was very happy to see some of her
favorite paintings in the Uffitzi Gallery in
Florence! The spectacular Uffizi is the

Michelangelo, Medici, More
February 11, 2008

Most of the important developments in western art, science, literature and architecture took root and flourished in Florence during the renaissance,

Snow in Florence!
February 9, 2008

We could not believe it was snowing in Florence in October! We had left sunny Vienna and headed south, expecting more warmth, so we were stunned when the snow started pouring down as we approached

Romeo & Juliet in Verona
February 7, 2008

“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” Mozart read Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as we drove from Graz, Austria, through Slovenia once again, towards Verona, Italy.

Greece-Italy-Croatia Ferries
August 28, 2007

We took back to back ferries from Patras, Greece to Bari, Italy,
then onto Dubrovnic, Croatia from Bari, after waiting there almost
twelve hours. There is no easy way to get from Greece to Croatia

Adriatic Birthday Rainbow
June 10, 2007

What a lovely birthday gift. “Wow, there is a rainbow!” DaVinci noticed as he looked out the porthole window in our cabin while in the middle of the Adriatic sea on our ferry from Venice to  Greece.

Arrivederci Venice!
June 8, 2007

Venice is extraordinary and it is hard not to be beguiled by the many
charms of this city built on water. It was a powerful republic built
between the sixth and eighth century and for eleven hundred years

Italian Memorial Weekend
May 31, 2007

The beautiful sandy beach near Venice was the perfect spot to
spend Memorial Day week end and even looked a little like one of
our beaches at home in some ways. We moved to the well known Union Lido

Venetian Violin Via Gondola
May 30, 2007

As the gondola swayed on the Grand Canal, Mozart donned her Venetian
mask and played her violin which our gondolier Roberto just loved!
Both his grandparents and his father before him were gondoliers

Kids Lit Itinerary
May 27, 2007

Perhaps because she loves opera and museums too, Mozart could relate
to the protagonist in a lovely picture book called “Zoe Sophia’s
Scrapbook-An Adventure in Venice”.

Murano Glass Blowing
May 25, 2007

Seeing all the magnificent Venetian glass everywhere, made a trip to
nearby Murano Island to see the world renown glass blowers in action
a “must see” in our Venice explorations.

Gotta Do Gondolas!
May 23, 2007

There were ten thousand gondolas in Venice in the sixteenth century
and there are less than 500 today, but it is still the most romantic way
to see the city. One can not imagine Venice without

Piazza San Marco
May 22, 2007

The Basilica of St. Mark has 43,000 square feet of mosaics, but it was
the pigeons that impressed Mozart the most. She could have fed them
all day and they are amazingly tame.

Venezia
May 20, 2007

“Abandon wheels all ye who enter here!” Watching that famous skyline
grow closer from our ferry was a thrill as I have never approached
Venice from the sea upon arrival and it is an exciting way to do it.

Splish Splash!
May 18, 2007

As the sizzling heat wave continued in Italy and Venice beckoned,
we decided to sneak one more session of tubing in before leaving this
piece of heaven near Florence. Check out time is usually around noon,

Under The Tuscan Sun
May 16, 2007

The cute white train chugged up the hill past the olive groves,
vineyards and Tuscan stone houses to the center on the very top that
has more restaurants and a fantastic pool complex and water park.

Tuscany Camping Nirvana
May 14, 2007

Norcenni Girasole (www.ecvacanze.it ) was named as the only four
star campsite in Tuscany in our guide book, so we made a bee line to
it from Rome, as we have gotten spoiled by the luxury campgrounds

Florence's Chianti Hills
May 12, 2007

Refrains from Andrea Boticelli’s Sogno album belted out as we made
our way from Rome through Umbria and then Tuscany countryside,
on our way to the only four star campsite in the Chianti hills.

Colosseum & Forum Foray
May 10, 2007

The white haired, kind faced woman made it clear in Italian that she
wanted me and the “bambino” to sit across from her on the very
crowded bus. I think she nudged the man who was in it, out for us,

Roma
May 8, 2007

Italian, Dutch, German, French and Spanish words floated in the air
as I waited in line to check my mail at the internet cafe, while Mozart
swam in the pool, or  when we just walked around the campsite.

Barcelona-Rome Cruise Ferry
May 7, 2007

Cling, clang, vrooom, chug-chug-chug-chug
blasted the echoing sounds in the cavernous
hold, as we entered the gargantuan Grimaldi