Instead of trying to drive around the Tuscan countryside on our own, we opted to join an all day tour through Discover Tuscany. The tour picked us up in Montecatini, where we were staying, and we joined up with other picked up in Florence and Siena before making our way to our first stop the…
Category: Europe
Visiting a Tuscan Vineyard
Instead of trying to drive around the Tuscan countryside on our own, we opted to join an all day tour through Discover Tuscany. The tour picked us up in Montecatini, where we were staying, and we joined up with others picked up in Florence and Siena before making our way to our first stop, the vineyard Abbadia Ardenga just…
10 Fun Facts about the Florence Cathedral
Our week-long trip around Tuscany would not be complete without a visit to Florence, the capital of the region. The Florence Cathedral, or the Duomo, is hard to miss as its dome towers over the city’s skyline. We learned a lot as we explored the city, but most of what I learned about Florence came…
One Day in Florence, Italy
On our week long trip in Tuscany, we could only devote one day to the city of Florence. I wish we could have spent more time in Florence, but with only one day here’s what we were able to fit in. We boarded the 8:00 train from our home base in Montecatini to arrive in…
A Bike Ride around Lucca, Italy
After our morning in Pisa, we headed to the walled city of Lucca for lunch and to explore. Located between Pisa and Montecatini, Lucca was a perfect stop to break up the hour drive. We easily found paid parking just outside the walled city. We first stopped for lunch and wine at a restaurant we…
A Morning in Pisa, Italy
Driving from Montecatini, we arrived in Pisa around 8 am, parking near the Piazza dei Miracoli, or Square of Miracles, in a fairly empty paid parking lot. We ordered tickets to all the attractions we wanted to see ahead of time and had an 8:45am time slot to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa. After…
An Evening Visit to Montecatini Alto
Throughout our week in Tuscany, the city of Montecatini served as our home base. After our drive from Milan, we dropped off our bags at our hotel in Montecatini Terme located in the valley of Montecatini and headed out to explore. Just down the street we found the Funicolare to take us up to the…
One day in Milan, Italy
After our overnight flight, we arrived not particularly well rested at the Milan Malpensa Airport around 9 am. Running on solely adrenaline, we caught the first train into Milan! Our first stop of the day was at the medieval Sforzesco Castle. Built in 1360s, the castle changed hands many times throughout its long history being…
Iceland Outside the Guidebooks
On our journey around Iceland’s Ring Road we had many destinations we wanted to stop at along our route. What we didn’t realize was that there would be so many more beautiful sites along our journey around Ring Road. Below are just a few of the hundreds of beautiful photos we have from Iceland that were not…
Around Iceland’s Ring Road: An 8 Day Itinerary
The Ring Road, or Route 1, is a road that loops around the entire country of Iceland. If you are heading to Iceland and have plenty of time I definitely recommend leaving the capital city of Reykjavik for some of the amazing natural wonders Iceland has to offer. While 8 days wasn’t nearly enough time…
It's a Schmahl World 