Italy with Nana - Epilogue

You win some. You lose some. It was our turn to lose with flight delays and cancellations.

Two extra nights in "Italy" (Frankfurt), an extra flight to London, and many bonus queues in security/custom line ups were exhausting and frustrating, but we made the most of it with face masks, lounge time, and lots of podcasts.

Thank you, Glen, for being so awesome. xxxx

The return journey:

And thank you Emma and Max, for the amazing late night pick up in YYJ!

Italy with Nana - Florence

 Our time in Florence flew by. Never enough hours to hang out in the Uffizi.

A stop at the amazing Palazzo Vecchio- Dob and I had dinner there with Savvy in 2008-

We admired the Duomo before heading to the museum at Santa Maria Novella.

I am in love with a good piazza the way Nana is in love with a good door.

Many meals (the best of which was Indian!) and gelatos later, we managed to summit the Piazzale Michelangelo. A great place to be on our last night.

2008 Savvy throwback climbing the same hill-

Limoncello for the win.

Thank you for the great trip, Nana!

Italy with Nana - Cinque Terra and Tuscany

We hiked, we ate, and we properly adventured. We had a wonderful group of tour-mates.

Our itinerary:

We started at Piccolo Blu in Campiglia. Amazing lunch and then a big hike to Portovenere.

We took a boat shuttle to Isola Palmaria and ate delicious seafood at Locanda Lorena.

The next day, we headed to Rionmaggiore and starting hiking the Manarola Loop. Then off to Vernazza and Monterosso, hiking and training our way along. Cinque Terra was stunning.

We finished a looooooooooong day in Santa Margherita Ligure. 

The next day, a delicious breakfast at our hotel, and then a beautiful hike to Portofino.

Next, off to Toscana - goodbye Liguarian seaside, hello Tuscan hills. Less seafood, more beef.

Lots of hills and a triumphant Nana. We were always rewarded after a walk with a yummy meal.

We did lots of walking around Greve and Castello di Montefioralle. There was wine tasting and balsamic vinegar testing in Radda, Chianti, not to mention a tour of a winery (Castelvecchi and Volpaia) 

Our last hotel on the tour, Villa Le Barone, was charming (near Panzano). 

Oh the greenery and the views!

The tour finished in Florence where we said our goodbyes to our lovely group.

Gluten free eating wasn't always easy, but gelato and affogato were!

Italy with Nana - Pisa

 Sweet wee train journey and we arrived in Pisa.

Yup, that tower is leaning.

We were quite impressed with this tourist attraction. Sloping steps, great views, and beautiful grounds.

She made it to the top!

Italy with Nana - Rome

JIT language studies. Nana, perfecting her Italian before we land.

Then we roamed Rome, hit many of the major sites. We took many steps, and not just the Spanish kind, and we had a blast (and a lot of gelato too). We logged between 5 and 12km a day - not bad for 77!

Nana is not smiling, but it's the only shot of the outside of the Pantheon and Nana loved this building!

Night night at the Vatican-