Our trip will be taking us to some places I've visited previously, but mostly to new destinations in the south of the country. I am very excited to be revisiting Firenze (Florence) for a week and a half. I didn't get there on the last trip and really missed it. I am most excited to ride through Tuscany as well as spending time showing Kristen around one of my favorite cities in Italy.
After our stay in Firenze, we will travel south past Roma, Napoli, and the Amalfi Coast to a little town called Santa Maria di Castellabate. This town in quaintly situated on Tyrrhenian Sea on the Cilentana Coast. It might be a little adventure to get there but I think it'll be well worth it. Besides the beach setting, large mountains and Vallo di Diano National Park sit just inland from our apartment. It's a cyclist's paradise!
Our final long term stay will be in San Pier Niceto, Sicily. Kristen's Uncle Gino has been incredibly gracious to host us at his aunt's home there. It should be a wonderful time. I have never met a more generous and genuinely kind person in my life. We are really looking forward to spending time with him and his family and experiencing Sicily in that type of setting. Perhaps if we can arrange it, we might even get to ride up Mount Etna...we'll see!
Finally we end up back in Roma, but just for two days. Enough to see a few sites, eat in Trastevere, and get back to the airport with relative ease without getting sick of the city. If you've read this blog before, you know Roma is not my favorite place. I think the short term stay will be nice. Perhaps after spending lots of time in small towns, Roma will be tolerable if only just to do some final shopping and wandering around.
To those of you who have read this blog before, I hope you will join us again. I will try to be a little less long winded, maybe put up more pictures, etc. For those of you who are new, welcome! I hope you will enjoy vicariously traveling through Italy with us for a month. We're just now getting things squared away, so watch this space for updates coming mid-July when we arrive in Firenze!
Arrivederci!
