To Italy and back

Just back from another wonderful adventure in the land I love! When in Italy, I have such a sense of peace and knowing that my soul is telling me I'm home. Not to say that anything is wrong with my current home, in fact, I am very blessed but there has been a longing deep inside of me for Italy for years. It's such a strong sense of knowing I can't explain. Today I received more documents needed for my Italian passport which to me is just another confirmation that I am headed in the right direction.

This trip was very special as I flew to Italy to meet my son, Tanner, and his lovely wife, Maria. Maria is a native of Brasil and Tanner and Maria live in Rio de Janeiro. I had not seen them for over one year so this trip was very special. They are wonderful, laid-back travelers and our plans went off without interruption.

We started this journey by flying into the Florence airport, amazingly within 30 minutes of each other.

Tanner had graciously offered to drive during our trip. He states if he can drive in Rio, he can drive anywhere. After seeing what it's like to drive in Rio this is undoubtly true!

I was surprised when we were given a larger car then the typical small Italian vehicle. It was comfortable and spacious and luckily we did not have to park anywhere where size would have been an issue - and it was an automatic to boot! (Automatics are available, you just have to plan ahead). Thanks to the wonderful staff at SIXT for our successful driving adventure!

Then, we were on our 1.5-hour drive to Montepulciano. Sadly, it was dark and we could not appreciate the beautiful scenery. The Italian highways (autostradas) were spotless, smooth, and with a million street signs. You could never use the excuse "I didn't see the sign" in Italy. They must have quite a budget for signage! By the way, I would definitely recommend learning about Italian street signs before you hit the road, especially if you do not speak any Italian. Trust me on this.

Okay, so at this point we were starving at 9 p.m. after 13 hours of traveling. Without knowing if any restaurants would still be open upon our arrival, we decided to stop at an Autogrill. Think rest stop restaurant only 100 times better. With fresh Italian sandwiches and other meals, beverages, candy, wine, toys, and anything out that you could possibly need. This was a good plan as the restaurants were in fact closing when we arrived at 10:30 pm.

Nightime in Montepulciano

I could not have truly expected how beautiful the Airbnb at the Tuscan Palace in Montepulciano would be. Not far from the entrance of the historic walls, it was truly designed to be a period work of art with beautiful yet simple decor. We could open the heavy wooden shutters to hear the hum of the Italians below. The sun streamed in illuminating the living spaces in the morning. What a perfect way to start off our trip and rest in amazingly comfortable beds before hitting the slopes of Montepulciano!

And of course, Italians love their Pringles. A flavor you won't find in the USA - paprika!

Pizza Pringles are really yummy too. The dinner of travel champions!