Can you plan a last-minute exploration? We arrived in Sorrento late in the day after a five-hour drive from Florence that included a two hour stop to explore Pompeii. We had been forewarned that the roads along the Amalfi coast are narrow and windy, but it didn’t quite prepare us for the reality, so our nerves were rather frayed. We snagged a table at a restaurant near our hotel, ate …

Four Viewings and a Pizza Florence is known for its famed museums, culture, and architecture, especially Brunelleschi’s Duomo. There are a variety of vantage points to view this Renaissance masterpiece that provide the opportunity for outdoor exploration and city hiking.   We had immersed ourselves in art the prior day, so we were craving nature. We pre-purchased tickets online to the Boboli Gardens and splurged on an Uber from our hotel …

Turning a travel day into an active adventure We woke up on day three of our Italian vacation feeling a bit more normal having shaken off the vestiges of our initial jetlag. It was with a heavy heart that we checked out of Podere la Rocca, our delightful agriturismo, and hopped in our little rental car to start our journey towards Florence.  Driving through Tuscany is almost as beautiful as …

Can exploring a hilly city count as exercise? I recently planned a family trip to Quebec City that included my husband and I, our three adultish kids, one of their friends, a goldendoodle and two different vehicles. To be honest I had pre-trip jitters thinking about all the variables that could go wrong. Someone was bound to forget their passport. How was the goldendoodle going to do in the city? …