We flew into Rome from Ireland and transferred to an AirBNB right next to the Trevi Fountain. The apartment was huge, with two bedrooms, one with a king bed and the other with 2 king singles for Alex and Tona. It had a massive kitchen/lounge area and we were amazed at how large it was for central Rome. We found a supermarket nearby and stocked up on supplies so that we could have a few meals in the apartment with the girls and put together a welcome pack with ...

We dropped Ian and Carmel at the train station for their trip to Florence, then left Montaione and drove to the coast to a seaside town of Viareggio. This place is setup as a resort town, with businesses called "bagnos" lining the foreshore. The businesses own the piece of beach in front of them and charge tourists to rent a chair and an umbrella, or just a piece of sand. There is little to no public beach access here and literally thousands upon thousands of u...

I begin this blog with a love story. A love story so touching and romantic that it rivals Romeo and Juliet. Ian and I were walking through Bologna without the girls when I asked him how he was finding his holiday so far. He mentioned that at home he and Carmel hardly see each other, with work, gym and what not. Since being on holidays, this is the longest period of time they have been with each other continuously. I asked him how that was going. He said that th...

We arrived in Bologna and had to park a few kilometres from our apartment. The traffic in the historical centre is restricted to taxis and buses (and motorbikes apparently). So we dragged our suitcases with our backpacks on our backs to our AirBNB for the next 3 nights. Bologna is a beautiful city with arched porticos covering most of the sidewalks across the city. They give shelter from the rain and snow and apparently were built to allow more accommodation t...

We left Ian and Carmel at the train station, and after another stroll around the beautiful Camogli we checked out and drove to Parma. This is the town that invented parma ham (prosciutto) and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (kind of like parmesan, but not). Our hotel was an old medical centre that looked like an old, gated sanitarium. It was huge with marble floors, walls and chandeliers dripping all over it. The hallways were wide and the room generous. It reminde...