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Tuscany and Winery Tour

We booked a local tour that left Florence on a small 18 passenger bus headed to two of the most picturesque small towns in Tuscany. The tour also included a stop for lunch at a small family run winery. This was a couple of weeks into our European adventure and the weather has made some significant changes. From upper 70’s and humid to highs at barely 60 and nights down into the 30’s. The short pants and t-shirts are now exchanged for warmer wear. We are continuing to enjoy the fall in Italy!

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Pat’s Mother

It saddens me to write this post. We have lost a dear lady, Pat’s mom and my mother-in-law died yesterday at the age of 96. She has been in some declining health since this spring when she had to leave her home and go into a care facility. Within 10 months, I have lost both my own mother and now a lady who I always considered to be a second mom. In this post, I will share a few memories and photos. A small celebration of her life, if you will.

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Italy Observations

In today’s blog update, I’ll include some of our observations so far. The good and the bad, at least from our background and experiences. This will probably jump around a bit as I think of examples. This is our second time to visit Italy, the first just last year in May of 2023. That visit was a guided tour and very fast paced two days in most major cities. This visit is much longer, more relaxed, although more in depth.

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Florence Museums and off to Cinque Terre Region of Italy

Pat and I are continuing our European adventures along with our son Ross. In this post we spend the weekend with some more museum exploring in Florence and then catch the train to the west coast of Italy for three days exploring Cinque Terre. This is five small and very scenic towns that hug the rugged, rocky coastline and are connected by a very popular hiking trail.

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Fall 2024 European Adventure

We leave in two days for a two-month adventure! This, trip has been almost a year in the planning stages and has many different facets. To begin with some background, we took a guided tour of the highlights of Italy last year. Saw many major tourist locations but it was very fast paced – no rest time nor much on our own time. We wanted to get back and explore in much deeper detail. So here is the plan:

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Highlights from the Summer of 24

It is nearly fall as I write this update. The nights are now much cooler, and the daytime temps are not high enough to run the A/C. It is a very comfortable time of year. Pat and I are preparing for a major international trip in a few days and then of course we will leave for Florida after the holidays. So, a very busy fall for us. In this blog update, I wanted to share our rather low-key summer. It was great, but nothing too exciting! So here is a summary:

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Back Home in Virginia

It is now the middle of the summer, and the hot and humid days are lingering like an unwelcome guest. Even here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, we get into the upper 80’s for a few weeks. And nights only cool off to a very humid 70 degrees. We did have the remnants of hurricane Debbie meander through and dumping a few inches of welcome rain. As usual, I wonder how we are already well into August, and I still have many to-dos on the list. Oh well, some may remain there next year to keep me occupied! On to the blog!

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