Cinque Terre, Pisa & Florence

We had so much fun taking a road trip through Northern Italy to the Italian Riviera, then making our way to Tuscany and back!

We stayed in the town of Monterosso al Mare in Cinque Terre along the Italian Riviera.

Headed to dinner at Belvedere

Our second day we took a hike along the "Blue Trail" to the next town over, Vernazza 

There were vineyards all along the trail

The town of Vernazza

Some of the damage caused by recent mudslides

Looking down on Monterosso on the hike/run back!

We earned our Italian 75's after that hike! The lemons, prosecco and limoncello were all produced in the city we were staying in..

Spontaneous dance party in the streets after dinner!

The first couple days were overcast.. but luckily the third day was full of sunshine.. we spent the day at the beach!

Views from our apartment

Josh woke up early this morning and went to the fish market to buy us mussels and clams to make a delicious lunch later that day! YUM!

We stopped in Pisa on our way to Florence to see the leaning tower...

After a long day, we finally made it to Florence.. we got lost driving in Florence for about three hours trying to find our hotel! The streets were so confusing.. we are just waiting for the tickets to roll in :-/

The Arno River which runs through Tuscany

Views from our hotel room

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in the heart of Florence

We climbed up this tower to get some great views of the Duomo and all of Florence!

We visited the Accademia gallery to see the original David sculpted by Michaelangelo. This is a replica in one of the piazzas. 

Florence is such a beautiful city

Now that's talent!

My Parents Visit

My parents came to visit in the second week of May. We had a complete Bavarian experience while they were here visiting all of the main attractions..

I met them in Munich the first day and we toured around the city. Afterwards we took the train back down to Garmisch!

 The second day we went to Oberammergau and nearby Linderhof Palace

We spent a day in Innsbruck, Austria, home of the 1976 Winter Olympics

Riding a fiaker through town

The best experience for me was taking the train and cable car to the top of the Zugspitze, Germany's tallest peak.

A view of Lake Eibsee from the train

Riding the cable car up!!

From the top of the Zugspitze you can see over 400 peaks in Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland!

We also visited Neuschwanstein Castle in Fussen, built by King Ludwig II

Love this picture...Pretty much what we did the whole time!

Hohenschwangau, the castle King Ludwig grew up in and lived most of his life.

Walking through the Partnach Gorge in Partenkirchen...