~Under The Tuscan Sun~

~We made it up the curvy, tight roads and came upon this jewel! We stayed in the villa on the left. We were surrounded by acres upon acres of olive tree groves and wine grape vineyards~

~We picked up my parents at the Pisa airport and then made a trip into town. The boys were out of their heads with excitement that their Grandma & Grandpa were finally here. I had to pinch myself that I would actually be touring Tuscany, Italy with my parents~

~When Steve & I went to Italy in 2000, we were not able to climb the Pisa tower because it was leaning just a little more than they wanted. Now you can walk all the way to the top~

~This was a great place to start our Italian adventure! My parents were all smiles and they were very good sports the whole time. You wouldn't know that they had just finished a two week tour of Scotland and London - now we were going to start dragging them around Italy~

~You cannot come to Pisa and not pose for this picture. Can you believe that my mom is able to hold up the tower? You should have seen the hundreds upon hundreds of people lined up with their arms up in this position - it was comical~

~Although intended to stand vertically, the tower began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation that has allowed the foundation to shift direction. The tower presently leans to the southwest~

~Steve was being very clever with this one! If you look into Kade's sunglasses you will see what we are standing in front of~

~It has been a year since I have seen my mom, and it was so magical to be able to make these memories with her here~

~Steve was being his own leaning tower in Pisa. He had Cole on his shoulders and Kade in his arms - this is not an uncommon scene while we toured around the towns~

~Sorry ladies.... this Italian Stallion is all mine! Hubba, Hubba~

~This is by far my most favorite village in Italy. San Gimignano is a small, walled medieval hill town in Tuscany in north-central Italy. It is mainly famous for its medieval architecture, especially its towers, which may be seen from several kilometers outside the town~

~August is a VERY busy month in Tuscany, lots of tourists buzzing around the towns, lots of chatter and shopping, and everyone was in very good spirits~

~Mother of the year moment! What do you think the artist in the shop thought when I asked my kids to go in this ceramic shop for a picture? Oops! This town is famous for it's ceramics - there were tons of shops filled with these artistic delights~

~Kade was proud of his find. He came upon this while we were busy walking through the shops, he asked Steve to get his picture with this thing.. I think a wart hog?~

~While in other cities, such as Bologna or Florence, most or all of their towers have been brought down due to wars, catastrophes, or urban renewal, San Gimignano has managed to conserve fourteen towers of varying height which have become its international symbol~

~I love the history that you can feel from each of these villages. Everything is old and each building has a story to tell~

~The heart of the town contains four squares, Piazza della Cisterna, Piazza Duomo where the Collegiata is located, Piazza Pecori, and Piazza delle Erbe. We decided that everyday we would pack a delicious Italian picnic and then find a place in the Piazza to sit and enjoy the food and the views~

~I hope and pray that he will remember these adventures - even just a little bit. I am loving the opportunity to share these events with my boys~

~Stone walls, narrow streets, flowers in the window pots, it was fun to get off the beaten path and go get lost~

~We are loving every single second of this~

~We went through this tunnel to the top of the hill so that we could get a view looking over the rooftops - I love all of the stone and the red roofs so tightly packed within the village walls~

~This picture melts my heart, if you want to know what Italy is to me.... this is it! I want to be at this location, doing this exact thing when I am an old lady - I would love to live here for a few years at some time in my life.... ohhh to grow old together with my man in Tuscany~

~My two billy goat boys.. if there is a wall - there is a will! No matter what, it will be climbed! This was no exception - I enjoyed capturing this moment when Steve and his "Schmoleys" were looking over the village~

~This is a VERY old fountain (735 years old, built in 1273) in the center of the Piazza that was built from the early founders~

~The towers stand tall above the town~

~Cole is my little explorer - he loves to find new streets to walk down and the thing that he loves most about Italy is that the villages are just like mazes - you can definitely choose your own adventure just by making a choice to go right or left~

~It was a very hot day, and if you can't see in the picture - the boys cheeks are bright pink. We decided that we would call it a day and go relax at our villa, it was a great day in a fabulous village~

~On our way home, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take pictures in the hopes that a picture could do this region justice - no such luck, it was even more beautiful than this in every direction that we looked~

~I LOVE the sunflower fields that are off the country roads. I asked Steve if he would pull over so that we could take some pictures~

~I made my mom crawl out of the car so that I could get a picture with her in the sunflower fields - we were having the best time together - I love you mom~

~We slept so good at night with the wind blowing through the house, but the shutters could not block out the sun! It was time to get up and go on another day of adventures. The boys were so excited when they would hear noises coming from Grandma & Grandpa's room - they would knock on the door and then run and jump on their bed~

~I opened up the green shutters every morning in our bedroom, and this is what I got to see! It was so beautiful here - I loved the views from our windows~

~When I came out of the shower, I was looking for Steve around the house.... then I knew where I would find him. He was out relaxing and enjoying some views on the porch~

~We decided that Volterra would be our next village to visit. It is a great village that is steeped in history. It was a village built by the civilization that came before the Romans. The Estruscans dominated this area, and the Romans that followed helped build it into an incredible hilltop town. It survived the plague and medieval history and has been preserved as if it was frozen in time~

~I know that I am not the only one out there who has become addicted to these books. Volterra is an important location in Stephanie Meyer's bestselling novel New Moon. In the story, Volterra is home to the Volturi, a royal family of vampires. They live under the city and use one of the ancient and beautiful buildings to lure tourists to their deaths~

~Volterra is also famous for its craftsman who carve beautiful, white pieces of art from locally mined alabaster. This shop was full of artistic pieces. We managed to find a couple pieces that will work great in our dining room~

~In many places the ancient walls still stand and surround the village~

~It was so much fun to be together as a family and shop in the stores and find some treats to bring home from the markets~

~This was one of many stops to sit and relax while eating some delicious gelato~

~This was the best part of the entire trip in Cole's eyes! Look at that huge smile on his face. Francesco came by in the morning and promised Cole & Kade a ride through the olive trees on the tractor. Cole could barely contain himself all day and was so excited when he saw Francesco pull up. He took them on a ride for an hour. They loved every second of it & honked the horn all through the grove~

~This is what made it a genuine Tuscany experience. The boys helped Francesco stear the tractor while Guilio watched on with pride and delight. They had fun with the boys~

~Grandma & Grandpa were having such a good time watching them ride on the tractor - it was fun catching their excitement also~

~Every night we came home and Steve would cook us all the most amazing and delicious Italian dinner. It tasted so good and the views from the patio made for the most perfect evenings~

~After our bellies were soooo full, we would get up from the table and take a little passagiata "the italian word for a little stroll after dinner". It was always the most perfect time to watch the most amazing sunsets and see the sun going down behind the bell tower in the nearby village - Tuscan sunsets are now my favorite~

~It is a rare moment to see Grandpa smile showing his teeth - this is how I know that he was having a really good time~

~After dinner and our sunset walk, Grandma & Grandpa would do the dishes while we put the boys to bed. This was never hard because the boys were so exhausted from their Tuscan adventures. After the dishes were done and the boys were snuggled in their beds, we enjoyed playing cards and just being together~

~The only word that comes to mind when I think of Florence is "Magical". This has been my favorite city in the world from when we visited in 2000. It didn't let me down once again. I love the panoramic view of the city~

~We started at the top so that we could get these pictures, and then we walked down into the town. Luckily for us... we were so tired at the end of the day that Steve ran up and got the car while we waited down by the river~

~All of us enjoying our Tuscan adventure with a fabulous day in Florence~

~This is the famous old bridge - Ponte Vecchio - built in 1345 it is the only bridge in Florence to escape being blown up during WWII~

~Once we started across the bridge, it didn't take long for the boys to find a gelateria. We made our daily stop for gelato and ate it while enjoying the views of the river from the Ponte Vecchio bridge~

~The dominant building in Florence is the magnificent Duomo. It is a large cathedral church and the details of the architecture are spectacular. It has an enormous, round dome and to this day no other building stands taller in Florence~

~We went into the cathedral and enjoyed the dome ceiling while Steve & Grandpa went off to the l'Accademia so that Larry could see the famous statue of David by Michelangelo. After we were done inside, we sat on the steps in front of the church and the boys chased the pigeons for an hour while we did some good people watching~

~This is a wild pig statue in the Piazza di Mercato. The legend is that if you rub its nose you will be back again to Florence. I rubbed it in 2000, so it must be true. We will have to wait and see if this magic nose rub will work for Cole and Grandma~

~On our last full day in Tuscany, Franca took us on a tour to see the wine presses that are used for the grape vineyards that surrounded our house. The wine vats were huge and they were located under the house. It was so fun to be able to see how the whole process works~

~We decided to spice things up a little bit for the boys. We took the train to Siena and got to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. This is Kade & Grandma at the station waiting for the train to come racing up the tracks~

~After our train arrived in Siena we needed to take the local bus up to the main center of town. The boys were enjoying the extra adventure from the train & bus. The bus was packed full and was filled with lots of stinky European bodies~

~The best sights in Siena are found in the narrow streets and alleys around the fan-shaped Piazza del Campo ~

~Two times a year during the Palio festival this village holds a horse race that goes around the Piazza del Campo. We decided that the best place to eat our Italian picnic lunch would be in the stands that would be used that next weekend to watch the races. Thousands of people cram into the piazza to watch the race, and rivalry is intense between the competitors~

~Siena's Duomo built in 1136 is one of the most spectacular in Italy, and one of the few to have been built in full Gothic style. Many people in the town helped to cart the black and white stone used in its construction from quarries on the outskirts of the city~

~Siena is built on seven hills which adds to the pleasure of exploring. Siena is a city of steep medieval alleys that surround the main Piazza~

~We made a couple of stops along the drive home. We thought it would be fun to eat lunch at a restaurant that was located on the Italian coast. We got to breathe in some fresh coastal air and see some great views of the Mediterranean~

~You would think we would have looked a little more irritated in this picture.... we were so happy because we were only a 1/2 hour from our home. We were excited to show our home to my parents and then fall asleep in our comfy beds. Then we came to a complete stop on the autobahn... there was a car accident and it was closed down for 2 full hours. I think we must have been super tired, because we were giggling so much it was ridiculous. It was one of those moments where you just had to be there... but it was something that definitely completed our Tuscany adventure. We had the absolute best time~