Italy

After the cruise was over, Eric had to go home and go back to work. He is so amazing to work so hard for our family, and it was so hard to see him go. I was so grateful to be able to stay for a second week of adventures with my family and hang out with my sisters so much!

This part of the trip truly was an adventure because we rode the trains to get from place to place. It was an awesome way to travel because the trains are high speed and comfy!

Our first stop was Florence, Italy. It was so beautiful and we had tons of fun walking around the cobblestone streets.

Next, we went to Pisa and saw the wonderful Leaning Tower! My favorite part about seeing the leaning tower was watching the hundreds of people on the field next to it taking all of the goofy pictures.
Of course, we had to take some cheesy pictures of our own...

Our next stop was one of the best of the entire trip. My mom's dad (so my grandpa) is from Italy. His parents moved from this little town of Colle Di Compito, near Lucca, to Chicago just before he was born. But many of his (and our) relatives still live over there, and we were able to go and visit them! It was so amazing to see this beautiful little town on this green hill and feel that connection to my grandpa who passes away when I was only 3.

Our awesome taxi driver :)