Anyway, with so many days already gone it's hard to feel motivated to blog about what we did. For the sake of documentation in case you guys ever want to do this kind of trip in the future I'll do a whirlwind summary...
We left Munich for Italy on Sept 14th. Our mode of transport was a Peugot 7-seater van (rental). Thank god it's a diesel. We were able to get 900 km on one tank of gas! Gas by the way is much more expensive out here, about 1.40 Euro/L.
Our first stop was Tignale, Italy which is located on the west side of Lake Garda (Italy's largest lake). We stayed at Hotel Gallo (www.hotelgallo.com) which is a typical 3-star. This actually worked out to be pretty cheap with breakfast and dinner included. The important thing is that it was convienient since travelling with a 5-month old isn't easy! We were in Tignale for 3 nights and basically took day trips to the surrounding towns (Limone, Toscalano, etc.). The driving terrain here is pretty crazy...lots of turns, hills, narrow and unpaved roads. Good thing Tino and Andy are capable drivers, although we're probably returning the car with no brakes, clutch, or suspension.
After Tignale we headed south towards Tuscany. We stayed at San Giorgio (www.san-giorgio.net) which in a nutshell is an old converted farmhouse 4 km outside of Siena. It's pretty much off the beaten track with the famous rolling hills of Tuscany its backyard. The way to and from San Giorgio is on a dirt road that really only fits one car at a time or one flock of sheep (which we enountered). Our place was a 2-bedroom apartment that cost 65 Euro/day (in total). We stayed at San Giorgio for 7 days and again took day trips in the country side (San Gimignano. Monteriggioni, Chianti region, Montipulciano, etc.) The family also spent one day at a local thermal bath. On our last full day in Tuscany Andy and I ended up doing a solo trip to Florence for the day to give Denise, Tino, and Lili a break. We didn't know where to park the car so Andy set the GPS for a parking gargage in the heart of Florence which was a bad idea, but of course we found that out the hard way. Our van barely fit on some roads and Andy got a bit freaked. It all worked out fine though. Florence was pretty much the same for me compared to 6 years ago, but there were loads of tourists! Andy was turned off by how busy it was, but I guess that's to be expected since we've just spent a week in the country.
After leaving San Giorgio we headed northwest to Pisa for one night. Denise, Tino, and Andy had never seen the leaning tower so we decided to make a trip of it. I think everyone would agree that it was time well spent.
So this brings us to today. We arrived in Verona this evening after shopping at a mall and outlet. We're at a bed and breakfast (www.bbinthesun.com) for 2 nights. Again the road that brought us here was crazy. I think we barely made it up. Cars just have to constantly backup until there's space to pass because 2 cars just won't fit!
So that's it! I'm really enjoying spending time with the family. Andy and I love Lili more and more each day even though she sometimes goes by the name of Satan. Her cries make Auntie Christine a bit loco at times, but the "awe" moments make up for it. I'll post up pics when we're back in Munich! Ciao!
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