Our exciting summer plans...!!

I am in the process of planning our summer vacation, and am giddy with excitement!! We are heading back to Portugal this summer to spend 3 weeks with my family...!! It will have been a looooong two years since our last visit (we used to go every year, but as the family grew it became financially difficult to do so), and I know my mom is as anxious as we are!! When we lived in England and Morocco, I became spoiled with frequent visits both ways, but living so far now makes it hard to travel and so these visits are that much more special...

As I was growing up, I would find myself  traveling extensively with my parents. My dad, as a toy wholesaler, was always on the road, so I have very fond memories of the many places we visited. I wanted my kids to get that "bohemian" bug from me, I wanted them to grow up exposed to different travel experiences and with an appreciation for cultural differences. So, we have always traveled everywhere with them. We made a decision, a few years back, to take four or five days out of our extended stays in Lisbon to make small trips to other European cities... Last time we were there, we took off to London, and during the visit before that we actually drove to Paris and took the kids to Euro Disney....

So, it was no surprise when the girls came to me and said they wanted to go to Italy, this year!! Italy, it is!!! We will fly to Rome, spend a couple of days there, then take the train to Venice and spend another day and a half, before returning to Lisbon. Our vacation planning sparked many wonderful memories, as Mark and I spent our two week honeymoon in Italy, seventeen years ago... With only our first and last nights booked (in Milan and Rome, respectively), we rented a car and traveled where our hearts desired, including Verona, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Lucca, Padova, Portofino, San Gimignano and, of course, my favorite place, Venice!

Verona

San Gimignano

Venice

The view from our hotel room....!!!!!

As my children grow older, I know they will appreciate our travels together that much more... They are able to remember better, and just hearing them relive our fun times together is a gift in its own.... As for me, these are the special times I treasure the most, nothing brings me more happiness than spending time with my family and sharing new experiences as we explore this wonderful world of ours... !!!