I met a lovely woman in Milan who originally hails from Budapest, Hungary. She also happens to own a flat in the historic Vth District of Budapest (the “Pest” side), on the very desirable pedestrian street of Vaci Utca. Venturing beyond the safe confines of the European Union border, my wish for our mother-daughter trip was to get out of our comfort zone and experience an area neither Mom nor I had visited before. What better place to visit than Budapest?
After seven years of life’s interruptions delaying our trip, Mom (Grandma Suz) made good on her 50th birthday gift to me, which was to take me on a trip abroad, wherever I wanted to go.
With a free weekend, we decided to hit the west coast and visit the port city of Genoa, where pesto and seafood dishes are abundant, and where historic homes and tiny alleyways beckon along the hills of this ancient town.
We enjoyed our first 2019 visitor from the States in February, with one week to explore and show her northern Italy. With the visit coinciding with Kevin’s winter school break, we put on our running shoes (and for La Scala, our fancy shoes!), and spared no time to show our friend all we could of the area we now call home!
Sunny skies, short lines, cool weather- what more does one need or want, to experience the magic and beauty of Florence, Italy?
There is more to Parma than food, I was surprised to discover. Walk around. The Piazza Garibaldi has a bronze statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, considered the founding father of the country of Italy. On one side of the square is the Governor’s Palace which has a central bell tower with an interesting and large clockface that also shows the time in other parts of the world.
Picasso’s Portrait of Dora Maar, surrealist photographer and muse/lover of Picasso
Rather than line up to revisit the Louvre or the Musee d’Orsay on our recent trip to Paris, we decided to explore the Picasso Museum, which was a first for us both. We were not disappointed!
A long weekend beckoned us towards the northwest mountain region of Italy and we couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised by the majestic beauty and history before us!
It’s our first full rainy weekend in Milan, so we decided to visit the Duomo and see the Cathedral and the adjacent museum. Other than the scary top with its wet stone steps, I’d say it was a good way to spend a rainy day!
Kevin met me in Bologna after my trip to Rome and I think it’s safe to say that climbing the big tower is not in my future, after spry Kevin swore that he would never do that again!
Bologna Tower- Kevin climbed, but never again!
View of Bologna from atop the tower
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