Open Baladin. We decided to try all the smoked beers! Eric got 'Jenny the Smoker' scotch ale and I had the Open Garden Smoked Ale. We decided to split the stronger Imperial Ghisa, a smoked stout...
Blog posts from Rome
Italy 2018: Rome sights
Wednesday Having arrived in the late afternoon, our exploration on Wednesday was limited to a walk past the Roman Forum and up to the beautifully evening-lit Coliseum. Thursday Our original plan for...
Italy 2018: Introduction
Overview As is common for us, our March 2018 return to Italy came about due to a good airfare deal. Oddly enough, it turned out to be exactly one year from our 2017 trip, though this year was...
Italy 2017: Vatican Museums
From our research we knew that the Vatican Museums were going to be an epic undertaking. To make sure to see all of the most interesting bits before our feet gave out we planned out a route in...
Italy 2017: Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, and Colosseum
One ticket gets you into the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and the landmark Colosseum, so we spent the better part of a day exploring the ruins. We took a (rather jarring) bus ride that dropped us off...
Italy 2017: food & drink in Rome
Sunday Looking for a late lunch, we quizzed our hotel guy for options nearby. One of his recommendations was Lo Zozzone, hidden in an alleyway off a tourist restaurant street. There were many...
Italy 2017: exploring Rome
Sunday The quick 1.5 hour train ride from Florence to Rome was fairly uneventful. It took us a few tries to find the subway entrance from Termini as it wasn't well marked and a few entrances to the...
Italy 2017: overview
Last summer (2016) we noticed several good sales to Europe, so we contacted my parents to see if they wanted to go on another trip with us. Italy was their favorite option so we booked a week-long...
Our Itinerary
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Bordeaux (Sep)
Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castile and León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)