A Welcome Home | Return to Tuscany

If you have followed this blog before we became parents, you might remember a former version of ourselves. Not just ones that were less crazy and a bit better looking.... but a couple that LOVED Italy so much that we couldn't help but jump there as often as possible. When I was pregnant with the girls, I went three times, but since kids....

Well, we have been so busy traveling for work and to see family, that our sporadic and frequent Italian jaunts have ceased.... until now. This August, we decided to spend it on a family holiday for just the four of us. We are staying at the same place where I have spent so many great days making memories and it feels like a warm homecoming to be back here.

We are staying outside of Florence surrounded by olive trees and vineyards. To city-dwellers like us, it seems as if we have our own country. To city-dwelling kids like ours, it seems like we have our own planet.

The kids wake up in the middle of the night and point out to the garden. "There! There!" Harrison yells out to the pitch dark outside begging for more time to wander around the crunchy rain-starved grass in search of rocks and sticks.

dress by olive juice

But when the daylight finally arrives, we walk out to the garden and start the day. We spend the mornings sitting on a swing together with coffee and brioche. The pre-packaged kind because all the local bakeries are closed for August and we kinda love the crunchy sugar on top.

cosy jammies by baby mori

At lunch time, we typically venture out somewhere nearby- like San Gimignano or Lucca- to squeeze in a casual lunch with a view... and, of course, the obligatory afternoon gelato.

By the time it's late afternoon, we are back to the villa with enough time to play and crank out some dinner.

After that, the kids take a bath, go to bed... and Tyler & I sigh a big sigh of exhausted relief as we head up to the terrace to watch the sunset together. By this time in the day, we are half-asleep and half-pinching ourselves of the day we just had.

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It's one of the laziest vacations that I know of, but it's also, without a doubt, our very very favorite. It feels so good to be back here and I'm not sure I'll ever loose that place in my heart that beats for Italy.

Does anyone else feel the same way about Italy? I'd love to hear your favorit pare here and why it is special to you!