Stop 1: Rome for 2 months. The word of this city is "sex" according to Elizabeth Gilbert, and we cannot wait to see what she means by this! A simple apartment is rented on Via Portuense, and all that remains is actually getting there. August 10-October 10 we will be living in Rome visiting all the great sites, making new friends, eating all of the delicious food (especially stracchino cheese), exploring our neighborhood, and taking day trips to the near-by beaches.
Stop 2: Madrid, Spain. We will be staying with friends Paola and Devid and their picolo bambino, Simone, for about 2 weeks. Paola is planning our itinerary, but hopefully we will be visiting some hot springs and going to a Real Madrid soccer game. We expect lots of chilling-out to happen with them, as they are very cool, relaxed people. As always, we will be deepening our Spanish food knowledge (or lack-there-of) by indulging in sangria and tapas.
Stop 3: Castellano of Villa Lagarina in the Alto-Adige valley. This quaint mountain/cliff-side village is inhabited by one of Sarah's dear friends, Tessa. She is interesting and unique because she is from London but has lived all over the world and knows about 4 languages (English, Italian, French, and German). We will we expecting to do lots of hiking and cooking with her. Even though her kitchen is very small, it is very welcoming, and in Sarah's opinion, one of the best places in the world to eat a meal.
Stop 4: Venice. Sarah met Emma in Boulder about 2 years ago when she was staying with some family friends in Boulder. We will be staying with her and her mother in their house, which is right next to the gondola-making shop. We will be expecting Casey's parents to come and spend several days with us here. Aqua-alta is a high possibility, which we are pretty excited about since we have never experienced it. And thanks to "No Reservations" and the famously hilarious Anthony Bourdain (http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Anthony_Bourdain), we have several cool places to visit and eat.
Stop 5: Ferrara and Bologna. We (Casey, Sarah, and Casey's parents) will continue our travels to Ferrara. Sarah studied abroad here, and simply cannot wait to show her town to Casey and his parents. When anyone thinks of an Italian town, they think of a town like Ferrara. Piazzas are filled with people on Sundays. Bicycle riding is the main mode of transportation. Signature dishes of the town, like Capellaci di Zucca, totally define this town. After this, we will all go to Bologna where we will meet and stay with Caroline. She will be attending graduate school at the University of Bologna, so we will definitely, absolutely distract her from her studies :) Lots of going out, as this is a "college town" and is to be expected.
Stop 6: Paris. We will spend our last week in Paris. Casey has friends who live in one of the central arrondissement's, so hopefully we will have full access to Paris. Being that Sarah is a museum nerd, she is planning on 1 day at the Louvre, and then of course typical photos under the Tour d'Eiffel. Cafes with delicious french pastries and cheese are a must, as well as lazily street meandering. Departing December 7th will be the end to a much enjoyed journey.
Stops 7, 8, 9, 10, etc... we will have to include these during our travels. We want to take a few side trips to near-by countries, but we do not have that planned out yet. Stay tuned for those adventures ;)
