Buongiorno!

So we have returned from the land where all is beautiful and full of pleasure (according to the book I read while over there : 'Eat, Pray and Love'). We had a wonderful trip to Italy with Lauren and Adam - it was such a nice break. We have so many photos from the trip - please check our albums for the latest pictures.

We arrived in Italy on Saturday June 23rd, picked up our cars and drove down to Terrapille which is the agritourismo farmhouse villa that we stayed in, recommended by Lauren's family. Lavi and I had stayed there before so we were excited to return as we knew how special it was. This time we arrived with an additional family member, so that was exciting for us. Lavi, Ari and I stayed in an apartment overlooking the rolling hills of Tuscany. It was really great because we had a living room and kitchen and enough room for Ari to go hog wild and feel his freedom too. Lauren and Adam stayed in a beautiful room above and joined us for meals in the apartment and on the terrace. Terrapille is right outside the medieval walled city known as Pienza. It is about one hour from Florence and Siena, both which we did as day trips, and a short drive away from the old city of Montepulciano which we explored as well. We ate wonderful meals in Pienza, and created some wonderful meals of our own at the villa. We also enjoyed Terme San Fillipo which are thermal baths in the nearby region. Ari was eager to jump in to those as well as we were quite hot from our hike down to find them. The drives through the Tuscan region are beautiful and quite windy. We spent a decent amount of time in the car exploring as well as relaxing by the pool and reading our books. Read on to the next posting for the second half of our trip.