5,000 kilometers

Isaiah has done the math and announced to me that during our 3-week road trip through Italy we (he) drove 5,000 kilometers. Whoa, baby! That's like driving across the United States of America!

What started out as a desire to be like the birds and head south for the winter culminated as an adventure we'll never forget. Our travels spanned the length of Italy from crossing her border with Switzerland in the north to traversing Sicily in the south, and let's just say I am glad to be alive to tell the story. (Race car driver-like husband navigating the streets of Rome = my life flashing before my eyes.)

In addition to driving the span of Italy, our accommodations spanned the spectrum: from camping for 11 euros/night to a 4-star suite for $80/night. Some nights we dined for under a euro with pasta and olive oil on a camp stove and other nights we ate three-course meals in a cozy trattoria. We got robbed and we got free panettone. We went some days without bathing for lack of hot water and other days slept like kings in what felt like our very own castle. But the most important thing that happened is that we saw and lived Italy. We learned some of her secrets and still yearn to know more.

Please join me as I take you day-by-day through our journey. For now, here is an overview of our itinerary so you can know what to look forward to!

• Florence, Tuscany 2 nights (with a day-trip to Bologna for the Ducati museum)
• Rome, Lazio 3 nights (with a stop in Saturnia)
  
• Agerola, Campania 1 night (with a stop in Ercolano on the way there)
• Corigliano Calabro, Calabria 2 nights
• Catania, Sicily 4 nights (with day-trips to Mt. Etna and Siracusa)
  
• Agrigento, Sicily 2 nights (with a stop in Piazza Armerina on the way there)
• Finale, Sicily (near Cefalú) 2 nights (with a stop in Corleone and a day-trip to Pollina)
• Scigliano, Calabria 1 night
• Rome, Lazio 2 nights (with stops along the Amalfi coast on the way there)
• Florence, Tuscany 2 nights