Forte dei Marmi

So, I know all of our friends in the states are kicking off their summer vacations from school but our kiddos have another 6 weeks left...they are in school until July 28th!!! We did just have a 2 week break though, which was amazing, and also such a tease...my American brain is ready to turn off alarm clocks, forget about bedtimes and not have to do any homework!!!

We spent a week of their school break in Forte dei Marmi, Italy...and it did not disappoint!! It was beautiful!!! We had about a 6.5 hour drive through Austria, Switzerland and then into Italy...the scenery was breathtaking...we couldn't stand it and had to pull over to explore a bit!!

We kind of went in blind and didn't really know what to expect, but it was perfect...the town itself was adorable...the streets were lined with restaurant and amazing high end boutiques, so there was plenty to look at as we walked around! We arrived late afternoon on Saturday so we dropped off our bags, headed to the pool for a bit then explored the town for a place to eat dinner. They happened to be having a week filled with special children events and we found ourselves in the middle of a small carnival...it was the perfect way to kick off our vacation!!

LOVE seeing this guy get to relax!!!! 

 We headed to the beach our first full day there...there were no beachfront hotels where we stayed, the beach is lined with over 100 beach clubs and the hotels are across the street...our hotel was about a 5 minute shuttle drive to the beach club we had access to because of the hotel we were staying at..
The sand was so soft and as fine...and the water was super clear as well...we had SO much fun on our beach days! The kids loved running from the beach to the saltwater pool...

Beach naps are the BEST!!!

We were also able to explore Pisa and the city of Florence while we were in Italy. Pisa was only about 30 minutes away and Florence was about 1.5 hours. I loved being able to see and do so much on this vacation!!

We had a private tour guide for a few Horus while we were in Florence and she was so sweet...she really made the kids to focus and started off the tour by giving them each a small sketch book and pencil for them to draw in...and she made sure to show us where the best gelato was! ha!

Our tour guide, Molly, also brought us to a local shop where this gentleman had been creating for over 55 years...he showed us how he worked his machine and how he created everything from napkin rings to jewelry...he has worked with Christian Dior and even had a visit from President Bill Clinton years ago...it was a really fun treat.

He loved showing us his American Republic and Democratic Party symbols! 

Ladybugs are a really special symbol for my family, so when Chris saw this key chain in the guy's shop he knew it had to come home with us!

Chris found a "1950's American Diner" one night for dinner and the kids were in heaven! Ha! I had to include these pics!!

I feel so incredibly lucky to have taken a family vacation like this...traveling to Europe with our kids was never something we would have done had it not been for this experience...I can't wait for more fun family travels!!