We’re officially on the back-half of our time in Italy, and packing in as much adventure as we can! On Tuesday, we joined a Boundless-organized truffle-hunt in the Tuscan hills where 2 adorable Italian poodles found 3 truffles, and ended with a 3-course lunch covered in fresh truffles and local wine.

On Thursday, we joined another Boundless tour, this time of Florence to learn about wine windows – these were originally built in the middle ages as a way for merchants to sell wine from their palaces without paying taxes. These got very popular during the plagues, and 125 wine windows were in business. Over the centuries they diminished in popularity, until 2020 due to Covid-19, when 12 of the original 125 re-opened (along with a number of newer ones capitalizing on the opportunity). With the summer heat seeping in, the wine & spritz were very welcome!

After our wine tour, we walked by the statue of Dante Alighieri – interesting history as he was persecuted by the Florentine government of his day and sentenced to burn at the stake, and despite being posthumously cleared in 2008 (that’s 706 years later), his current descendants rejected the pardon as they felt the government “wasn’t sorry enough” – we ended up at the Scuola de Cuoio, the school of leather. We learned it’s where a lot of the artisans who work for the major brands learn the craft, so we were intrigued. Melissa went in looking for a purse, but we found matching leather jackets and had to go for it. We saw people selecting colors and styles for their custom-made purses and jackets, complete with monograms. Would recommend anyone coming to Florence to stop by here first to get yours ordered!

In between our adventures, we get wonderful updates from the teachers about Guille and Vivi’s progress. They continue to thrive at school and afterschool activities. The weather has suddenly turned hot (sadly, our new jackets will have to wait until the fall), which means more afternoon-gelato with the kids!

Finally, on Sunday we head out to Pisa and have a wonderful day exploring another Tuscan city, this time by the water. The tower is really leaning, and it’s been doing that for 800 years! We found a quiet Peruvian-inspired restaurant in an alley where the kids could run around, and enjoyed a relaxing Sunday ceviche & paella lunch.

Guille’s favorite part of the week: Leaning Tower of Pisa
Vivi’s favorite part of the week: Eating rice (her words)