Florence, Italy

Firenze! The home of Michaelangelo's David, the best wine I've ever had (and some of the best pasta), and the Pontevecchio :) Pure happiness.

The Duomo

Gold doors depicting biblical scenes

Lunch stop at this cute family cafe/restaurant

Corkscrews, new and old

Pontevecchio

The cruise

Here are a few images from my family's Mediterranean cruise. Fun!

We ate...and ate, and ate, and ate.

Tiramisu

Some seriously delicious cannoli (but can't compare to Grandma DiCosola's, of course). Cocoa shell and orange zest in the ricotta mascarpone filling.

Mom and Dad eating these delectables.

My parents are so awesome.  <3 Love you.

The side of the ship, as we were all on the deck watching while we passed by an active volcano at sea...Mt. Stromboli (yes, stromboli!)

More photos from Italy and Spain to come!

Marseilles, France

I now understand what Belle was singing about in Beauty and the Beast, her provençal town in France :)

Here is just a short post from Marseille. My favorite part was seeing the island just off shore that inspired Alexandre Dumas to write his novel, The Comte de Monte Cristo!

We went to a cute little farmer's market on the coast.

Herbs at the farmer's market

The famous soaps from Marseille! Savon de Marseille <3

A stunning sculpture of Mary and Christ at the Our Lady cathedral on a hill overlooking the entire city.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh, Scotland was one of my favorite stops on our tour of Europe. Enchanting :) Definitely would go back here someday!

The Edinburgh Castle up on the hill.

True Scotchman, playing the bagpipes! :)

:)

Striped tulips

Little cottage in the woods

The Royal Mile

Grounds of the Edinburgh Castle

Grounds of the Edinburgh Castle

Grounds of the Edinburgh Castle

Panoramic view of the city from the grounds of the Edinburgh Castle

Dungeons of the Edinburgh Castle

Grounds of the Edinburgh Castle

Scotch Whiskey! I tried really hard to like it, but could not.

Spectacular view of the city, I think this was the highest point within the city.

SO CUTE. This is one of my favorite images from Scotland...these two old friends sharing a meal. So sweet.

Prague, Czech Republic

Another Tour of Europe post! This time featuring...PRAGUE! While Praha was very tourist-y, it was still a highlight of the trip--seemingly quintessential Europe. :)

The lilacs were all in bloom during our time in Praha. Particularly in the yard of this (beautiful) church, which was almost just a field of lilacs. It smelled so sweet, and wandering around through the huge lilac bushes made me feel like I was in Alice and Wonderland. Haha :)

View of Praha over the Vltava River, Charles Bridge at the forefront.

This door was massive.

My favorite building in Praha, I believe it was a synagogue. With Henry's Tower in the background.

One of the turrets from the above building.

St. Vitus Cathedral on the Prague Castle grounds

Inside St. Vitus

Detailed ceiling murals

Saint Wenceslas Square, with the National Museum in the background. Yes, this is the "good king" from our Christmas song, but as it turns out he was a saint, not a king. Interesting.

There were some incredible stained glass windows!

A simple image to end. This was taken in the dungeons of the castle.