B O L Z A N O , Italy

This was Jim, Justin and Coleman’s favorite day: our trip to Italy. Just a two-hour drive from our hotel, we couldn’t pass up the chance to peek into a new country.

Bolzano, Italy was our destination.

I can't believe how central and close we are located to so many countries.

We are working really hard to take in as much as we can especially in the short times that we have Justin home.

The weather was perfect- sunny, clear and cool but not too cold.

The drive was beyond beautiful even being the middle of January. To get to Bolzano, we drove straight down from Germany through the Alps and Austria across the border into Italy.

The mountains are truly magnificent. A little snow was a bonus. The scattered houses, castle ruins, vineyards and churches make the landscape a treat for the eyes.

Bolzano is the largest city in the region, but we were still able to navigate our way downtown without a problem. Jim stays calm and collected while he drives even in thick traffic with crazy roads and drivers. I love that about him.

No one even honked at us on this trip- a really good thing in a country known for crazy drivers and dented vehicles.
We found a parking lot and headed down the road toward the middle of town.

Right around the corner was this house with this sign. It says: In this house was Wolfgang Amadaus Mozart on December 23, 1769. You never know when you’ll find a famous house.

Our first stop was at a hole-in-the wall for an authentic Italian lunch. It was the first place we saw that was open and were lucky enough to get a seat.

More than a dozen people were turned away as they filled up fast for the lunch hour.

We really got lucky- it was a great stop.

We tried the bruschetta and pizza. Amazing.

We were already loving Italy. 

Oh, we are definitely going back.