Vatican City

     Day 3, 4 & 5 – Roma, Firenze, & La Cote d’Azur      

Rome and Florence were beautiful days from start to finish, full of incredible architecture and artwork every time we turned a corner, all standing majestic and strong even though they are from centuries ago.  (Insert irony here that we in Canada can’t build a stadium that will last us past 30 years…)  The Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Panthenon, lunch in Piazza Navona, The Vatican, and more all got crossed off the list in Rome- the Colloseum and Sistine Chapel will be next week .      

Rome 1998

Rome 2010

   The stunning Statues of David, Goliath, and Neptune all had lunch with us in the Piazza in Florence before we visited the Duomo and the sculptor’s tombs at Holy Cross Church – great days.        

Statue of David (et al) Florence

   Chris and I were both surprised how quickly the surroundings became familiar again – it really felt as if we never left, and we were showing Mom and Dad around our “neighbourhoods”.       

Mom and Dad in Rome

Speaking of neighbourhoods – on Friday we returned to the place where we someday dream of being able to actually call our neighbourhood – our beloved Villefranche.       

Ahhhhh…Villefranche.  Words cannot even explain the beauty of this place.  Friends, you must, must, must put a visit to the French Riviera on your bucket list. It is truly magical.  There is so much splendour to take in here, and we really want to share as much of its beauty as we possibly can with Mom and Dad in the short time that we have.      

We decided to start off with a visit to the stunning Monaco and Monte Carlo (the inhabitants of which making the uber-rich of Capri look like middle-class bourgeoisie), and then topped off the day – literally – at the top of the Cote d’Azur in a little village called Eze .       

Eze

This special place is one of our favourites of all of our travels, and it is where Chris and I were engaged.  We took Mom and Dad back to the scene of the crime – a beautiful restaurant nestled on the side of a cliff overlooking the Riviera called “Le Chevre d’Or”, ordered a bottle of Sancerre, and toasted to our marriage and to my Mom and Dad’s 45th wedding anniversary.  All at the exact table where it all happened 12 years ago.  Yes….I cried a little bit….      

Our Engagement - Eze 1998

Celebrating our Marriages - Eze 2010