Returning to Venice in February for another Carnival felt different this time. We had our own Rococo costumes. It took over nine months to select the perfect fabrics, patterns, and accessories, with numerous fittings throughout the process. We arrived in Venice with many suitcases in order to bring the costumes over. As usual, we parked our rental car at Marco Polo Airport. From there, we took our pre-arranged private motoscafo (taxi boat). In just over thirty minutes, we a

We drove from Milan to Parma in the morning and arrived at our hotel in the early afternoon. We stayed at the Grand Hotel di Parma , a beautiful building that once served as an elegant hospital complex in the early 1900s. Our room was beautifully decorated, with one of the highest ceilings and tallest curtains we have ever seen in a hotel room. Driving around the center of Parma is no easy feat, as the city uses the dreaded ZTL (Limited Traffic Zone) system, which will land

We arrived in Milan a day ahead and had booked an Airbnb near San Siro stadium, where the opening ceremony was taking place. On the morning of the ceremony, we took a guided English tour of Castello Sforzesco (Sforza Castle). Built in the 14th century and expanded by the Sforza dynasty, this Renaissance fortress is a true Milanese icon. Our hour-long tour led us through grand courtyards and into the city’s impressive collections, including the Museum of Ancient Art and the

We paused our Northern Spain and Madrid trip for this event, which was the main reason we planned the entire vacation. We traveled from...