My wife has always wanted to go to Italy as her grandparents were both born there.  So after much hard work and planning, we left on Sunday 9/4 and got back yesterday 9/13.  We went to Rome, Pompeii, Positano, Florence, Venice and then jumped over to Barcelona because i've had many friends say it was a great place to go.  We did it all too!  If there was a site to see in one of those places, i'm pretty sure we saw it.  I have to admit i was pretty skeptical at first, but afterwards i will say it was one of the greatest experiences i've had yet!  I've been out of the country a number of times, but only in North and South America, Europe was totally different on most every account.  

Food was FANTASTIC, both in Italy and in Spain.  And the best thing was honestly the produce!  I ate sooooooo many tomatoes, peaches and grapes it was insane, but they were so much better than back home it was unbelievable!  I highly recommend the trip if you ever are afforded the opportunity to take it!  

A few pics from the trip:

 

Positano

 

Florence Fish Market

 

Pizza (OF COURSE):

 

Florence at Sunset

 

Venice from a boat:

 

Barcelona beach:

 

Barcelona fish market:

And wine with everything!!!

40 minutes ago, Al Wolbach said:

And wine with everything!!!

i'm a longtime migraine sufferer and just the smallest amount of wine or beer gives me a debilitating headache, but not liquors....  so no wine for this guy, but my wife drank plenty of it and said they were all some of the best wines she'd ever had!

I'll be in Spain in march.

Would love to go to Italy. 

On the bucket list for sure.

Nice pictures!

Congrats and a beautiful trip recap. Hoping some day I can go back there and visit some of the places my family is from. Looks like you were still around some fish (mostly the chilled laid back kind) which is always pretty cool!

Good for you and yours

15 hours ago, Last_Cast said:

I'll be in Spain in march.

Would love to go to Italy. 

On the bucket list for sure.

Nice pictures!

the food in spain was different to say the least, but it was really good!!  i'm sure you'll enjoy it!

 

10 hours ago, kickerfish1 said:

Congrats and a beautiful trip recap. Hoping some day I can go back there and visit some of the places my family is from. Looks like you were still around some fish (mostly the chilled laid back kind) which is always pretty cool!

thanks john, like i said, i'd highly recommend the trip.  we had a great time and my wife really appreciated seeing the country that her grandfather and grandmother always talked about.  and yeah, i still had fishing on the brain for sure!

wow so cool!!!

Looks awesome man glad you had a good trip

A trip my wife would love to make. Not something I'm interested in, but will probably make it some day for her to enjoy. 

5 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

A trip my wife would love to make. Not something I'm interested in, but will probably make it some day for her to enjoy. 

Yeah, I'm with you. I would much rather be planning a trip to Falcon Lake than Europe, but my wife has her mind set on the continent for next spring. She is all about the historic sites, but my focus will be more on the food and spirits.

 

Looks like a fantastic trip.In general how were the people over there.?

13 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

A trip my wife would love to make. Not something I'm interested in, but will probably make it some day for her to enjoy. 

I was about the same way, but afterward I was very glad she lined it up for us to go! Really was far better than expected  

5 hours ago, Catch 22 said:

Looks like a fantastic trip.In general how were the people over there.?

They were very nice I thought. I think they operate a little slower than we do in general which just made for a nice laid back experience. There was little to no language barriers where we visited and people were very polite and inviting. 

Awesome you got to experience this. Some day I would like to go to Italy and see where my grandparents came from. 

Cool! You da man buzzy!

i got to take an all expenses paid trip to both Spain and Italy (among other Mediterranean countries) while aboard the USS Hermitage in 1981.