Girl’s Weekend in Italy

My mom, Erin and I have a tradition of taking a weekend a year to run away and enjoy some time with just the three of us.  We’ve escaped to a spa in Stanley, Idaho; a gorgeous waterfront hotel in Bellingham, Washington; and even enjoyed a few ‘stay-cations’ in Seattle and Boise over the years.  But this year was different…it was the first time in my life that my mom, sister and I wouldn’t be physically in the same place for over 14 months, so my mom ended up taking one trip with me and another with Erin – way to go mom!

I was lucky enough to spend an incredible weekend with my beautiful mamma in Italy!  It was a whirlwind trip with a night in Rome and a night in Tuscany before catching a flight back to Madrid.  I think Italy suits my mom quite well, don’t you?

Walking, walking, walking… We started at Il Vittoriano and made our way to the Pantheon, stopped for a cafe freddo in Piazza Saint Eustachio, then dinner in Campo de Fiori, gelato near Piazza Navona, and a stop by the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps.  We honestly felt like we were in a dream.

The next morning we woke up and hit the road in our little black Fiat – yes, I was crazy enough to drive in Italy.  We took a worthwhile detour to dip our toes in the Mediterranean on our way to Assisi.

A highlight of our quick stop by the sea (that we failed to capture on camera) was when we came back to find a parking ticket on our windshield.  Apparently it’s not a good idea to park in an open space that just happens to be in front of the local police station and completely blocking a cross walk – oops.

We had a fairly uneventful drive to Assisi but let’s just say mom and I were about ready to throw the GPS out the window by the time we’d driven in circles through a scenic Tuscan (well, Umbria to be exact) village hillside in search of our hotel.  After maneuvering an impossibly bumpy dirt road, we managed to find our hotel and you’ll see from the photos below that the stress in the car was well worth it for a night at Le Madrie de San Paolo.

We explored the actual town of Assisi, famous as the birth place of St. Francis (a saint my wonderful Grandpa Jim has a particular fondness for) and the gorgeous church constructed in his honor.

This was definitely a girl’s weekend for the history books.  Literally the only thing missing – and by missing I mean TERRIBLY missing – was Erin.  Here’s to planning a real girls trip with all three of us next year!