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Family in Italy for the first time

Making use of those Passports

It is with great honor and satisfaction that I finally get to announce I was able to take my parents on their first European vacation!  My sister and I helped get their passports a few years back as a Christmas gift, and yet the Colorado ski vacations continued.  This was the year we broke the vicious cycle, got out of the comfort zone and gave something new a go.

The trip was about two weeks on the ground in Italy and Switzerland; basically around the Alps.  Honestly, it could not have gone better.  The weather was on our side (for the most part), transportation was flawless and we did not have to make any last minute changes.  I was a little worried about how chalked-full the itinerary was becoming, but in the end, everything played out perfectly.

Almost forgot, this was my first video shot on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Those 2x and 5x shots were really a gamechanger.

Logistics and Itinerary

The trip was more or less a loop around the Alps. We started by taking a train from Zürich to Milan, then worked our way east.  I used AirBnb exclusively on this trip for all the cities we stayed in: Milan, Tuscany region, Venice, Ortisei and Zürich.  Renting a car was 100% the move here, and I wish we had the rental for the entire trip.  I forgot how expensive train tickets could become for daytrips.

The day-by-day would start our tour in Milan with a day trip to Lake Como. From here, we would head down to Tuscany region with day trips to Florence and a winery.  Next would be a stop in Verona before ending up in Venice for a few nights.  The last stop in Italy was in Ortisei (Dolomites region) for some outdoor activities and then take a train back to Zürich.  We also spent a few days in Switzerland, but I have that covered in the Lucerne and Liechtenstein posts.

A lot of Firsts

Entering Milan, reality struck that this was truly the first time my parents were seeing a European-way-of-things.  This was going to be fun.  It’s like learning something initially – you sit with the notion, digest the information and ask a lot of questions.  There was a lot of that the entire trip, and I am very grateful to have such a patient wife, sister and future brother-in-law to balance my sometimes overwhelming personality.

Personally, highlights on the first portion of the trip were our initial apertivo hour and the time spent at our Tuscany villa.  Apertivo time is like a happy hour.  You get a nice cocktail (for us, nonstop Aperol spritz and Limoncello spritz) and sometimes a sort of appetizer to go along with it. Watching everyone get a little loosey-goosey in Milan was fantastic.  There were protests against coperto (table charge), hopping of turnstiles and neanderthal orders of 2L beers in a mega-goblet.

The last one may have been me.

Landed in Europe (Zurich)
Landed in Europe (Zurich)
The first spritz
The first spritz
Lake Como
Lake Como
Our Tuscany villa
Our Tuscany villa
Florence beauty
Florence beauty

Milan also included tickets to see Duomo di Milano in its entirety and a day trip out to Lake Como; both of which were beautiful in their own rights.  The details on Duomo were just mind-blowing.

Heading south from Milan, we entered Tuscany, where we stayed at one of my favorite Airbnbs to-date.  The entire Tuscan experience was just too good to not be memorable.  I remember driving up to the villa the first evening to capture the sunset over the hills.  Our villa was Tuscany to the core with long wooden tables, rustic sunbaked brick and terra-cotta tiles.  We had a blast playing tennis, having lunch at a nearby winery and having our host double as a private chef for one night.

Tuscany never dissapoints!

Hitting our stride

Before reaching our ultimate outdoor destination in the Dolomites, we spent time in Florence, Verona and Venice.  I know Mila will strongly disagree with me, but I think I can confidently say that the majority of us enjoyed Verona the most of of the three cities.  To Mila’s defense, we needed more time in Florence to really deep-dive into arts and culture.  That may have moved the needle.

Verona was a romantic city. The truth is we only stopped here because Mila mentioned it was the place for Romeo and Juliet’s balcony!  Walking through the shopping and commercial district in old town, architecture was well kept, with a more relaxed atmosphere.  There was even a baby Roman arena (like the Colosseum)  which hosts during opera season.

Venice somewhat fell in the same category as Florence.  Also, this was when the rain started, which dampened the experience but not our spirits!  The lightning was incredible that night from our Airbnb.  But what is there to say about Venice?  I had a lot of opinions from other people before being there myself.  First, it did not stink as bad as I thought (the rain may have helped). Secondly, it is easy to get lost in all those narrow winding streets.  The highlight for me was finding a Venetian art shop where I picked up a hand-crafted wax seal stamp so I can start sending some next-level mail.

Verona
Verona
Little rain in Venice
Little rain in Venice
Chilling in the Dolomites
Chilling in the Dolomites
Our first lake hike
Our first lake hike
Seceda hike
Seceda hike

The Dolomites arguably were the pinnacle of the trip, and for good reason.  The Alps are majestic and you cannot not like them.  The Dolomites region has several small ski-village type towns with an Austro-Hungarian influence, which immediately made me start searching for some real estate.

Our time here was amazing.  We started with a circular road trip around the region to see some lakes we had previously marked.  Fortunately, we were also early enough in the season that not a lot of people were around, but also that some of the gondolas were accessible to get us up into the mountains for some more hiking.  On a more serious note, I’m proud to have parents that can, and enjoy, more strenuous activities.  Gotta work for those views! 

Back to neutrality

And just like that, we were taking a train from Milan back to Zürich, Switzerland where other ‘side quests’ would commence.  Breaking the annual ski vacation trend and going on a completely different type of trip with my family created a new baseline moving forward.  There were so many ‘firsts’ to experience and to think we only traveled through some of Northern Italy!  I’m truly happy with how the trip turned out and hope that this little record keeper will serve well for memory sake.

-ML

Recap of Places

Check out the MAP for links!

  • Milan
  • Lake Como
  • Florence
  • Tuscany
  • Verona
  • Venice
  • Dolomites
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Michael Lakus

IT professional, athlete, musician, ponderer of many things... Born and raised in Florida, I began traveling internationally after college. I created this site primarily to remind myself of where I've been and to share my experiences on traveling with a quirky, stress-free, travel attitude.
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