Tuscany with the Aylwards

On June 9th we met Patti & Tim Aylward, our good friends from Hawaii, and their extended family in Tuscany. Patti, Tim, their son Phillip and Patti’s sister Joyce her husband Tim and their delightful son, 4 year old Gavin were on a cruise around Europe.












I had arranged for a personal tour with tour guide and friend Maria D’Arrigo who runs her company A Touch of Tuscany Tours (www.tuscanyitalytours.com) in the beautiful region of Tuscany. Maria is American, married to an Italian and is passionate about the history and art of Italy. She has a fun sense of humor and truly enjoys her job.









Since the ship at the last moment decided to dock in La Spezia instead of Livorno, we started of the day with a few challenges to find every one but we did and the “Hawaii” connection was made in Pisa. After a quick tour of the old crooked tower and the well maintained Campo we were off to Florence to be bedazzled with all the history and art one could shove into an afternoon. One of the highlights was seeing Michelangelo’s David at the Academia. It was great to see Patti and Tim and spend some time catching up with their busy lives and showing off a little of our adopted country.




Maria got the Alywards back to the port on time to board their ship and with a fond “Ciao” to Maria, Michael and I were on our way driving north through the mountains back up to our home in Vicenza. La dolce vita!