Family road trip · June 21 – July 2

We're going to
Italy.

Eight of us. One van. Six cities across northern Italy, Tuscany, and the Ligurian coast.

Days

Cities

People

~500

Miles

Four things you'll never forget

463

Steps inside the Duomo domeClimb between the walls of Brunelleschi's dome — the city spread out 300 feet below

1km

Via dell'Amore cliff walkA path cut into the cliffs above the Ligurian Sea between two villages

2,000

Year-old amphitheaterThe Verona Arena still hosts performances every summer — and we'll walk through it

∞

Gelato stopsThere is no bad gelato in Italy. Order pistachio at least once.

The itinerary

Stop by stop

Dolomites, northern Italy

Espresso machine brewing coffee at Italian bar

Italian espresso

Varenna, Lake Como

Jun 21–23 · Home base

Aviano

Where the adventure starts

We're staying with the Power fam near Aviano Air Base in the Friuli region — just below the Dolomites, with the Adriatic an hour away. Two days to shake off jet lag, find good espresso, and get excited.

Day 1 — Sun Jun 22

ArriveLand, settle in at Jenna & Vince's, eat real Italian food

EveningFirst espresso standing at the bar — the Italian way

Day 2 — Mon Jun 23

All dayDay trip to Trieste — dramatic Austro-Hungarian port city on the Adriatic, 1.5 hrs away

Aviano on Maps Trieste on Maps

Bologna Two Towers Asinelli and Garisenda

The Two Towers of Bologna

Bologna porticoes people walking arco del meloncello

Bologna's famous porticoes — Unsplash / Davide Cantelli

Bolognese ragù

Verona Italy cobblestone street at night

Northern Italian streetscape at night

Aviano → Bologna: ~2.5 hrs on the A23/A1

Jun 23 · Lunch stop

Bologna

The food capital of Italy

Two hours in the city that invented bolognese — except here it's tagliatelle, not spaghetti, and it tastes nothing like the jar stuff. Walk the UNESCO porticoes (38km of covered walkways!) and see the medieval Two Towers before continuing south.

Tue Jun 23 — Lunch stop

12:00pmArrive Bologna, park near Piazza Maggiore

12:30pmLunch — tagliatelle al ragù (the original recipe, at last)

1:30pmWalk the porticoes and Piazza Maggiore, see the Two Towers

3:00pmDrive south to Florence (~1.5 hrs)

5:30pmCheck in to B&B Mia Palace, evening walk in Florence

Piazza Maggiore

Florence cathedral Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore facade

Duomo di Firenze

Ponte Vecchio bridge Florence sunset Arno river

Ponte Vecchio at sunset

Florence rooftops

Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo

Gelato display case colorful flavors Italy

Gelato, Siena

Bologna → Florence: ~1.5 hrs on the A1

Jun 23–26 · 3 nights

Florence

The greatest city of the Renaissance

Two full days in the city that basically invented Western art. The Uffizi has Botticelli's Birth of Venus. The dome — built 600 years ago — has an engineering trick Brunelleschi kept secret his entire life. And the view from Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset will absolutely wreck everyone.

Wed Jun 24 — Uffizi day

9:15amUffizi Gallery — Botticelli, Leonardo, Caravaggio booked

12:00pmLunch at Mercato Centrale or Trattoria Mario

1:00pmPiazza della Signoria + David replica (exact spot Michelangelo chose)

3:00pmPonte Vecchio + Oltrarno wander, Boboli Gardens

6:45pmPiazzale Michelangelo — best sunset view in Tuscany

8:00pmDinner — Bistecca alla Fiorentina (T-bone the size of a hubcap)

Thu Jun 25 — Duomo day

9:00amDuomo exterior + Baptistery Gates of Paradise

10:30amDuomo Museum — original Ghiberti doors, Michelangelo's Pietà

12:00pmLunch near San Lorenzo market

1:00pmFree time — escape room or leather market

3:00pmBrunelleschi's Dome climb — 463 steps booked

7:30pmFinal Florence dinner in Oltrarno

B&B Mia Palance Duomo Piazzale Michelangelo Sant'Ambrogio Parking

Leaning Tower of Pisa Campo dei Miracoli

Campo dei Miracoli, Pisa — Unsplash / Marco Ceschi

Pisa Cathedral and Baptistery

Tuscany rolling hills cypress trees Italy

Tuscany countryside

Florence → Pisa: ~1 hr · Pisa → La Spezia: ~1.5 hrs

Jun 26 · Morning stop

Pisa

It's more tilted than you think

On the way to the coast we stop at the Campo dei Miracoli — the Field of Miracles. The Tower is genuinely more tilted than any photo prepares you for. The whole piazza — tower, cathedral, and baptistery — is one of the most striking squares in Europe and takes about 90 minutes.

Fri Jun 26

8:30amCheck out of B&B Mia Palace

9:30amArrive Pisa — Campo dei Miracoli

9:30–Tower, Cathedral, Baptistery — ~90 min total

11:30amLunch near the piazza, then drive north to the coast

4:00pmCheck in to La Spezia Airbnb

Campo dei Miracoli

Manarola Cinque Terre colorful houses cliffside sea

Manarola — arguably the most beautiful of the five villages

Vernazza harbor

Coastal views above the Ligurian Sea

Monterosso al Mare beach umbrellas Cinque Terre

Monterosso beach

Riomaggiore harbor

Jun 26–28 · 2 nights · La Spezia

Cinque Terre

Five villages carved into the cliffs

Five fishing villages clinging to cliffs above the Ligurian Sea — no cars, just trains and footpaths. We walk the Via dell'Amore between two villages on a path literally cut into the cliff face, then lunch in Vernazza, then a full afternoon on the best beach in the region.

Sat Jun 27 — Full Cinque Terre day

8:00amWalk to La Spezia Centrale, buy Cinque Terre Cards

8:30amTrain to Riomaggiore — explore the harbor (~45 min)

9:15amWalk the Via dell'Amore to Manarola — 1km, flat, cliff views

10:00amExplore Manarola — best postcard view in the Cinque Terre

11:00amTrain to Vernazza (4 min)

11:30amVernazza: Doria Castle climb (~€2), lunch on the harbor

1:15pmTrain to Monterosso al Mare (5 min)

1:30pmBeach — rent loungers, swim, soak in the last Cinque Terre hours

5:30pmDinner in Monterosso old town (seafood, anchovies, pesto everything)

7:00pmTrain back to La Spezia (~15 min) — pack tonight for Verona

La Spezia Airbnb La Spezia Station Monterosso Beach

Piazza Bra, Verona

Verona street

Casa di Giulietta

La Spezia → Verona: ~2.5 hrs · Verona → Aviano: ~2.5 hrs

Jun 28 · Day stop

Verona

Romeo & Juliet's city. 2,000 years of history.

On the drive back to Aviano we stop in Verona — Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was set here. The Arena di Verona is an amphitheater built in 30 AD that still hosts opera performances every summer. We'll walk through it, find Juliet's balcony, and have one last Italian lunch.

Sun Jun 28

7:30amCheck out La Spezia Airbnb, drive to Verona

10:30amArrive Verona — Arena di Verona (2,000-year-old amphitheater)

12:00pmCasa di Giulietta — Juliet's balcony (free to walk in)

1:00pmLunch on Piazza delle Erbe — Verona's ancient market square

2:30pmDrive back to Aviano (~2.5 hrs)

Arena di Verona Juliet's Balcony

Grand Canal Venice Italy sunset Piazza San Marco

Grand Canal, Venice at sunset — Unsplash / Luca Bravo

Grand Canal gondolas — Unsplash / Michael Hamments

St Marks Basilica Venice Piazza San Marco Italy

St Mark's Basilica — Unsplash / Falco Negenman

Rialto Bridge Venice Italy Grand Canal summer

Rialto Bridge — Unsplash / Lex Brogan

Narrow canal Venice Italy gondola buildings

Venice canal — Unsplash / Andy Holmes

Jun 29 – Jul 2 · Final days

Venice & home

The grand finale

Back in Aviano after Verona, with three and a half days to decompress, explore, and squeeze in one last great Italian city before flying home. Jered, Aimee, Calvin, and Alice join on July 1st for a full reunion day before the Florida Beairds head to the airport.

Sun Jun 29 — Recovery day

All dayBack in Aviano — rest, local food, debrief the road trip

Mon Jun 30 — Venice day trip

MorningDrive or train to Venice (~1.5 hrs from Aviano)

Mid-morningPiazza San Marco and St Mark's Basilica — the heart of Venice

MiddayRialto Bridge and the Grand Canal markets

AfternoonGondola ride through the back canals

EveningCicchetti (Venetian tapas) and Aperol Spritz — Venice invented it

Tue Jul 1 — Full reunion day

All dayJered, Aimee, Calvin & Alice arrive — Beaird & Power fams all together

Wed Jul 2 — Departure

MorningDrive to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) — ~1.5 hrs from Aviano

12:20pmFlight home — arrivederci, Italia

Piazza San Marco Rialto Bridge VCE Airport

See it for yourself

Venice — canals, gondolas, and the Grand Canal in 4K

Italy · Summer 2026

June 21 – July 2, 2026 · The Beaird & Power fams

We're going to
Italy.

Four things you'll never forget