Throwback to Europe 2012. We spent our last few days in Rome before heading home to Canada. Here is my Europe 2012 Wrapup

Europe Wrap Up

Looking back, this European trip in 2012 was the last major family trip we’ve taken. Since then as we’ve grown older and schedules have become more packed, it’s harder to find time to travel together. So looking back on this trip has been a huge blessing remembering some of the great memories we’ve shared together as a family.

What started with witnessing two amazing people commit their lives together, turned into a trip of a lifetime spent with the people I love most in this world! When the dust settled we’d, flown, driven, trained and cruised across four different European countries.

Personally, I was able to visit a places I’ve always wanted to go. At the start of the trip I was most excited to visit Italy and sample real Italian food. I was also eager to visit Cannes. Movies and Film have always been a huge part of my life and visiting the host city of a major international film festival was high on my list. At the same time there were places we visited that surprised me and gave me a taste for more. This was true especially for Spain and Barcelona. We only had a day here but I certainly want to go back and give it the time a city and country like that deserves!

If you’re interested in reading about the entire trip you can do so here

Highlights

Summarizing such a trip is always hard. I picked out a few things that truly stood out to me.

Bologna, Italy & The Surrounding Area

I’ve always been a huge fan of Italian cuisine. Many people mentioned to me that once you have Italian food in Italy its going to be hard to go home and have it there. They were right! Visiting Bologna sometimes called the “food capital” of Italy was very high on my list and it didn’t disappoint. Some of the most amazing pastas and entrees I’ve ever had in my life I had here. I will never forget the Linguine Vongole I had a Da Nello.

Past the food, I really just enjoyed this area a lot. Visiting Rome and some of the major cities is cool, but I really liked the laid back feel of this area. Life seems to travel at a more relaxed pace and I really liked making a home base in Bologna and then taking the train to the surrounding area! I really liked Modena as a neighbouring city and even liked having lazy days in Bologna!

Ferrari

Visiting Ferrari was was a bit of a dream come true. I’ve always like their cars and had been a long time fan of their Formula One racing team since high school. So to be able to visit their headquarters and spend some time with “all things Ferrari” was awesome! While the luxury car portion of the trip is very cool, I was more interested in the racing history that they had there. I especially liked their “room of champions” where they had many of the cars that had won constructors or driver championships over the course of Ferrari’s racing history!

Barcelona. Spain

I only had a few hours to spend in Barcelona, but I already know I need to go back. Its one of those cities where just walking around it makes you realize how rich and diverse it is. From its crazy Gaudi architecture, to the happenings on Los Ramblas street I know there is so much that I haven’t discovered yet. I make this a  highlight simply because if half a day spent in this city can instill so much desire to return, I can only imagine what a full trip making it the destination would be like!

Family

As mentioned above this was our last major family trip together. As we all get older, the challenge of scheduling has become a reality and finding extended times away become increasingly difficult. We have still taken many short family trips together, but I’m not sure when our next big one will be. So for this reason, this trip holds a very special place in my heart. We remain close as a family unit and we still make references to different things have happened on this trip.

Italian Food

I couldn’t wrap up without mentioning the food. I’m a HUGE fan of Italian cooking and I’m glad I was able to sample as much as I did over the course of this trip. If you’re a fellow lover of food like me, I can’t recommend going enough. Its a bit cliche but once you’ve had the real thing in Italy, you can’t really go back. I’ve found a few close substitutes at home in Vancouver, but I still long for the day that I can return, explore a bit more and once again, eat my way through Italy!

Like with all my other throwbacks, I am continually amazed at how blessed God has been to me in allowing me the ability to travel. I am eternally grateful I have the chance to see this great big world of ours and and always appreciative at how beautiful and diverse this planet can be.