Jen, Carley and D'Auna Visit Florence!

We started the month of March by welcoming our friends Jen, Carley and D'Auna to Italy. Dr. Jen is working in at J's clinic while we are in Minnesota and Carley and D'Auna have both worked as our receptionists. It was like a big European work meeting of Pietila Chiropractic - that included A LOT of fun!

The day the girls arrived happened to be the day of the Fiorentina v. Bayern Champion's League Game. We all got to go, but first we had to get the girls ready...

The girls from Minnesota sadly brought with them some cold, cold weather! It was the coldest weather I have experienced in the 13 months we have been living in Italy. We bundled up for the game and even though we were quite chilly, we had a blast!!

Fiorentina won this game against Bayern, but very, very sadly we needed to win by 2 points to move forward to the next round. It was a really sad and unfair situation, but I guess that's the nature of the sport... We had a great time anyway!

This is a short video I took before the game started. The stadium was packed and there was a lot of excitement in the air.

This was a new record - 5 people in our teeny-tiny elevator! Impressive huh?

While the girls were here, we took a "Best of Tuscany Tour." The tour took us from Florence to Siena, then to a wine tasting and lunch at a villa, then on to San Gimignano and finally to Pisa.

In Siena, we had a short walking tour of the city. Here is a picture of the group on the main piazza in Siena. Many Italians claim that this is the "best" piazza in all of Italy. It was a little too cold to sit and enjoy it, but it definitely was beautiful!

J. and I visited Siena 2 years ago on vacation. We took our picture at this exact spot. Of course, it was not covered with snow!

The next stop after leaving Siena was a wonderful little villa just outside San Gimignano. (You can see the medieval town of San Gimignano with the towers in the distance.) We had a wonderful Tuscan lunch and tasted really great vino!

We had a nice visit in San Gimignano. J and I had never been to this town, we were happy we got the chance to see it! We couldn't believe this snow though! Our tour guide was telling us that she has lived in Tuscany her entire life and has never seen snow like this in March! It was very unusual!! It really was beautiful though!

Finally, we made it to Pisa. Of course all the girls had to take to super touristy pictures! I think J is winning this battle, sorry Jen!

I went with the girls to Rome for their last day in Italy. We arrived only to discover that the public transportation in Rome was on strike! We walked to the hotel steering clear of the demonstration along the way. Based on my previous experience in Rome, I didn't think the city could be more chaotic and crazy, but I was wrong! It took the meaning of chaotic to a whole new level! Oh well, we managed and had a great visit!

We took a tour of the Ancient City. It started pouring just before our tour started, but it did let up and we had a wonderful (fairly dry) afternoon!

Here are the three ladies inside the Colosseum. (No matter how many times I see this, I am still impressed, every time!)

The four of us at the Roman Forum.

And finally at the Trevi Fountain.

We had a wonderful visit with these three amazing and fun girls (and employees)! Thank you D'Auna, Jen and Carley for visiting! We hope we showed you a fun time in Italia!!