Tag: Europe with Kids

🇮🇹 Naples Cruise Port: Sorrento, Pompeii & All the Flavors
Our day in Naples was a perfect blend of history, views, and indulgent snacks—just how we like it! We booked a private tour through Viator that included stops in Sorrento and Pompeii, and while the traffic was wild at times, the experience was absolutely worth it.

🍋 Sorrento: Sweets, Streets & Stunning Views

We kicked things off in beautiful Sorrento, with time to wander the charming streets, soak up the views, and (of course) snack. Here’s what we loved:
- 🍨 Gelato from Antica Gelateria dell’Accademia — the cannoli flavor was unforgettable!
- 🌸 Macarons from Amorino — almost too pretty to eat (almost).
- 🍫 Pistachio + lemon chocolates from Nino and Friends — so good, and great for souvenirs!
🏛️ Pompeii: Walking Through History

Next up was a guided tour through Pompeii, where we walked the ancient Roman streets frozen in time by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Our guide was knowledgeable and great with kids—bringing the ruins to life with fun facts and stories.

Despite Naples’ reputation for hectic traffic (and yes, we hit some!), the entire day was a smooth ride thanks to our driver and guide.

🎟️ Tour Details

We booked this private tour through Viator and had a great experience:
👉 Private Day Tour: Amalfi Coast, Sorrento & Pompeii (Viator)
Customizable itinerary, comfortable van, and a family-friendly approach — highly recommend!

📝 Quick Tips
- ✅ Pompeii gets hot! Bring water and a fan — we love these travel gear picks.
- 🍋 Don’t skip Nino and Friends — try the chocolate samples!
- 🚗 Expect some traffic—plan buffer time if you’re on a tight cruise schedule.
- 🎒 Comfortable shoes are a must for Pompeii’s uneven roads.
July 25, 2025
🇮🇹 Sicily Cruise Port: Exploring Taormina & Messina with Kids
Our stop in Messina, Sicily quickly became one of the highlights of our Mediterranean cruise. With a private tour booked through Viator, we spent the day exploring the gorgeous hilltop town of Taormina and the historic streets of Messina — and yes, we finished with the most perfect cannoli in Italy.

🚌 Shore Excursion Details
- Tour through Viator: Taormina and Messina Private Tour with Sicilian Cannoli Tasting
- Guide: Sonia – fantastic with kids and incredibly knowledgeable
- Port: Messina, Sicily, Italy
🌋 Taormina: Cobblestones, Views & Granita Dreams

Our day began with a scenic drive from Messina to Taormina, complete with a photo stop overlooking Mount Etna in the distance. Even our kids were wowed!

Mount Etna in the distance — a breathtaking start to our day in Sicily!

We were dropped off at Porta Catania, one of the two iconic entrances to Corso Umberto — the charming pedestrian street that cuts through town. Along the way, we stopped to see:
- Fontana dei Quattro Fontane (Fountain of the Four Horses)
- The peaceful Duomo di Taormina (Cathedral of San Nicola)
- The breathtaking views from Piazza IX Aprile
Before leaving Taormina, we made a must-stop at the iconic Bam Bar, famous for its refreshing granita served with a soft brioche roll. It was hands-down one of our favorite treats of the trip — and totally kid-approved!

Granita with brioche at Bam Bar — a cold, sweet, Sicilian tradition!

⛪️ Messina: Clock Towers & Cannoli

Back in Messina, we visited the Cathedral of Messina, home to the largest astronomical clock in Europe — an absolute showstopper when it chimes at noon (though we missed the action this time).

The famous astronomical clock in Messina’s cathedral square.

We ended the tour on a sweet note: a visit to a local pastry shop for authentic Sicilian cannoli. Crispy, creamy, and totally unforgettable.

Chris and I approved! These cannoli were the real deal.

Look at that filling. Perfection.

💡 Would We Return?

Absolutely! This stop gave us a great taste of Sicily — both literally and figuratively. We’d love to return and spend more time exploring Mt. Etna, the beaches, and maybe even take a cooking class in the future. For now, this was the perfect first introduction to the magic of Sicily.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you book through them — at no extra cost to you!
June 27, 2025
🇮🇹 Rome With Kids: 3 Days of Ancient Ruins, Gelato & Magic Before Setting Sail
After soaking up Florence, we wrapped up the land portion of our Italy adventure with a whirlwind few days in Rome—a city bursting with ancient history, delicious pasta, and (of course) so much gelato.

🚄 Arrival: We took the Frecciarossa train from Florence to Rome, then used the FreeNow app (like Uber) for a quick taxi to our hotel.

📍 Hotel: Grand Hotel Palatino
We had two adjoining rooms that were super spacious and luxurious—there were even chocolates and macarons waiting for us! (Don’t worry, we told the girls not to get used to this kind of treatment.)

Abby and Chris at the Trevi Fountain—our first evening in Rome started with a classic wish toss.

🏛️ Day 1: Walkable Wonders + Our First Gnocchi

After settling in, we walked to the Pantheon, seeing several iconic sights along the way. From there we made our way to the Trevi Fountain, threw in our coins, and stopped at The Quirinal Palace and Palazzo della Consulta.

🍝 Dinner: Benso Ristorante – The gnocchi was a standout.

🍨 Gelato: Gold Ice – Cute spot, but not a favorite. Rome has better!

🎨 Day 2: Vatican Marvels, Pancakes & a Golfcart Tour

🧇 Breakfast: Complimentary at the hotel
🖼️ Morning: Private Vatican Tour with Liv Tours
This tour was great for families. Chris would have stayed in the museum all day (so many Roman artifacts!) but the crowds kept us moving. Highlights included the Sistine Chapel (no photos!) and St. Peter’s Basilica, where we explored freely afterward.

Our Vatican tour ended at St. Peter’s Basilica, where we were able to explore at our own pace.

🥞 Lunch: The Loft – Pancakes with fresh fruit = a major hit with the girls.

🛍️ We wandered Rome, visited Sephora (because teenagers), and had one of our favorite gelato stops:

🍨 Amorino Gelato – Creamy, fun flavors with macarons on top.

Our golfcart tour gave us front-row views of Rome’s icons—with a guide who knew how to make history fun for kids.

🛺 Evening: 2-hour Golfcart Tour with My Best Tour
One of the girls’ favorite activities of the trip. Our guide was engaging, funny, and showed us:
- Colosseum (lit up at night!)
- Pantheon (again!)
- Trevi Fountain (again!)
- Spanish Steps
- Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary (preview for tomorrow!)
Evening views at the Spanish Steps during our golfcart tour—beautiful and surprisingly peaceful.

She even stopped at her favorite local gelato spot—
🍨 Essentia Gelato near Trevi — definitely a top contender!

🍝 Dinner: Osteria Maracuja – Another win, and conveniently right where our guide dropped us.

🏟️ Day 3: Gladiators, Cats & Chocolate-Dipped Cones

🧇 Breakfast: Complimentary again at Grand Hotel Palatino
🗿 Morning: Private Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill Tour with Liv Tours
Our guide Chiara was fantastic—she kept the kids fully engaged while giving Chris plenty of deep historical details.

Gladiator energy! The girls loved exploring the Colosseum with our Liv Tours guide, Chiara.

🍕 Lunch: Antico Forno Serpenti – Fast, large portions, great prices.

🐱 Afternoon: Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary
We arrived before their posted closing time but couldn’t go in—still cool to peek in and learn it’s the exact spot Julius Caesar was assassinated. Paige declared we have to come back to actually pet the cats.

🍨 Gelato: Gelateria Artigianale Corona – Great texture and flavor.

🍝 Dinner: Bernini Ristorante near Piazza Navona
Fun atmosphere, and the food was great.

🍨 Final Gelato: Frigidarium – Possibly the best of our whole trip! Don’t miss the chocolate hard shell dipped cones.

Frigidarium’s chocolate-dipped gelato cones might have won our “best of the trip” award.

➕ Related Posts:
June 18, 2025
2.5 Days in Florence with Kids: Cooking Classes, Leather Markets & Day Trips
🛤️ Getting to Florence

We took the Frecciarossa train from Venice to Florence and grabbed a quick breakfast from the train station coffee shop. From there, it was a short walk to our Family Apartment Ca Lina – Annex Hotel Santa Maria Novella. This place was perfect for our crew — three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a full kitchen made it feel like a home base.

🍝 Pasta, Gelato & Pizza

We kicked off our time in Florence with lunch at Ristorante Pizzeria Ginori — simple, delicious, and kid-approved.

That afternoon we joined a Pasta & Gelato Cooking Class at Towns of Italy Cooking School. This was a highlight of the trip — a 3-hour, hands-on experience where everyone got to make tagliatelle, ravioli, and sauces from scratch. Maddie took charge of the pesto, and Paige and Olivia whipped up some amazing vanilla gelato.

🌆 Exploring Florence by Night

In the evening, we explored the city starting with the Mercato del Porcellino (Leather Market) and Piazza della Signoria. We saw the Fountain of Neptune, Palazzo Vecchio, Michelangelo’s David replica, and the open-air sculpture gallery.

We wandered down to the Ponte Vecchio, admired the luxury stores, caught street performers, and made a quick stop at Sephora Firenze (of course). We wrapped up the evening with gelato from Edoardo Gelato — a recommendation from our cooking instructor and a new favorite!

👉 Link to Gelato Favorites Post

🌄 Day Trip to Lucca & Pisa (6/3)

We booked a private 9-hour tour with All Tuscany Company, led by Euan MacKa. He was so personable — sharing history and stories the whole way.

In Lucca, we climbed Torre delle Ore (207 steps!), visited the Basilica di San Frediano, walked the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, and enjoyed gelato at Gelateria Anfiteatro. Lunch at Dal Poderino was relaxing and delicious.

In Pisa, we climbed the Leaning Tower, visited the Baptistery of Saint Giovanni (including an echo demonstration), and explored the Pisa Cathedral.

👉 Link to Day Trip to Pisa & Lucca Post

We ended the day with dinner at La Buchetta Food & Wine back in Florence — the blue cheese ravioli and liquid nitrogen gelato made table-side were amazing (make a reservation — they were turning people away!).

🏛️ Climbing Brunelleschi’s Dome (6/4)

On our final morning, we climbed Brunelleschi’s Dome — 463 steep, narrow steps up to panoramic views of Florence. It took about 50 minutes and was such a fun challenge for the kids. Definitely buy tickets in advance — it was sold out for the day when we arrived.

After one last Nutella-filled breakfast at the hotel, we caught the Frecciarossa train to Rome.

💡 Quick Tips:
- Book Brunelleschi’s Dome and La Buchetta ahead of time.
- Towns of Italy cooking class was kid-friendly and worth every euro.
- Use a transfer company like All Tuscany for day trips — it made logistics a breeze.
👉 Our Travel Gear Must-Haves

👉 Day Trip: Lucca + Pisa

👉 Best Gelato in Italy
June 13, 2025
Day Trip to Lucca and Pisa

We booked a day trip to Lucca and Pisa with All Tuscany Company, and it was a highlight of our Italy adventure. Our driver, arranged by owner Euan MacKa, was personable, engaging, and full of great stories and historical insight. He even gave us walking tours in both cities before letting us explore on our own. The entire experience lasted about 9 hours and was seamless from start to finish.

Lucca

We started in Lucca, a charming medieval town with cobblestone streets and peaceful energy. We wandered the old town, climbed the Torre delle Ore for sweeping views, and made sure to sample some of the best gelato around.

📍Exploring the charming medieval streets of Lucca—such a photogenic town with so much character.

🍦 A must-stop: Gelateria Anfiteatro for refreshing popsicles and classic scoops in the heart of Lucca. Read our full gelato rankings here →

⏳ Climbing 207 wooden steps to the top of Torre delle Ore—the tallest tower in Lucca.

⛪ Basilica di San Frediano, with its stunning golden mosaic façade shining in the midday sun.

🌳 Ending our Lucca visit with a peaceful walk atop the city’s historic Renaissance walls.

Pisa

From Lucca, we made our way to Pisa. The city was buzzing with visitors, and we made sure to hit all the highlights. We climbed the Leaning Tower, witnessed the echo trick inside the Baptistery, and ended the day inside the stunning Pisa Cathedral.

🌀 Twisting our way up the Leaning Tower of Pisa—it’s a dizzying but iconic climb!

🔔 Victory at the top! The views (and bells) from the Leaning Tower were unforgettable.

📸 Because you can’t leave Pisa without the classic Leaning Tower pic—nailed it?

🎨 The breathtaking interior of Pisa Cathedral—rich with mosaics, marble, and history.

If you’re based in Florence and looking for a well-paced, family-friendly excursion, this Lucca and Pisa combo day trip is a perfect option.

Want to see what we did before and after this? Our Venice itinerary kicks off the trip—and our Florence post (coming soon!) continues it.

🚐 Transportation Tip:
We highly recommend All Tuscany Company for private transfers and day trips in the region. Our driver made the entire experience seamless and special.
Contact: Euan MacKa
📱 +39 338 7731304

June 10, 2025