Adventures of the Happy Hineys: Italy!

In December, M's mom came downstairs while I was nannying and said "You wouldn't want to go to Italy would you?", and I basically squealed "That is the ONE place I have ALWAYS wanted to go!"...within about a month, our trip was booked, and I was officially going to Italy with M and his family.To say I was excited would be an understatement!
May 13th finally rolled around and we had a 6:30 PM flight out of Denver. The plane ride to Frankfurt was long (9 1/2 hrs), especially with a 13 month old walker...however, M's parents had arranged for a bassinet which was awesome, we walked around a lot, and the iPad and books were entertainment...in Frankfurt we had a 4 1/2 hr layover (which turned into 5 1/2), and we finally arrived in Florence and waited forever for our bags. Once we hit the road though, and saw the amazing Tuscan countryside we all knew the long trip was worth it.
After a night of being extremely exhausted/a bit homesick, I woke up feeling great on Sunday and we spent the morning lounging at the villa, then went food shopping, and had a wonderful dinner with delicious wine...ahh Italy.
The next week was spent perusing the streets of Siena, Monteriggioni, Lucca, San Gimignano, and Florence. We ate delicious food, had wonderful wine, and I made it my personal goal to eat as much gelato as I could! I made my grandmother's ravioli for dinner one night, which was so amazing making a family recipe in Italy. It was such a beautiful place, with wonderful people. I loved it.(And oh yeah, in Florence, M's mom and I spotted the Jersey Shore crew getting haircuts...awesome...poor Florence).
The flight home was just as long, but we made it through, and I was exhausted and jetlagged, but so excited to see my hubby!
This trip was such a wonderful taste of what Tuscany is like. I can't wait to go back someday and explore it with Tim :)
And now for some pictures! These are all out of order, but that's ok :)