Summer 2026

We flew 12,488 miles, took a train for 414 miles, and stayed in six cities over 15 days to visit Italy and Greece this summer. Before this trip I spent nine days in Italy on the Coram Deo Academy Rhetoric School trip to Rome, Florence, and Assisi.

✈️ DFW to Milan, Rome to Santorini, Santorini to Athens, Athens to DFW

🚄 Milan to Cinque Terra, Cinque Terra to Florence, Florence to Rome

⛪️ Visited the Duomos in Milan and Florence and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Worshipped at Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista in Cinque Terra and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Santorini.

🏛️ Visited the Uffiizi and da Vinci museums in Florence + the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Pantheon in Rome + the Areopagus, Agora, and Parthenon in Athens.

🥾 Hiked the Sentiero Azzuro from Monterosso del Mare to Vernazza.

🥃 Drank the best Nigroni of my life at Gilli’s in Florence.

🍝 Food highlights include Osteria da Fortunata in Milan, Pesto at Pippo a Vernazza in Cinque Terra, Merkato Central and a lasagna cooking class in Florence, Gyros all over Greece, Loukoumades in Santorini, and the best sandwich I’ve ever had at a place called Guarantee in Athens.

📽️ Watched the Gladiator with the big kids to prepare for the Colosseum.

🏊‍♂️ Swam in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas.

⚽️ Woke up at 4am in Greece to watch the USMNT’s opening World Cup match. Best 90 minutes of American soccer I’ve ever seen.

A group of people appears to be engaged in a guided tour or educational activity inside a historic, circular brick structure.A group of people is seated in a rustic, stone-walled room, attentively listening to a speaker.A family of five, including three children, is smiling and standing together in a cobblestone street, surrounded by buildings.A tablet showing a concert sits on a table overlooking a scenic nighttime poolside view with a crescent moon in the sky.A stone slab with a plaque featuring ancient Greek text is mounted on a rock wall.Three children are posing inside a large ornate picture frame set against a dark wall, creating the illusion that they are part of the framed artwork.A family of five is joyfully posing with open mouths in a colorful, bustling outdoor market or street setting with buildings and umbrellas in the background.A family of four is posing playfully with two children sitting on the shoulders of the adults in front of ancient stone columns during sunset.Three smiling females wearing sunglasses pose together on a sunny rooftop terrace with a cityscape and a dome in the background.Three children are standing and smiling together in front of a large wooden door with stone trim.Three children pose happily on a hillside with a picturesque coastal village and ocean in the background.A group of people is walking along a dirt path surrounded by lush greenery and hills under a cloudy sky.A man wearing glasses and a hat carries a smiling young girl on his shoulders in front of the ornate facade of the Milan Cathedral while a crowd gathers around them.A family of five poses happily on a bridge over a canal in a sunny, picturesque urban setting with colorful buildings and outdoor cafes.A family of five is smiling and posing for a selfie with a scenic coastal cliffside and white buildings in the background during sunset.