Driving home through the Italian Alps

Today we are heading home after 13 days of road tripping.

We packed up and went down to breakfast one last time. After checking out and loading the car, we hit the road. The GPS took us a little ways back into Austria before turning south through the Alps and heading into Italy. What a beautiful drive.

We entered a toll road at the Italian border and were on it all the way to Milan for a total fee of e27. Sometime around lunch we stopped at an Autogrill. Italy has many of these roadside restaurants on its highway. Some of the Autogrills actually span the highway. Brandon has been asking to eat at one since he first spotted them months ago. We stopped and ate lunch while watching the traffic pass underneath us.

We eventually arrived home in the late afternoon. As great as vacations are, its also very nice to get back home. We were tired (Katrina calls it a 'good tired') from our travels. We feel very lucky. We have travelled so many places in 19 weeks. I've been to more countries in 19 weeks than I have been in my entire life.

Each place we travelled had its own unique experience and culture. Overall, my favorite was Switzerland. I loved the mountains, the fresh air and the alpine highs.

Now its time to get back into a routine. The summer is almost over. Brandon starts school on next Thursday, September 3rd. Katrina will be busy at work. I have a mountain of laundry to do.

It is a little weird to go on vacation and come home to Italy. While we have only been here since April and have travelled quite a bit, we still have so much we want to see and experience before our two years is over. Time to start planning our next trip. We fly to Paris for a four day weekend in late September! Life is good.

Final Trip Stats:

1915.81 km
30.38 hours of driving.