Day 14.Tuesday 6/4/26 Ouch. Travel Day I fell down the stairs. Like a lot of Europe is old. Old buildings and streets with old stairs and walkways. They are often uneven steps, uneven surfaces, rising/falling landscapes, etc. We have been very thoughtful of this and careful when we walk — literally announcing “careful on the stairs” like every time. I fell down the stairs. While walking down from our apartment, my back spasmed (continued issues from December car crash) an

Day 11. Saturday 6/1/26 Elba Island, Italy Day 1! Music & Street Food Festival Elba Island (Isola del Elba). Fabri drives us 2 hours to Port Piombino, and we say our goodbyes. We board the Ferry on foot and travel 1 hour to the famed Elba Island. This Island is famously where Napoleon was exiled to. Additionally, this is the Island where Italians and Germans go to vacation, not Americans. It’s much more of an authentic/local space, free of American tourists because they don’

Day 8. Thursday 5/29/26 Transit from Cortona to Montepulciano. Hike around Lake Castiglione. Leisurely morning hike around Castiglione Lake. One of the largest (?) lakes in Italy. Relaxing walk. Hiked around and through Castiglione Castle. Old. Coffee. We stopped for coffee. Café = espresso. Tiny cup. Bitter. Shoot it straight or add some sugar. Cappuccino = espresso + milk (baristas, you can drop a comment to specify how much and to correct all of this.) In Italy, a capp