We are not a ski family. Mandi and I didn’t grow up skiing, and for a variety of reasons skiing just not something we’ve been interested in.

Last weekend we took our first trip to the coast - to see one of the famous parades at the Carnivale in the little seaside town of Viareggio. The day started with another amazing sunrise over Siena.

On Tuesday, Mandi headed to London by herself for a few days, leaving me to hold the fort at home. I took the opportunity to explore some of the alleyways of Siena.

After a lot of research, we decided the best option for us to get a car here was via a Peugeot Open Europe lease. The only catch was the closest pickup location was Rome airport, 4 hours away by train (technically three trains since I had to go via Florence).

We had a free weekend so we decided to book a cheap hotel room for a night and head to Florence. The kids are getting good at defrosting the car.