Earlier this year we were talking with some friends and hatched this wild idea to go to Italy to watch the Cycling World Championships in Florence.  This somewhat joking idea turned into a full-fledged vacation with multiple cities, planned stops as well as some delightful unplanned surprises.  We took off with a hole in the middle of the trip where we were going to "just look for a place in Tuscany" as we drive from Cinque Terre to Rome.