Vai de Funes, Dolomites, Italy

I once saw a photo similar to this on a screensaver, and thought "Wow, that would be a cool place to visit someday!". Well that day happened on my 40th birthday. My big 40th wasn't a raucous party, but instead a little hike with my family up to a bench in the small village of Santa Magdalena in the Italian Dolomites. Together with my wife and boys, and armed with a camera, tripod and a cold bottle of Prosecco, we sat for 2 hours to watch the sunset on a bench that had quite possibly the best view on the planet. A perfect birthday party and a day I'll never forget...

Cala Coticcio, Island of Caprera, Sardinia

The island of Sardinia is full of beautiful beaches, but I have to think that Cala Coticcio on the island of Caprera is one of the best. The water, and surrounding rocky scenery is stunning...with views back towards the Sardinian mountains that reminds me more of Tahiti than Italy! We had to work hard to get to this beach via an hour long hike in the beating sun....throw in a very steep section near the end of the hike and this one was way more adventurous than I expected...but boy was it worth it. Oneea and the boys were setting up our beach towels while I climbed up the rocks to look over to the other side to find this family just cruising around the surrounding coves.

Tuscan Sunset

This was our first night in Tuscany. We had just sat down for dinner in the incredibly quaint little town of San Sano, when I started to see some amazing light through the trees. I felt guilty, but had to do it...excusing myself from the family for a 15 minute hike along the road to capture the last moments of sun.

Seceda Ridge Hiking

The access to the alpine is incredible in the Dolomites. A short walk from our hotel in Ortisei led us to the Seceda gondola which very quickly took us all the way up. The views are incredible, and the hiking very enjoyable. Very little effort to experience incredible mountain scenery...sprinkle in huts every 30 minutes that are essentially full service, charming, family owned restaurants that serve cold beer and wine, and you've got yourself an absolute winner! We will no doubt be back to this area.

Mdina, Malta, the Silent City

A truly beautiful city that is over 4000 years old, Mdina is the old capital of Malta. It's peaceful, with only a few shops and restaurants, and no cars. There are horse buggy rides, incredible views of the island from the wall, and a number of narrow streets to just wander. Without a doubt my favorite city we visited during our trip. As a side note, several scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed here during the first season including the scene where Jamie Lannister and Ned Stark fight in Season 1

We made it to Venice

After a long plane ride to start off our trip, our flight landed at Marco Polo airport in Venice. From the airport, we had to hop on a shuttle boat for an hour long trip to Venice. We were tired, but the minute we arrived in Venice, we realized what a unique and interesting place we had just set foot on. Our trip to Italy was finally a reality, even though it felt like more a dream walking through the streets of Venice.

Niko at Cala Corsara, Island of Spargi, Sardinia

On the Northern tip of Sardinia lies a beautiful island chain named the Maddalena Islands. Many of the islands can only be reached via boat, so on our 2nd day in Sardinia, we found a boat tour that would take us to the islands of Spargi and Santa Maria. Our first stop was Spargi. After getting off the boat, Niko and I hiked up the hillside to get a birds eye view of the beach (see all those little specks down there). After our hike, we met up with Oneea and Alex for an hour of swimming in the cool Mediterranean waters, before heading back to the boat to continue on.

Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy

Cinque Terre is a beautiful set of 5 villages set along the rugged Italian Riviera. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While it certainly possesses incredible beauty, Cinque Terre was our least favorite spot on our trip. Maybe we were spoiled by our 3 previous spots (Venice, Sardinia, and the Dolomites)....or maybe we just didn't stay in the right place. The place was no doubt crowded, and quite dirty, but we sort of expected that coming during the peak season. Whatever the reason, we're happy we saw it, and were even happier to be moving on to our next destination (Tuscany).

Blue Lagoon, Comino, Malta

We decided we were going to extend our trip, but weren't exactly sure where to go. After spending 3 weeks in Italy, I was interested in seeing a new place. A quick google search led me to two places: Croatia and Malta. After lots of debate and research, I decided on Malta for two main reasons. One, there was this place called the Blue Lagoon. Two, being on a small island meant less driving/travel time. With that, I booked tickets and we were off. A couple days later, we made our way to the Blue Lagoon, an extraordinary place of beauty found on the island of Comino. We were on the first ferry boat over (an absolute must), and found ourselves a wonderful set of 4 beach chairs to enjoy our surroundings. Lots of swimming, exploring, and even a cold beverage or two.

The Dolomites

The alpine scenery here is second to none.

Le Biennale Arte

During one of our days in Venice, we took the advice of a couple we met at Breakfast to visit one of the art exhibits on display near our hotel. This years exhibit is called "The world before us today." Much of the art deals with either current or past crises of the world. Pretty heavy stuff, and a few exhibits that we had to skip altogether given Alex was with us. A very unique and interesting day that kept us out of the heat!

Captain Alex

A close-up of our happy little guy cruising the canals of Venice during our Gondola ride.

La Rocca Beach, Sardinia

On our first day in Sardinia, we decided to stay close to the hotel and unwind with some cold beverages on La Rocca beach. This photo was taken from their restaurant above the beach. Had some fantastic bread, pasta and white wine after a good morning of swimming and hiking.

Hotel La Rocca

We stayed in Sardinia for 6 nights at the Hotel La Rocca. The grounds of the hotel were beautiful, with flowers everywhere, and the hotel architecture that reminded me of of Taos and Santa Fe New Mexico. We loved our time here, which followed a fairly straightforward schedule: eat an amazing breakfast at the hotel, head out to a different beach each day, come back and jump in the pool for a cool off, get ready for dinner, and then have an amazing 4 course dinner consisting of local Sardinian dishes with a bottle of local Sardinian white wine. We could've stayed here much, much longer.

Hotel La Rocca Pier

The boys and I walked over here to take a look down into the water and spot some ocean creatures. Looking across the water, you can see the town of Cannigione.

Tiny Car

Hard to believe a human adult actually drives this miniature car. It was perfect size for Alex!

Burano Island, Venice, Italy

On our last day in Venice, we took the ferry out to the island of Burano. A small quaint place, which many international magazines name among the top 10 most colorful cities in the world. We just strolled around, stopping for food and drinks, and picking up some small souvenirs. A fantastic place to simply wander, and soak in the culture of a small Italian fishing village.

Odle Mountains from the Secede Chair

High in the Italian alps, within the famous mountain range called the Dolomites, separating the Funes valley from the Gardena valley, sit the breathtaking Odle mountains. The Dolomites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in August 2009, and have been called some of the most beautiful mountain landscapes found anywhere in the world with its sheer cliffs, vertical walls and deep valleys. One writer descriptively called the mountains, "flames frozen in stone." Walking the Dolomites is a unique experience in and of itself, as you get a 360-degree view of rocks that have been transformed over thousands of years. There are a number of different trails, from the easy, well-graded paths to the more challenging ones. They cater to hikers of all abilities. This would be the starting point of our hiking for the day. Hard to beat that!

Family Picture at the Blue Lagoon, Comino, Malta

The Blue Lagoon is a popular place by noon! We hiked up the hill to get a family photo before racing down to catch our ferry back to Malta. Amazing that everyone managed to smile for a family picture!

Happiness in the Dolomites

Every hut we stopped at had a swingset/playground for Alex to play on. Not to mention cows, goats, and chickens to run after. Didn't expect any of this, and was so great to see our kids enjoying the mountains as much as I do!

Chianti Region of Tuscany

This photo required zero hiking...In fact, I pulled up our Fiat rental car to our parking lot at Borgo Argenina (our home for 3 nights in Chianti) and walked about 10 steps to find this beautiful vista. Tuscany is a beautiful place, full of scenery, and great food and wine. We enjoyed the local Chianti wine, visited castles and wineries, and even managed to find a hot springs while in Tuscany.

Happiness along the trail

Generally, Wheeler family hikes tend to be a little bit of a grind. Long, steep, and no time for breaks. Well, hiking in the Dolomites was a LOT different. Every 20 minutes or so, you reach the next hut, where Mom and Dad can order a glass of wine, and the kids can play with the local farm animals, or swing on the swingsets. If you're hungry, you can order up one of the family dishes that was freshly prepared that morning. I'm not much for pampering, but I must admit, this was pretty awesome for everyone in the family!

Monterosso, Cinque Terre, Italy

We stayed in Old Monterosso during our time in Cinque Terre. Just a few minutes walk through the tunnel brings you to the new side of Monterosso, and it's very popular beach. We spent a day here enjoying the water and the sun.

My 40th birthday party

Couldn't have asked for a better birthday party! Thank you Oneea, Niko and Alex for giving me the best present ever: Quality time with the fam (and of course good light and cold Prosecco).

Lago De Carezza

As we left the Dolomite region heading towards Cinque Terre, we decided to take an hour detour to visit this gem of a lake. Hit it right at mid-day so terrible lighting, but still a cool photo just to see those incredible blues and greens of the water. We hiked around the lake, grabbed a pretzel at a snack shop, and then were back on the road to our next destination (Monterosso).