Share My World: Sibling trip

I am excited to start a new set of posts about the sibling trip I went on this past May with my sister, Kristen and brother, Scott or @jarvie. The posts will cover our adventures in Italy, England and Scotland.

Kristen, Sara, Scott in Middleton-in-Tessdale

This trip was a family history/heritage trip, with a week in Italy thrown in. We started in Italy because @jarvie was there shooting a wedding (I know, so cool shooting a wedding in the Italian alps). We met him in Venice and then together we explored, Venice, Florence, Tuscany and Rome. After Italy we flew to England and drove to the countryside of northern England to where a lot of my mom's family came from. Then up to Scotland to where part of my dad's family was from.

What a precious time to be with my siblings and bond together so shortly after our mom's death and to get to know more about our ancestors in their native land.

Here is a brief overview

Venice

We spent a wonderful day exploring the city. We ate lots of gelato, stood on the bridges and watched the motor boats and gondolas pass, found me a pretty scarf, and ate lunch.

Share My World: Venice, Italy: Part 1
Share My World: Venice, Italy: Part 2

Florence
Being the art and art history lover that I am Florence is magical for me. We went on a great tour of the city. After the tour we ate lunch and then went our own separate ways until we met up again that evening to take night shots of the city from the Michelangelo plaza.

Share My World: 4 words for Florence, Italy
Night Shots of Florence, Italy
Art Talk: Tour of the Galleria dell' Accademia

Tuscany

The green was truly spectacular. The weather was just right as we drove and walked around the countryside. In the afternoon we went and saw Civita di Bagnoregio, which is a cool hilltop village.

Share My World: Tuscany

Rome
We stayed outside of the city close to the temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and went there a couple of times.
Rome surprised me with the great art! Wow the Vatican has amazing art and one of my favorites (Lancoon) that I didn't realize was at the Vatican till I saw it. We also had an amazing meal next to the Colosseum and then took night pictures there.

Share My World: Rome
Art Talk: Vatican tour highlights
Art Talk: Ceilings in the Vatican

Kew Gardens
Richmond, England

Chihuly is one of my favorite artist and I have decided I want to be a Chihuly groupie and go see an exhibit in a different city/ garden once a year. The beauty of the garden and the glass makes me so happy! This year I got to see him just outside of London in the Kew Gardens.

Share My World: Kew Gardens, London
Art Talk: Chihuly at Kew Gardens

Middleton-in-Tessdale
This is where the family history part of the trip really started. We explored the cemetery looking for ancestors. On my mom's side the Scott's, Robinson's, Robson's, Redfearn's, and Temple's are all from this small town in northern England. We were here on Mother's day which made it extra special.

Hadrian's Wall
Share My World: Searching for family in Middelton-in-Teesdale
Our Airbnb on a sheep farm in England

Scotland

My dad's family came from many different cities in Scotland including; Bathgate, Falkirk, Kilsyth, Sterling, and Linlithgow. We explored each of these cities including cemeteries, castles, and points of interest like the Kelpies.

Share My World: Searching for ancestors in Scotland
Art Talk: Kelpies

Edinburgh
Of course if it is your first time to Scotland one must see Edinburgh too. It towards the end of the trip and the double decker bus tour was perfect! So was the awesome Indian dinner at Dishoom.

Share My World: Edinburgh

The Lake District
On our drive from Scotland to London we drove through the beautiful lake district in England, and stopped at the Preston and London Temples for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.