Introduction
Our son Jett is now 13 years old (7th grade). As a Christmas gift, we gave him his first European experience. The gift was buried in a collapsable box that contained other treats and a clever game of temptation. This game tested his will power to resist collecting cash to be able to find the deepest-buried gift within the box. That gift was contained in a mini suitcase, with a scratch-off screen that simply said “Italy”.
Background
Four years ago, Toni and I decided to start traveling internationally. We made this decision because we wanted to experience various cities while we are young and fit enough to handle the workload that comes with traveling from city to city. Walking 5 to 8 miles a day is common and does take some good baseline fitness to enjoy the walks for 10 to 14 days in a row.
After I had a couple of visits from the grim reaper last August, we knew unequivocally that it was time for us to include Jett in our journeys. Since I was on the path of recovery heading into the holidays, we made the decision to give Jett a significant Christmas gift.
This “Italy” gift was a 12-day trip in early February 2025, including time in London, Rome, Florence, and Venice. We also took him to Pompeii, the Almalfi coast, Pisa, and several beaches.
The upcoming series of articles includes pictures and short videos that attempt to share Jett’s experiences during his trip.
Since this trip included a variety of high-profile tourist sites and covered a significant portion of Italy from north to south, I decided to write these articles. I hope that anyone who reads these articles and watches these short videos will gain an appreciation for the beauty of London and the Italian cities, the cultural heritage, and the architectural splendor that exist in these locations.
The Videos
These 1.5-minute videos were created by my wife, Toni. Toni did a great job capturing the moments featured in the videos. Her work shows artistic creativity that gives viewers insights into the sites, scenes, and details (both big and small) at each location. I especially appreciate how she chose the songs for each video and used slow-motion and video shorts within the compositions.
Day 1 – Knoxville to London
We began our trip with flights that included a 7-hour layover in London. Luckily, we have friends in London. One friend, in particular, is a fantastic person. His name is James Dunkerley.
Although James is very busy building the next excellent analytics platform (https://ensoanalytics.com/), he graciously agreed to meet us at Heathrow Airport. He planned to give us a three-hour tour of London, including lunch at a downtown pub! Just after landing, and before we knew it, we were on the newest Elizabeth Line subway heading towards downtown London.
Despite the rain and fatigue of flying overnight, we followed our walking and talking encyclopedia (James). He showed us many classically beautiful buildings like Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and the Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben). The following video includes some of the sights we saw that day.
Toni, Jett, and I are all very grateful to James for his kindness and for sharing his time, knowledge, and his enthusiasm for the great city of London.
Additional Pictures
