Italy was our big trip this year, but before we planned out Italy, we booked a trip to The Black Hills with my husband and his parents. While I live in Minnesota and South Dakota is a bordering state, I have never been to The Black Hills. My husband’s mom is from South Dakota and wanted to book a trip, so I could experience The Black Hills for the first time. I have been to South Dakota before, but the farthest I have been is Mitchell where the Corn Palace is. I had no expectations for this trip and one of the biggest takeaways was how beautiful this area of South Dakota truly is.

We were in The Black Hills for two full days and were able to cram in a lot. On our first day, we went to Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, and Needles Highway. While driving to Mount Rushmore, all the roads were uphill and you end up driving through the hills to get to it. As we parked and walked up, there’s a walkway taking you straight to the scuplture. Lining the bridge are all the U.S. state flags. My mother in law was sharing how much Mount Rushmore has been built up since she was a little girl. There are several walkways to get closer to the presidents and plaques with the history of how Mount Rushmore was built. It was more extravagant than I thought it was going to be since I thought it would be Mount Rushmore and nothing else there.

After Mount Rushmore, we went to Custer State Park. There’s a loop within Custer State Park called Wildlife Loop where you’re the most likely to see buffalo. We saw plenty of prairie dogs and a few antelope. It wasn’t until we took a detour that we saw buffalo up close. By up close, I mean they were a few steps away from our vehicle. I have seen buffalo before when I went to Wyoming last year, but nothing like this. There are many signs that state to not approach the buffalo which makes me laugh because it wouldn’t surprise me if there was someone who rushes the buffalo for a picture. Buffalo are aggressive animals and that would end poorly.

To finish off our first day, we drove on Needles Highway. Needles Highway is a scenic drive and the roads are so narrow. There are tunnels that only have room for one car to pass at a time. Thank goodness I wasn’t driving because that would have stressed me out. You would have to look ahead to see if a car was already in a tunnel before making your way through. There are these rock formations that are narrow and tall that are nicknamed needles hence the name Needles Highway. I’m glad I wasn’t driving because I could look out the window and take it all in.

On our second day we went to Crazy Horse and The Mammoth Site. Crazy Horse is a cooler version of Mount Rushmore. It’s a sculpture dedicated to indigenous tribes, but what’s unique about Crazy Horse is that it didn’t take government funds to build. It’s entirely self funded. They started Crazy Horse in 1948 and as of 2025, they aren’t finished yet. However, they have the face all carved and parts of the fingers. It’s estimated that they could be completed in 10 – 20 years from now. They also have a bin of rocks that they collected from sculpting Crazy Horse that are free to take. We now have a portion of Crazy Horse in our garden.

After Crazy Horse, I wanted to go to The Mammoth Site. The Mammoth Site is a live excavation where palentologists are still finding preserved Mammoth bones. As you walk in, there’s a big dig area and each portion has audio recordings, so you can listen and match what you’re looking at. There are several walkways and plaques describing what was occurring. Interestingly enough, the mammoth is a relative to the elephant, so sometimes scientists will reference elephant anatomy if needed. Isn’t that neat? Once you exit the dig area, there are several stations where they tell you about this time period, what happened to the mammoths since they are extinct, and the different areas in the world and what was going on there. It was like a mini science museum devoted to mammoths.

While we did a lot in two days, this could easily have been a week long trip. We didn’t have time to do Devil’s Tower in Wyoming or Wind Cave. This would be a fun trip to do with kids since there’s enough going on to keep them interested. The Black Hills was fun to visit and I want to go back. As far as the rest of my travel plans for this year, this should be the last trip. I’m looking forward to being home for the rest of the year and planning out trips for 2026.

This is the final post in my three-part Italy series. When we planned our itinerary, I told my husband that we had to go to Lake Como. Lake Como, specifically Villa del Balbianello, is where portions of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones were filmed. Lake Como is located in the northern part of the country, close to the Switzerland border. We took a train from Florence to Milan, stayed in Milan for a day, then took a train from Milan to Lake Como. Lake Como was gorgeous and one of the trip’s highlights.

When we got to Lake Como, the train station was right near downtown. Lake Como is a small town with shops and several clothing stores. Approaching the lake, Lake Como is surrounded by grassy mountains. Lake Como is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. It makes sense that portions of the prequels were filmed here. I was in awe of how pretty the lake was. I don’t want this paragraph to be repetitive, but I can’t help it. Lake Como was stunning.

After checking into our Airbnb, my husband suggested we take the Cable Car. There’s a cable car nearby downtown that will shuttle people to Brumate, a town on the mountain. I don’t do well with heights, but I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t do it. The line for the cable car can be long; however, two cable cars run simultaneously, so I felt that it kept things moving. It was cloudy by the time we made our way to the station, so the line wasn’t very long. The ride up to Brumate was smoother than I anticipated, especially because it was at a steep incline. At the top, there are several hiking trails, one leading to a lighthouse. We walked around, but only ended up staying for about thirty minutes before taking the cable car back down. We lucked out because about an hour after that, it started to rain. It was good timing that we were able to buy tickets, hop on the cable car, walk around, hop back on the cable car to make our way back to Como, all before the rain started.

The real question is, did we visit Villa del Balbianello? We didn’t. Most of the villas that we could tour weren’t within walking distance of where we were staying. For Villa del Balbianello specifically, there was a bus you could take to get there, but it doesn’t drop you off right in front of the villa, so you’d have to walk up to get there. We could have taken the ferry, but the lines for the ferry were extremely long, much longer than the cable cars. It was odd because you think that for something so well-known, it would have been easier to get there. It would have taken us a full day to navigate there, and I didn’t want to take up that much time. While I didn’t visit the exact villa Star Wars was filmed in, I was close enough to Naboo, and that was good enough for me.

If I could describe our time in Lake Como with one word, I would say it was relaxing. Our first day was packed with the train, walking around, checking into our Airbnb, and riding the cable car. The other days we were there, we had no plans, and it was needed. I enjoyed the time when my husband and I would get an espresso to go, and I’d bring my book to read while we sat on the bench near the lake. After spending a good amount of time on the lake, we took the train back to Rome, toured the Vatican, and flew home.

It’s been fun to reminisce about our trip to Italy! With that said, I’m looking forward to being home for the rest of the year. I don’t have any other travel plans for this year, and I’m perfectly okay with that.

This is the second post in my three-part Italy series. We spent a few days in Rome before taking the train up to Florence. Florence is about an hour from Rome and is known for its wineries. We didn’t do a wine tour, instead, my husband booked us a cooking class where we learned how to make three different types of pasta. The cooking class was one of the most memorable parts of our trip, and while we were only in Florence for a few days, we made the most of it.

Once our train arrived, we were able to check into our Airbnb early and drop off our luggage. One of the most notable places to visit in Florence is the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. This cathedral is massive! It’s so exquisite to see up close. If you look at any photos from Florence, I can almost guarantee that the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore makes an appearance. Earlier in the day, there was a torrential downpour of rain, but fortunately, it didn’t last long, and the sun came out. All these photos have not been edited in the slightest, it was that nice while we were in Florence.

Another famous landmark in Florence is the Ponte Vecchio. The Ponte Vecchio is a medieval stone arch bridge over the Arno River in Florence. While walking on the bridge, there are a variety of different shops selling jewelry, watches, and other local goods. We walked on this bridge several times throughout our time in Florence.

Our cooking class was on our second day in Florence. The cooking class was in the back of a restaurant. As we proceeded down the hallway, we were led to one of two rooms. Two cooking classes were going on simultaneously, with a barrier between the rooms. Each room had three tables, two wider tables with a narrow table up near the chef’s area. Each setting has flour, two eggs, and a variety of cooking utensils for everyone to use.

I was slightly nervous as the cooking class approached. I like to cook, but I’m not an expert, and I’d hate to mess anything up since we have to eat what we make. However, our chef had great energy and was walking around helping out if needed. The three types of pasta that we made were: Tortellini, Ravioli, and Pappardelle. Tortellini was by far the hardest to make. Our chef showed us the process, and I was lost. He showed us again, and it wasn’t until I watched my husband do it first that I started to understand how to fold the pasta appropriately. Ravioli is easy; the pasta is laid out, the ricotta is put inside, and the Ravioli is folded and cut into squares. Pappardelle was also easy, as you simply had to cut the pasta into long strips.

Once we had made the pasta, we collected it, and our chef made the sauces for each type of pasta. We had unlimited wine in our cooking class, so we sipped on wine while we waited for the pasta to cook. Everything was delicious! Looking back, I had no reason to be nervous, as these types of classes for tourists assume that everyone is new to making pasta. This cooking class was out of my comfort zone, and I’m glad I did it.

It was a jam-packed two days, but I felt we were fully able to explore Florence. The only thing we didn’t do was go to a winery or two. The wineries are up on the hillside in Florence, so they aren’t walkable. There are bus tours that can take you up into the wineries, but we didn’t want to book that on top of our cooking class. I felt the cooking class was well worth it, so I’m glad we chose to do that instead. If we are in Florence again, that’s something I’d want to do.

The final post in this Italy series will be our trip to Lake Como and Milan, which is even farther north than Florence.

For the past ten days, my husband and I were in Italy! This trip has been a long time in the making. Ever since our trip to Europe, I have wanted to plan another international trip. We talked about planning this trip last year, but ended up pushing it to this year. When we were deciding where to go, my husband originally suggested France, specifically Paris. I suggested Italy. The more we looked into it, we solidified Italy as our next country to visit.

Learning from our honeymoon, we didn’t commit to any other countries to visit. We solely focused on Italy, and that was absolutely the best choice. We went to Rome, Florence, Milan, and Lake Como. While we didn’t see every single city in Italy, I felt we still saw a lot in the time we were there. I’d rather fully explore one country than try to see three or four countries and bounce between cities. Paris was dropped from our trip, but I hope to visit Paris someday.

I’m looking forward to getting back to my routine. I’m dedicating one post per city that we visited, and of course, I will share the pictures we took. Our trip to Italy was amazing, and I’m happy that we were able to make an international trip work this year.