Grotte di Toirano (Italy)

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This place was amazing. Italy has a whole network of caves, and this is one of the best (or so I’ve read). It’s still in the Liguria region- it took us a little over an hour to drive there.

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It was quite a steep hike to get up to the caves.

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They had metal stairs and railings throughout most of the cave system (these interior pics are not the greatest since it was so dark in there).

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Footprint of a prehistoric man! There were some bones and fossils in there also.

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Quinnie on the stairs

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Simon checking out some massive stalactites.

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emerging from the cave

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Definitely worth the visit!

 

Oceanographic Museum (Monaco)

The girls LOVED this place. It’s a museum of marine sciences with some great exhibits and an aquarium on the lower level. They were having an exhibit all about sharks (and their preservation). The highlight was the shark tank with small sharks that you could pet as they swam by. I think the girls spent two hours there- we had to drag them away (the room was very dark so I didn’t get a pic of that, unfortunately).

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This place is SO massive that it’s hard to get even 1/4 of it in a pic. It’s an incredibly beautiful building (it took 11 years to build!).

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seahorses!

Quinnie and the clown fish

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On the roof they had a wall where you could write notes to the sharks.

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the roof had the most amazing views of Monaco and the Sea

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it also had a cool playground and restaurant

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and giant tortoises too!

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This pic cracks me up. The girls each got to pick out a treat at the museum gift shop. Quinnie chose a shark key chain. Kiera was upset because she wanted two gifts but we would only buy her one (lol!).

Here’s more info on the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco