Ciao, bella!

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our final day in Florence was spent doing my absolute favorite things: shopping and relaxing! Trafalgar organized a demonstration at a leather shop - maybe you've heard of Peruzzi? After a fancy new belt for Adam, we wandered the streets checking out local and tourist shops. The early afternoon was spent in the possibly my favorite city square, Piazza San Croce. I bartered with street vendors for scarves, jewelry & trinkets. I people-watched with a glass of rosé while a local handmade me a namesake bracelet.

(Turns out, every time I took a step, my sweet hubby was muttering "stop buying stuff, stop buying stuff!" under his breath. Oh well!) Adam did get me a fun new charm for my Pandora bracelet - the fleur-de-lis, the symbol of Firenze, purchased at an outrageously priced jewelry store at the corner of the piazza.

My heart was heavy when it came time to hop on our bus and head back to Rome. It was the most magical week. But, the long bus rides were their own kind of fun!

When we arrived back in Rome, we checked in to the Executive Style Hotel Rome. This hotel has been completely remodeled since it's days of housing  Catholic priests. Super modern and fun! It was late September and about 85 degrees - no complaints here.

Our final dinner was a DELICIOUS meal at The Cabiria. 

Wine flowed and after several lazy courses, new friendships were cemented. Knowing we had to get up early to catch our flights to Heathrow and then Philly, we did the responsible thing…haha no we didn't we stayed up most of the night! Didn't make a difference, anyway…free drinks on the plane made sleeping through the flight a breeze even for my airplane-anxious husband. 

The crash after week of running on adrenaline didn't hurt. 

I could cry just reminiscing - it was the most amazing week. Every experience was that much more special because I got to share them all with my best friend, my partner, my favorite person in the world. We dream of going back, but know it's not necessarily likely. This truly was the trip of a lifetime. There is definitely more adventure to come in our life together - it's just  taking place on American soil for now ;)

Ciao, bella - fino alla prossima volta.

Ciao, bella! (Part 5)

Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember and remember more than I have seen.

- Benjamin Disraeli 

(Told you I'd slack at this! But I'm almost through so…)

I left off in Garda. The next day, we hopped the bus to head to Florence. As much as I expected to fall head over heels in love with Venice, I was a bit surprised by how infatuated I was with Florence! It's this charming city full of art hidden on winding streets connecting open piazzas loaded with cafes…and then there's the shopping. I was in HEAVEN. Ladies, if you're a shopaholic, Firenze is your Mecca! And their specialty…leather goods. Hard to imagine buying a leather coat when it's 90* out! But I digress. One of our first stops after wandering the streets a bit was lunch. By far, the best meal I had in Italy! A teeny hole in the wall off a side street called Francesco Vini. We both had the most decadent, amazing food and, yes, wine! 

After lunch & a bit of exploring, we headed…There. What do you HAVE to see in Florence? Michaelangelo's David. 

Holy hell. Do you have any idea how HUGE that statue is? It's massive. The giant replica standing in the original location, the Palazzo della Signoria, doesn't even prepare you for the sight of the original. It's sitting on a up on a pedestal and stands, total, 17 feet tall! 

Not much else in the Galleria dell'Accademi interested us, so we hit some shops before heading back to the hotel. We were in for a huge treat that night! We checked in to the Grand Hotel Mediterraneo Florence and…

Villa Il Leccio Strada

We had dinner at a family home in the heart of Tuscany. Villa Il Leccio Strada in Chianti was absolutely breathtaking. We sipped prosecco overlooking the vineyards and toured the original facilities before settling in for an outstanding meal. Everything about that night was so absolutely perfect - except the impending end to our tour of Italy, that is!

After dinner, we stopped by the replica David once again before way too many glasses (bottles) of wine in the hotel lobby with our new friends. I could get used to this lifestyle…

La bella vita, no matter what time zone :)

Ciao, bella! (Part 4)

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - St. Augustine

Where did I leave off…ah, right where I left my heart - Venezia! Tuesday morning, we woke up bright & early again. Another gorgeous water taxi ride into town and, at my request, our director took us past the Bridge of Sighs.

Turns out the romantic lore about lovers kissing beneath the bridge at sunset is garbage made up by Americans, lol. Bummer! In reality the bridge transported prisoners to their death and, as a condemned man looked out over beautiful Venezia he would inevitably sigh his final goodbye. Trafalgar set up a tour & demonstration at THE Murano glass factory. It was incredible! In just a few minutes, a master glassblower turned a piping hot blob of glass into a beautiful pitcher. The leftover piece became a small cat figurine in less than 90 seconds!

We perused the shop, passing on the €500 punch bowl sets (thankfully we'll inherit one someday; my grandmother traveled to Venice in the 70s solely to purchase a red Murano glass punch set with gold accents - red glass & 14k gold paint being the most expensive choice of course). We picked up some little gifts like a frog for my MIL & some original Pandora beads for me :) 
After Murano, we had a few hours free time. We strolled around Piazza San Marco before settling in at one of the outside cafes for some afternoon cocktails. Perfection. 

Obviously being on vacation is relaxing, but AHH…there's something else to it. A calmer, more peaceful way about everything. The time we wasted doing nothing, people watching, laughing, stealing kisses - those are the memories I cherish. 
Alas, time to move again! We were on our way to Lake Garda, a resort town typically frequented by Italians themselves more so than foreigners. The liquid lunch put us right to sleep and when we woke up in at our villa in Garda…holy cow. It was BEAUTIFUL. The villas were built into the hillside overlooking the lake. Our room was the biggest we had anywhere in Italy, complete with a private patio above the rolling hills and water. The extravagance & beauty, and privacy, did not go to waste I assure you! ;)

A resort shuttle took us into town - freaking adorable. A stroll by the lake led us to a tiny restaurant with outdoor seating. This dining experience was one of the best of the trip! Our waiter asked us steak or fish. Steak, so he led us to a glass case where we picked out the cut of meat we wanted. It was cut & prepared in the outdoor grill while we watched sipping complimentary wine. Salad & veggies were served family-style and while we passed on dessert, complimentary digestifs were impossible to refuse. (Note: grappa is completely disgusting. Undrinkable.)

After exploring the town trying to walk off that dinner, we hit the hotel bar (of course) and retired to our private patio with a fresh bottle of prosecco. It was definitely the most relaxing night of the trip!

Ciao, bella! (Part 3)

Monday morning we woke up in Rome again. After basically no sleep, we somehow got our wine-soaked butts up and out to Vatican City at 7am.

(We clean up nice!)

And it did not disappoint. It was, in a word, amazing. The sheer size of everything is beyond impressive. We toured and oohed and ahhed over the tapestries, the flooring, the glass windows, everything.

Pope Francis chooses to live in a tiny two bedroom apartment instead of the grand papal residence occupied by popes before him (I love this guy). To see these incredible sights you only read about is such an awesome, humbling experience. There's no photos allowed inside the Sistine Chapel, and I bet no photo could do it justice anyway. (Snapped this photo just before going in the chapel; sharing because I love it!)

It was HUGE! So incredibly impressive. It's impossible not to say some prayers when you're there. 

Rome wasn't built in a day, but we had only had a day to see it! (Ok, two.) It was for to move on - VENICE!

Ok actually, the bus ride was kind of nice. Five hours of cuddling with my hubby, watching the hills of Tuscany roll by? Yes please! 

When we arrived…ahhhh. I've been waiting for Venezia all my life. Ok so the canals kinda smell funny…but whatevs. We took a water taxi into town - not all of Venice is on water, which surprised me.

Once you're in town, there's tons of regular streets in addition to canals of all sizes. We obviously went for a gondola ride…complete with a musician serenading us.

It's completely as romantic as it sounds and <3 <3 <3 Afterwards we went for a Spritz, a classic cocktail of prosecco and a bitter Campari-like liquor garnished with an orange slice & green olive. Weird but refreshing! We had time to visit Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) to see her at night and let me tell you, it was beautiful.

We had dinner at the hotel and despite that crazy day…hours of wine overlooking the hotel's fountain with our new friends. 

NH Laguna Palace Hotel

If I tell you I fell in love with Venice…that doesn't even come close. I adore that city and cannot wait to return. I hear it's sinking so I'm in a bit of a hurry!

Ciao for now…

Caio, bella! (Part 2)

What do you do when you wake up Sunday morning in Rome?

Vatican City, of course!

There is no photo that can convey the atmosphere in Vatican City. It's just breathtaking. To be somewhere so beautiful, so historical, so full of love. Now, I am not Catholic and may have even referred to modern Catholicism as a money-hungry cult once or twice. But you can't deny the beauty and awesome presence of God. More on this later, though. We weren't actually able to tour the Vatican that day - something historical was happening! Inside, Pope Francis was performing the first wedding by a pope in 20 years. And, he was marrying TWENTY couples - some who already had children! Obviously a big deal. I'm no papal expert, but this guy is absolutely my fav. Again, more on that later. After watching the ceremonies for a bit on huge screens set up in St. Peter's Square and generally milling about, we headed to what was probably top on my husband's lists of sights to see - the Colosseum. 

Incredible! The history was impressive - standing on marble that has been in place for thousands of years, where emperors entered to watch the bloodshed. You can't go down to the fighting level of the Colosseum much to Adam's dismay; that's reserved for archeologists alone. Traveling with a tour group like Trafalgar has a lot of positives. We didn't wait in lines to enter any tourist attractions and had our own personal guide explaining every detail. The only real downside is, you don't get a whole lot of time at these attractions. Hubby was bummed we didn't spend more time in the Colosseum; I was satisfied seeing it, snapping some photos and picking something up in the gift shop ;) We popped in a restaurant across the street for seafood risotto (me) and real Italian lasagna (Adam - and he prefers mine!) and a glass of wine, of course.
We stopped near the Trevi Fountain and snagged our first authentic, DELICIOUS gelato.

Unfortunately the fountain  has been under restoration since July 2014 - two months prior to our trip. But, beside the scaffolding there is a small pool where you can toss a coin (backwards, over your left shoulder) to ensure good fortune and a return to Rome. We shall see!
Next up, the Pantheon. 

The Pantheon is a crazy impressive building last rebuilt in 126 A.D. It's this giant circular structure and apparently one of the best-preserved ancient Roman buildings. Again, my husband was in his element - I had no idea he was such a history lover! All the more sad that he never got to meet my dad.
We ended the day with a fabulous dinner in Piazza Navona (a city square).

Guess what accompanied dinner - I hope you guessed tons of wine! After a quick spin by to see the Vatican at night - which is so beautiful I'm near tears just thinking about it - and a few more hours at the hotel bar and a lot of prosecco later we crashed for a few short hours...who needs sleep, anyway?

To be continued...

Ciao, bella!

Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.
If you ask me what I'd do if I won the lottery, you'll hear me rattle off a list of dream vacations. I was lucky enough to go on one of those dream vacations, sans jackpot winnings. I'm a creature of habit and as such, I think I'll reserve Mondays on here for rehashing my trip to Italy this past September.
*I also tend to break my own rules constantly so don't be surprised if on any given Monday, a post is completely unrelated or even missing.
On September 12, we piled into a van headed for the Philadelphia airport, fresh passports in hand. 

Please note, my husband is not a good flyer. He was not exactly looking forward to the 7+ hour flight to London followed by a 2 hour jump to Rome. This was made slightly more bearable by the fact that British Airways offers alcohol at no charge on international flights. The wine binge began! 

After all-night travel to London, we hopped our flight to Rome so excited we barely cared about the lack of sleep. I all but burst into tears when we landed - ITALY! I was here! We toured with Trafalgar tour group (highly recommend) and after dropping off two groups at not-so-nice hotels, we pulled up to Cardinal Hotel St. Peter. Gorgeous! Balcony with a perfect view of the Basilica. Lunch in the hotel's courtyard with a few refreshing glasses of prosecco, followed by - well, we were on vacation, use your imagination ;) Trafalgar had arranged a bus tour of the city followed by a welcome dinner. We met some of the other people in our travel group (half weirdos, half really great people). We were served all the pizza, pasta, antipasta, cheeses, desserts, etc. you can imagine complete with opera singers and, you guessed it, endless wine. 

Oh, the wine! It was everywhere. And CHEAP! Obviously I was in heaven.
After being awake basically over 24 hours, you'd think we crashed after all that...nope. Rooftop drinks until way too late, of course. Still up early the next day to see some major Roman sites - who needs sleep anyway! See ya next week... :)