Sweet Italy... what a beautiful country and what a wonderful 8 days we got to spend there. We started off our journey in Rome... walked all around the historic city, sat on the Spanish Steps, filled up our water bottles at the Fontana de Trevi, saw the Pantheon, had gelato at every stand that we saw, marvelled at St. Peter's Basilica...
Had a private tour of the Vatican City (where we learned SO much about Rome's ancient history), stood in absolute awe of Michelangelo's Sistene Chapel, and had a peak at where the Pope lives and makes his appearances...
We toured the famous Colosseum and walked through the Roman Forum, which was like walking back through time. What a surreal and breath-taking experience.
Our favorite part of Rome was visiting the beautiful markets and hanging out by the Spanish Steps and at night, guitar players would play and sing the Beatles and many other classics, it was the perfect way to soak up the Italian way of life. We stayed at a great little hotel called the Franklin Inn, I would definitely recommend this place- clean, contemporary, and affordable.
Sad to leave Rome but ready for new adventures, we boarded a train that took us to Florence. Florence graced us with the gorgeous Duomo & Golden doors, the Ponte Vecchio (shown above), the Boboli Gardens, the stunning U-shaped Uffizi Museum, and of course the star of the show... The David at the Accademia. We stayed with Uta at Antica Dimora- a charming little Inn that was very conveniently located.
From Florence we took a day drip to Tuscany, where we visited Castelo Vicchiomaggio- a beautiful wine estate in the Tuscan region that produces some of the top wine in Italy. We toured the grounds, met the owners, and had a private tasting with their 90-year-old wine expert, Mario!
From Florence we headed to our final destination- Venice. Venice was definitely our favorite overall, although each city had it's own undeniable charm. Venice was so romantic and since Ry and I love the ocean and water, it's obvious why we favored Venice. We loved getting lost in the narrow, winding walkways, seeing St. Mark's Square, having coffee and gelato on Piazza San Marco, eating the most delicious pizza every night and sometimes lunch, too! (pictured above)
We of course couldn't miss taking a gondola down the Grand Canal and we also took a side trip to Venice's beach town. On our last day, we explored the Peggy Guggenheim museum- what a beautiful museum that can't be missed! We stayed at a Mosaic school's bed and breakfast and had the most gorgeous room made out of all mosaic tiles- the Inn at Domus Orsoni. Sweet, sweet, Italy... we had the BEST time and our trip to this county will be unforgettable.
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