Italy |ˈidəlē| a country in southern Europe; population 58,126,200 (est. 2009); capital, Rome; official language, Italian.
Ciao! Field and I recently returned from our first trip to Italy—and it was my favorite place I’ve ever visited! I’m obsessed with everything about it. We spent a little over a week sight-seeing and touring the cities of Venice, Florence, and Rome—and (of course) eating our way through the country.
Jet lag wasn’t so bad going over, as we had an overnight flight on our way there. We landed in Venice the next day, collected our luggage, and headed to the Gritti Palace to settle in for our first night. Venice is a beautiful city right on the water so we had to take a car and then a boat to get to our hotel. I loved seeing the city and European architecture as we traveled. After we unpacked, we walked to a gondola station near the hotel to see a little more of the city through the famous water canals and listened to the best, live serenading music along the way. Then we just spent the evening strolling around some of the iconic sights near where we were staying, shopping, and eating pizza for dinner in St. Mark’s Square. Delizioso!
The next morning, we headed to Florence by boat and train. I love being able to travel through Europe this way—seeing all the towns, fields, and vineyards that make up this beautiful country. The trip was only about 2 hours so we were able to settle into our hotel by noon for a quick lunch. We spent two days in Florence at the Four Seasons—I was so inspired by Renaissance art, fashion, and ancient architecture all over this city! The weather was chilly but sunny, so we spent a lot of our time Florence on walking tours—visiting the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo’s statue of David, the Uffizi Gallery, and went on a Gastronomic Tasting neighborhood food tour. Yum!!
We spent our last two days in Rome staying at Hotel de Russie and touring the Vatican City to see the Sistine Chapel, the masterpiece of Michelangelo, and St. Peter’s Basilica. The Sistine Chapel was stunning. It was incredible to see such profound images, all glorifying God—including the creation with Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark, and Moses and the 10 Commandments. We even got to see Paul’s tomb and the church he started in Rome. It was an experience I’ll never forget.
I feel like we walked all over the city of Rome eating and seeing the famous Roman Forum and Colosseum, a historic site of gladiator battles, and the Borghese Gallery and Gardens, and Trevi Fountain. Experiencing Rome’s rich history, incredible fashion (fashion shows started here!), food (Hosteria da Pietro was so good!), and famous architecture were by far some of my favorite parts of this trip!
One week in Italy was absolutely wonderful—but not long enough! Next time, I’ll need to bring my babies with me because I missed them every single day. (I even spent an hour Face-timing them on one of our tours—and Mila was hardly interested LOL!) Maybe when they’re a little older! 😉 A big thank you to Next Exit Travel—you made our trip productive and memorable!
Until next time—Arrivederci!
XO-
Sabrina
