There are just no words in the english language to describe my love for Italy. It is truly a magical place and I will always want to go back again and again to revisit and keep seeing new places.
We have been two a few different spots over the years and below are some of my favorites!
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Italy
Europe
Italy
Florence
STAY
ValdiRose Bnb- We love this quaint little spot so much we have been back a few times. Paolo and Irene are the most gracious hosts and it is just a short train ride in to Firenze!
Aw Firenze! What an amazing city. We always enjoy our time here so much. We stayed outside of the city(more on that later) and just took the train into town. It was so nice to stay in a quiet area just 15 min away and then come into the city whenever we wanted. Make sure when you are at the train station you are on the right side of the track for the train. We were all ready to go into the city and got on the wrong side of the track and didn’t realize it until the train got there. We had to run like crazy down the stairs, then up the different set of stairs to make sure we made it. Not a fun situation to find yourself in. We would just buy our tickets at the station and then you have to make sure and validate your ticket in these little machines before getting on the train.
No one ever checked our tickets but people told us to do it so we did. We would not advise renting a car and trying to find parking in Florence. Most everyone spoke English and it was very easy to get around on foot. Plus, anytime we would get lost, Hunter who literally is a walking map would just lead us back to the right place. We aren't into museums or going into crowded and busy places so we just walked around and took pictures, ate tons of pasta and gelato, and drank ourselves silly with wine! What more could you want? Until next time Florence!
Santa Rosa Bistrot - One of our favorite restaurants in Florence. It reminds us of a place that would be in Austin. Super hip but very relaxed with great outdoor seating.
5 e Cinque - This tiny little restaurant is located in our favorite square in Florence called Piazza della Passera. It is owned by a husband and wife couple who are so sweet.
Ditta Artigianale - This is a great place for coffee and a bite to eat. We like to go here to just hang out or get some work done. They have two different locations. One that is a bit smaller and the other that is two stories. We like the bigger one better.
Gelateria Della Passera - This is the best place for gelato in all of Florence...well, in our opinion anyway.
La Menagere - This place is a restaurant, coffee shop, and flower shop all in one.
4 Lioni - This is a great restaurant in the same square as some of the other restaurants above. They have wonderful ravioli!
Florence is a magical city that I dream of going back to year after year!
EAT
Piazzalle Michelangelo - This spot overlooks the whole city and is the perfect spot to watch the sunset.
Officina Profumo Santa Maria Novella - This is the perfect place to get yourself some perfume while you are in Florence. It is an incredible building...We thought we had just walked into a museum. We both picked up a scent. I went with Jasmine and Hunter with Tobacco.
Walk the ponte vecchio
Vist the duomo - Do not pay to go up it unless you highly enjoy being in tight spaces with a lot of other people.
DO
Oh Tuscany, what else can we say accept that we love you and are drawn back here year after year. The wine, the cheese, the wine! We love to just roam around this area of Italy and go to different wineries and small little villages and soak in the Tuscan Hillside.
Tuscany truly feels like you are in a movie. Everywhere you look there is another amazing view. We recomend renting a scooter for a few days and just hopping on that puppy and enjoy the ride!
THINGS TO DO
San Gimignano
This is a classic tuscan village that you have most likely already heard about. It was pretty touristy when we went but we have heard that it can be really incredible in the winter months. Don't get us wrong, it was still beautiful, there are just other places that don't feel so crowded.
Volpaia
This itty bitty town consisted of three restaurants, two churches, and buildings that dated back to the 11th century which is just insane! We rode our scooter over to this little town and enjoyed fresh made cinnamon gelato and a spritz.
Castellina
This was such an incredible charming town that was one of our favorites of the day. It didn't feel as touristy as San Gimignano. There was amazing views, art, and food to enjoy in this little gem...like most Italian towns.
DO
Tuscany
Tenuta Casanova Winery
Not only are the views at this place incredible, but the food is so good! They hunt for their own truffles and have chickens that they serve their eggs from. They also make home made beauty products! This was one of our favorite stops in this region. We sipped on wine and ate until our hearts content.
EAT
In May we got to go to the Amalfi Coast. Oh boy there are just not words to tell you about how wonderful it was. We're sure you have seen pictures and it's just like the pictures...only better! We stayed in little town called Praiano at Casa Privata and just drove around to the different towns each day. The infamous Positano was about a 15 min drive from our hotel, or a 10 minute water taxi ride.
The roads are windy and the parking it pretty dang tight, but seriously what's better than several little towns built around hundreds of acres of lemon and orange trees, where everything smells like rosemary and lavender? Nothing. Overall, we'd probably say that the Amalfi Coast is one of our top 5 destinations we've ever been too.
STAY
Casa Privata
If you are in the area then you must stay here! Everything is perfect. We are both literally sitting here contemplating if we should post this place because it is such a gem, but after much contemplation we figured we should share this huge slice of heaven.
Amalfi Coast
Le Sirenuse - This is a super swanky but beautiful hotel to go see and enjoy a drink and some snacks on the terrace.
Max’s Restaurant - There weren't a whole lot of tourists there which we loved, and it's like you're in an art gallery.
La Taverna di Masaniello (in Amalfi) - This place seemed a bit touristy but the pizza was some of the best we had our whole trip.
EAT
Towns to Visit
AMALFI
On one of the days that we were staying on the Italian coast, we decided to rent mopeds (BEST DECISION EVER!)...We highly recommend doing this, not only are they a blast but if you hire a taxi and get car sick easily, it will most likely happen on the Amalfi Coast because everything is so windy! We just zipped around from town to town and went to Amalfi first (just to clarify...the whole coastal area is called the Amalfi Coast but there is actually a town called Amalfi as well). We grabbed lunch in Amalfi and had to stop for some gelato as well before heading to the next town.
We only went for the day but it consisted of riding with the perfect iconic Italian man in a convertible around town and shopping for perfumes and handmade leather sandals. It was here that we had the best granitas. It's like a frozen lemonade with orange juice. What's not to love about that combo?
It felt like we had stepped right into 1970. The views were stunning and the mozzarella was even better. All of this to say...if you have the chance to take a boat ride over to Capri, my friend you better do it. Go have lunch at La Fontelina and get granitas at Lollos!
CAPRI
Ravello is a small town about a 15/20 minute vespa ride from the town of Amalfi. Boy were there some serious hills in order to make it there, but the views were so worth it. The town of Ravello was so quaint and quiet and not busy at all. We just walked around, shopped the local ceramics and peaked into different galleries to enjoy the artwork.
POSITANO
We've never seen a city this beautiful. I mean we get it, it is a bit touristy in the summer, but it is seriously the most insanely built city we've ever seen. Imagine a city built into the mountains, with lemon and orange trees surrounding you. The beach feels like something straight out of the 70's, which is just so classic.
DO
Rent mopeds (BEST DECISION EVER!)...We highly recommend doing this, not only are they a blast but if you hire a taxi and get car sick easily, it will most likely happen on the Amalfi Coast because everything is so windy! This was one of my favorite things that we did during our trip!
Ravello
Visit Villa Cimbrone if you can. It is a beautiful hotel with amazing gardens that you can pay a small entry fee to go walk around and enjoy. It has incredible views overlooking the Med and is well worth the visit!
Cinque Terra
We took a day trip from Florence and got on the earliest train we possibly could to make sure we got to soak up every minute of being on the coast.
Make sure and go eat at Nessun Dorma. Insane views and great bites. Get here early as it gets packed!
Lucca
Lucca makes for a great day trip from florence. it is such a quaint little town. give yourself permission to get lost in the narrow alleyways and dip in and out of as many shops as you can see.
