Wednesday, October 26, 2016

FLORENCE & THE BEGINNING OF THE ITALY TRIP


TRAVEL STYLE : SUEDE JACKET  |  OPEN BACK SWEATER -- ON SALE!  |  LEGGINGS  |  BOOTS  |  ALDO BAG (SIMILAR)

Hi ladies!  I took to Snapchat last night because I wasn't sure if I should share a huge photo round up of the entire trip to Italy in one post, or break it up into multiple posts per city.  I left it to a vote on Snap and multiple posts won by a landslide!  So thank you to everyone that voted with their screen shots, and that's what I will do.

First stop: Florence.  

When we were planning our trip back in August, we had always said if we went back to Europe, we would do Spain or Greece.  However, when push came to shove, we kept going back to Italy, how much we loved it last time, and ultimately decided to go back and travel north this time, with the start our trip in our favourite city first.


SHOP MY LOOK









Since we were travelling for 12 days and doing 6 cities, we did a mix of Airbnb's and hotels.  For our first stop, we stayed at a one-bedroom Airbnb right in the heart of Firenze, off the Piazza della Signoria.  The location was super convenient to get to all the major tourist attractions, shopping and more.  I can't find the link online anymore for this spot, so maybe it's not longer available to book.

Since this was our third time in Florence, and we had done a few of the touristy things last time like climb the Duomo, explore Ponte Vecchio, ruin my favourite sneaks, and eat the best pizza in the city, we decided to do our own thing and just wander.

That said, that included wandering around to find a Supermarket late at night to stock up on some toiletries since our luggage was lost on the flight over.  Unfortunately for me, I had packed zero clothes nor make-up inside my carry on #rookiemistake, which is unlike me, but I had saved both bags for electronics and food.  Seemed reasonable at the time... fortunately, I knew where the Zara was.




The Airbnb we stayed at was really big, especially for Italy standards, where you're usually in fairly small quarters, with the bonus of high ceilings.  We loved the location, secureness of the building and that the bathroom was newly renovated and super clean.  We didn't love that the Internet connection didn't work once over the course of 48 hours.





We took a three-hour nap and woke up in time for Apertivo, which is the time between 4pm to 6pm usually, where most shops and stores are closed, but restaurants will serve wine and appetizers.  Dinner is never before 8pm, so eating a sizeable meal at this time is perfectly acceptable.

We stumbled upon Gusta's Osterria, the sister spot of our fave pizza in Florence, and decided to give it a try--I was totally hungry at this point, jet-lagged and bummed that I had no clothes.  Wine was the cure!

Afterwards, we took a quick trip to Zara and I grabbed a couple pairs of jeans, and a silk cami to tide me over until our luggage arrived (which ended up being late the next night).





The next morning, we headed out to grab some breakfast, and then went off on a wine tour in the Tuscan hills.  I was so so so glad I had worn this jacket and these boots on the plane, plus packed sunglasses--they saved me!  #nomakeup #neveragain

We did a wine tour last time, but it was April and the vines were bare.  We were really excited to see grapes this time, being October, the harvest season.  We went with a different company this year, and loved it.  Would highly recommend a wine tour if the budget allows and it interests you, it's a full day adventure and really enjoyable.




We were really fortunate and with a small group; just one other couple from the US, and our tour guide/driver.

We visited two wineries, and the first one had the most stunning views, it took my breath away.  There were tons of grapes still on the vines, and the workers were in the fields picking them, always by hand.  We got to take a closer look before it started to downpour.

From there, you go inside and sit a dining room table in the winery, and the host pours three different wines along with various cheese, bread and chocolate to accompany.




Then, it was back on the road to a small village in Chianti where we had lunch, wine, espresso and great conversation.  The restaurant was totally off the beaten path, quaint and the food was delicious.




We stopped at the Piazza de Michelangelo, which is atop the city and provides the best views.  The sun was setting and it was gorgeous.  

Later, we headed down to one of our favourite restaurants that we stumbled upon accidentally last time, Napoleon.  We had a great dinner, grabbed gelato on the walk home, and called it a night.




The next morning, I did a little bit of shopping and we hoped on a train.  

Next stop: Pisa!



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