Florence, Italy
October 3, 2013
Arriving in Firenze
We departed from Venice, the city of no cars. When we arrived in Florence we had a car waiting for us. Let me tell you that, the scenes in the movies where they are doing a European Car Chase down the super narrow roads, that is exactly what this car ride felt like - scary! So she took us across town to our hotel, Plaza Lucchesi Hotel, it had a gorgeous view of the river and Michelangelo's Piazza. It was also much warmer in Florence than Venice and for that we were very thankful! Florence is the city of the great artist, so we immediately hit the streets roaming. There was much more shopping and boutiques in Florence than there were in Venice. There are leather goods shops everywhere, we would recommend doing research on these shops prior to getting here if you are searching for Italian Leather, it is very hard to tell who's leather is real and who's is not! After we did a little wandering and window shopping we headed to a recommended restaurant called Cibreo Trattoria. It was terrific, oh my goodness the food was wonderful! Here we took a break from the typical pasta's and ordered more protein based meals. For an appetizer we ordered a version of a tomato soup with chucks of bread in it, the tradition has it that this soup is where they came up with the idea for pasta! We also ordered a ricotta mixture with pesto and Parmesan, it was incredible too. For the main course we ordered the Chicken Meatballs and the Pork Chop. They were very good, this restaurant had hand written menu's and I am sure they they are constantly changing their menu - so this is a must stop at place - highly recommend it!
Arriving in Firenze
We departed from Venice, the city of no cars. When we arrived in Florence we had a car waiting for us. Let me tell you that, the scenes in the movies where they are doing a European Car Chase down the super narrow roads, that is exactly what this car ride felt like - scary! So she took us across town to our hotel, Plaza Lucchesi Hotel, it had a gorgeous view of the river and Michelangelo's Piazza. It was also much warmer in Florence than Venice and for that we were very thankful! Florence is the city of the great artist, so we immediately hit the streets roaming. There was much more shopping and boutiques in Florence than there were in Venice. There are leather goods shops everywhere, we would recommend doing research on these shops prior to getting here if you are searching for Italian Leather, it is very hard to tell who's leather is real and who's is not! After we did a little wandering and window shopping we headed to a recommended restaurant called Cibreo Trattoria. It was terrific, oh my goodness the food was wonderful! Here we took a break from the typical pasta's and ordered more protein based meals. For an appetizer we ordered a version of a tomato soup with chucks of bread in it, the tradition has it that this soup is where they came up with the idea for pasta! We also ordered a ricotta mixture with pesto and Parmesan, it was incredible too. For the main course we ordered the Chicken Meatballs and the Pork Chop. They were very good, this restaurant had hand written menu's and I am sure they they are constantly changing their menu - so this is a must stop at place - highly recommend it!
October 4, 2013
Art Day in the City
This day was all about the art. After getting ready we went downstairs and enjoyed one of the best breakfast of Italy. This hotel had everything, and it was so good. Then on our way to our first tour we stopped walked the city and saw the Saint Croche Church, Maria Novella Church and we also discovered an awesome gourmet market. We really wanted to grab some oils, balsamic and wine but since we were on our way to a tour we decided not too. We started the day off with a tour of the Academia, this is where the original statue of Michelangelo's David lives. It was massive, larger than I ever could have imagined. We had a very good tour guide that explained the story and significance of this statue. Our tour guide made what could have been a very boring tour more interesting. Florence is pretty cool and very rich in history. All the artist of Italy that are famous once walked these streets and ate the food we ate, now that was a cool feeling.
After the Academia we headed back to the hotel because Jonathon's ear infection was growing worse. So we called a doctor to come visit the room so that way it would begin to get better. The last thing we wanted was to be on a 10 hour flight back with a ear infection, ouch! After the doctor we decided to grab a quick lunch at a cafe that we had passed many times, Ristorante le Coloninne. We had bruschetta, a salad and Pesto Pasta. It was very good and we were quite impressed. The it was time for the Uffizi tour. The Uffizi is a humongous museum and you would need an entire day and an Art history degree to really appreciate everything in there. We had a very different tour guide, and boy could he talk, he had a major passion for art. It was not particularly our cup of tea but seeing Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo and the Medici palace was worth it and an amazing experience.
After the Uffizi, we wandered through the shopping area. We happened to find some really pretty Chukka's for Rachel. Jonathon was really hoping to find a hat, leather shoes and a briefcase but fell short. For dinner we ventured over to the area we had dinner in the night before and dinned at a Naples styled Pizzeria, il Pizzailuolo. It was delicious, but be sure to make reservations we ended up sitting at the same table as a couple from France, and we felt a little awkward about it! We also wished that we would have ordered the sampler appetizer but we ordered the seafood bruschetta, which was also very good! For the main course we ended up eating the calzone and Rustica Pizza. Rachel made the mistake of trying to tweak the ingredients on the Pizza and that ended up being a little dramatic for the chef! Hint - don't try to change things up keep them as they are on the menu!!
Art Day in the City
This day was all about the art. After getting ready we went downstairs and enjoyed one of the best breakfast of Italy. This hotel had everything, and it was so good. Then on our way to our first tour we stopped walked the city and saw the Saint Croche Church, Maria Novella Church and we also discovered an awesome gourmet market. We really wanted to grab some oils, balsamic and wine but since we were on our way to a tour we decided not too. We started the day off with a tour of the Academia, this is where the original statue of Michelangelo's David lives. It was massive, larger than I ever could have imagined. We had a very good tour guide that explained the story and significance of this statue. Our tour guide made what could have been a very boring tour more interesting. Florence is pretty cool and very rich in history. All the artist of Italy that are famous once walked these streets and ate the food we ate, now that was a cool feeling.
After the Academia we headed back to the hotel because Jonathon's ear infection was growing worse. So we called a doctor to come visit the room so that way it would begin to get better. The last thing we wanted was to be on a 10 hour flight back with a ear infection, ouch! After the doctor we decided to grab a quick lunch at a cafe that we had passed many times, Ristorante le Coloninne. We had bruschetta, a salad and Pesto Pasta. It was very good and we were quite impressed. The it was time for the Uffizi tour. The Uffizi is a humongous museum and you would need an entire day and an Art history degree to really appreciate everything in there. We had a very different tour guide, and boy could he talk, he had a major passion for art. It was not particularly our cup of tea but seeing Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo and the Medici palace was worth it and an amazing experience.
After the Uffizi, we wandered through the shopping area. We happened to find some really pretty Chukka's for Rachel. Jonathon was really hoping to find a hat, leather shoes and a briefcase but fell short. For dinner we ventured over to the area we had dinner in the night before and dinned at a Naples styled Pizzeria, il Pizzailuolo. It was delicious, but be sure to make reservations we ended up sitting at the same table as a couple from France, and we felt a little awkward about it! We also wished that we would have ordered the sampler appetizer but we ordered the seafood bruschetta, which was also very good! For the main course we ended up eating the calzone and Rustica Pizza. Rachel made the mistake of trying to tweak the ingredients on the Pizza and that ended up being a little dramatic for the chef! Hint - don't try to change things up keep them as they are on the menu!!
October 5th, 2013
Tuscan Wine Tour
Today was a day that we were super excited for - Tuscan Wine Tour! We got to the check in location for our tour a little early so we go grab and Espresso and a cappuccino, yummy! Then it was time to check in for our wine tour, luckily it was a small group of 16 with 2 tour leaders. The company that the tour was through was Florence Tours - highly recommend them! This tour was fantastic! We went to 2 vineyard, one large vineyard and one smaller one. We were able to learn a lot about wine, tasted a lot of wine, bought a lot of wine and ate an appetizer and a traditional Tuscan lunch! I think that Florence and Tuscany had the best food of the trip, there flavors were bold yet simple, I really enjoyed it! Unfortunately it rained all day long on our excursion, which is really a bummer because Tuscany is supposed to be gorgeous, we got to see a little of that beauty but not all of it! Jonathon fell in love with red wine on this trip! Which is great because Rachel was already a red wine drinker! This was the most memorable day of the whole trip, so much fun was had!
After the tour we were dropped off in a new area, so we explored that area a little bit and on the way back to the hotel we passed the Pointe Vecchio bridge which is the only bridge that survived the World War 2 bombings. Around dark we headed to the Michelangelo Piazza which has a view overlooking the whole city. It was a bit of a hike to get up there but once you are there it is gorgeous and romantic and a Florence must see! This was one of our favorite days in Italy, it was just perfect!
Tuscan Wine Tour
Today was a day that we were super excited for - Tuscan Wine Tour! We got to the check in location for our tour a little early so we go grab and Espresso and a cappuccino, yummy! Then it was time to check in for our wine tour, luckily it was a small group of 16 with 2 tour leaders. The company that the tour was through was Florence Tours - highly recommend them! This tour was fantastic! We went to 2 vineyard, one large vineyard and one smaller one. We were able to learn a lot about wine, tasted a lot of wine, bought a lot of wine and ate an appetizer and a traditional Tuscan lunch! I think that Florence and Tuscany had the best food of the trip, there flavors were bold yet simple, I really enjoyed it! Unfortunately it rained all day long on our excursion, which is really a bummer because Tuscany is supposed to be gorgeous, we got to see a little of that beauty but not all of it! Jonathon fell in love with red wine on this trip! Which is great because Rachel was already a red wine drinker! This was the most memorable day of the whole trip, so much fun was had!
After the tour we were dropped off in a new area, so we explored that area a little bit and on the way back to the hotel we passed the Pointe Vecchio bridge which is the only bridge that survived the World War 2 bombings. Around dark we headed to the Michelangelo Piazza which has a view overlooking the whole city. It was a bit of a hike to get up there but once you are there it is gorgeous and romantic and a Florence must see! This was one of our favorite days in Italy, it was just perfect!
October 6, 2013
Off to Capri
Today we were off to the island of Capri! We finally get to experience the tropical island honeymoon! Before we left we tried to go get a few souvenirs, the only problem is that it was a Sunday and no one was opened yet, however Jonathon found a street vendor with a few things to bring back. Then it was time for the driver to take us to the train station, and get on the train. In order to get to Capri we took a train from Florence to Naples and a taxi to the water ferry and then end up in Capri.
Off to Capri
Today we were off to the island of Capri! We finally get to experience the tropical island honeymoon! Before we left we tried to go get a few souvenirs, the only problem is that it was a Sunday and no one was opened yet, however Jonathon found a street vendor with a few things to bring back. Then it was time for the driver to take us to the train station, and get on the train. In order to get to Capri we took a train from Florence to Naples and a taxi to the water ferry and then end up in Capri.