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:: Italy Travel Diaries : Positano Part One ::

April 5, 2016

One of the best parts of our trip to Italy, if not THE best part, was our stay in Positano.

It is just as magical and beautiful as it looks in pictures.

Everything abut it was perfection.

We did 4 nights in Positano and almost extended our trip to 5 once we were there….. and definitely could have done 6 🙂 We both loved it so much.

We did this part of our trip a little bit different than most people, for a couple of reasons.

Most people that are making their way South through Italy would go to Rome from Florence and then end in Positano. I changed it up for two reasons. I wanted a break from all of the sight-seeing and go-go-go because I thought Rome would just be exhausting after all the big city things we had been doing. I am really glad I made that decision because Rome WAS physically exhausting, but luckily we had relaxed for 5 days prior.

Also, getting OUT of Positano can be tricky. If there is “bad weather”, the ferries do not run. (and this happened to us when we were leaving…. and there was not a cloud in the sky….) Also, the roads are super windy and tiny, and taking a car from Positano to the Naples airport would have meant getting up extremely early, getting a car to Naples, and also having a layover on the way back.

I forgot that was my third reason – I didn’t want to go to Naples as everyone says its the worst part to be and I wanted a direct flight straight home.

So, because of all of that, we took a little bit longer of a train ride and bypassed Rome to go straight to Positano.

Then afterwards we went back North to end our trip in Rome.

I had planned a ton of the trip and almost all of it was very easy.

The one thing I could not decide on or figure out was the best way to get to Positano.

I was nervous about the ferries not running, but I didnt want to get packed onto a bus on the windy nauseating roads (which we had to do on the way out of Positano and was quite the experience, but more on that next post).

We had originally decided to take the train to Sorrento, and then take a bus or a ferry or something when we got off. (because I couldn’t figure out the schedule of any of them in advance).

I changed our route while we mid-train. Our train to the Naples train station was ending in Salerno…. and I realized while we were on board that there were ferries from Salerno that would take us straight to Positano. So I did the whole “pass your end location” again and we went a little bit past Positano but got to stay on the fast train to Salerno which saved a lot of time in the end. I used the internet on the train to change our ticket for a few Euros to Salerno, and from there we went to the little travel agency at the entrance of the station to buy 2 ferry tickets to Positano.

It ended up being perfect. We walked a few blocks to the water, sat and ate pizza at a place where no one spoke a drop of english and sat in the sun with some wine while we waited for our 2:00 ferry.

these two giant pizzas and a half bottle of wine was something less than $10. loved it.

We had a 30 minute ferry ride and it was beautiful and we got to see all the little stops along the way like Amalfi and Praiano and it was like a free tour added right in.

The only obnoxious part was the group of University of Arizona study abroad kids ripping pulls from an Absolute bottle and hanging off the side of the boat (literally about to fall off) taking pictures in their crop tops absolutely WASTED. It was horrifying. I was mortified to be an American.

but the rest was great 🙂

When we arrived in Positano, there are all of these bag boys ( I believe in red shirts? ) asking where you are staying and you can pay them to bring your bag to your destination because, DUH, its like a million steps and who wants to lug their crap themselves.

Although I assured Kip I hadn’t heard from anyone that this wasn’t legit, in true Kipper fashion, he did not trust giving our bags to total strangers, sooooo his backpack went on my back and he grabbed the suitcases. When the hotel manager saw us sweating carry our bags in to the lobby she definitely looked at us like we were crazy 🙂 And I looked at Kip like he was too, but we had our things and checked right in!

I talked last time about our incredible hotel, Hotel Miramare.

I can’t recommend the hotel, Rosita, and our room (221) enough.

See more on that here.

Rosita gave us the low down on places to go and things to do, and we changed out of our slightly sweaty clothes and went down the stairs to Brezza for apertivo. Brezza is right off the main little pier, next to Chez Black and Three Sisters & all of that. It overlooks the water and everyone coming in off the beach. It was one of our favorite spots for the whole trip, their free snacks that came with our apertivo were incredible and it was such a great casual happy hour. Loved it.

We went back to the hotel to shower and go for dinner, and we went up the stairs to a spot above our hotel for a delicious pasta meal (no clue what the restaurant was, I’m sorry! I didn’t write it down) before spending the rest of our first night on our balcony with wine.

It was beautiful all lit up at night.

It was the first of many simple days and perfect relaxing nights in Positano and we were already in love.

Our first morning, we woke up and had a delicious breakfast at our hotel.

The breakfast room was so gorgeous, and it was one of our favorite breakfasts of the trip – they had tons of options (and lots of hot eggs and bacon or sausage, which Kip didnt have everywhere so he was super pleased).

We had been told to avoid the main beach where all the boats drop everyone off, and instead to walk across the (gorgeous) pathway to the left to Spiaggia Beach.

It was heaven.

and we may have been one of the first people there the first day…. oops.

I didnt sleep in on this trip – I wouldn’t have wanted to anyway, but I was always ready to go by 8 am after likely tossing and turning despite multiple glasses of wine to the face the day and night before.

no complaints – more time to sit on the beach!

you have to rent the chairs, and depending on how close you are to the water the more euros per chair they will charge you.

the ones right up front were 8-10 euro, and cheaper as it went back.

also, WHY are the lounge chairs in America not like these? They have this little shade cover you can pull up so that you can perfectly shade your face and it makes it so easy to read.

I loved those damn lounge chairs. The blue and white stripes didn’t hurt either.

we read and swam and relaxed on the beach until lunch time.

they also had a cliff jump that was fun to watch kip and everyone go off of, but no pictures because it was all the way around the side in the water so I had to swim around to watch.

For lunch, we walked back up a tiny bit to Lo Guarracino (two fishes) which overlooked spiaggia beach.

it was pricier for lunch, much pricier than the little places that were right on spiaggia beach (where we ate later, and were still delicious) but it was worth it for the view and a nice afternoon lunch break.

and they turned my pizza into a heart. it was so cute.

seriously this little walkway to and from spiaggia beach was one of my favorite parts

we showered up and relaxed on our deck before going to one of the restaurants all the way at the top of Positano.

La Tagliata.

They send a car from the restaurant to your hotel to pick you up, and then will also take you back after dinner.

It was gorgeous and super romantical and my pictures display absolutely none of it 🙂

the food was so, so good and the staff was so sweet.

we had an insane risotto here that Kip talked about repeatedly.

are these posts wordy enough for you?

did I confuse you enough with my directions for how we ass-backwards made it to Positano?

Great! Then this post was successful!

And incase you missed previous Italy Posts:

Packing for 2 Weeks In Italy

Venice Recap

Siena Recap

Florence Recap

Positano Travel Information

International, Italy, Lifestyle, Travel

:: Italy Travel Diaries : Positano ::

March 8, 2016

After Florence,

our next stop was Positano.

Positano was a complete and utter dream, and perhaps our favorite of the entire trip.

(I think it definitely was).

I want to give Positano posts the justice they deserve, and they aren’t ready yet, but I know that so many of you are currently planning trips so I at least wanted to share where we stayed.

Because we LOVED it. LOVED LOVED.

I had the highest of expectations and Hotel Miramare and the manager there, Rosita, far surpassed them.

Here are a few pictures of the hotel and a crappy video from my cell phone of our room 🙂

Hotel Albergo Miramare Positano

from the port/main beach in Positano, the hotel is up on the left side, about 200 steps up.

it is the red building you see on the left.

I made super cute graphics that are better than our pictures from our boat day to highlight where it is 😀

you are welcome.

one of the most beautiful rooms from the hotel was the breakfast room.

and the breakfast was delicious!

we were lucky enough to be booked in one of the two new rooms in a separate entrance just to the right of the hotel entrance up a few steps.

{ according to my notes, we were in room 221! }

they are brand new, so spacious, and the most beautiful views and balcony.

The balcony was so big with two lounge chairs and also table and chairs if you wanted to eat out there.

I could go on and on.

We spent so much time just sitting on the balcony, day or night.

I figured out how to upload a youtube video of our room when it wouldn’t upload directly to the blog 🙂 I mean, I’m impressed with myself.

It’s shaky and not the best, and doesn’t do the size or brightness or beauty of the room justice,

but it gives you an idea.

also, this instagram that I posted shows a good view of the balcony.

SO, I’ll share more about Positano (and then Rome)

but I wanted to let you know how much we loved our hotel

Hotel Albergo Miramare Positano

and would recommend it to anyone.

We are DREAMING of when we can go back.

I’m near tears (not really…. but really…. but no… seriously yes) just with this part of the post which is why writing the rest is taking forever…. I miss it so much!

International, Italy, Lifestyle, Travel

:: Italy Travel Diary : Florence ::

March 1, 2016

:: FLORENCE ::

huh? what’s that you say?

the huge trip you talked about for forever leading up to it, and then only posted about half of it so far?

YES.

I’m back to continue The Italy Travel Diaries.

finalllllly.

I have so many friends going to Italy this year that I knew I needed to get back on it and talk about Florence, Positano, and Rome.

and next up is Positano the absolute favorite and I could cry I want to be there right now.

after Venice and Siena,

we took a train and arrived in Florence.

we had originally planned on taking a cab from the train station to our hotel,

but we took screen shots on our phone and it was easy enough to find it.

for our hotel, we found it through the Rick Steves book.

After we unloaded our bags at the hotel, we immediately ventured out.

We rounded the corner from the hotel and the Duomo was just towering down the little road.

It was about a three minute walk to the Duomo and we started out with Rick Steves audio tour because so many friends had recommended it. It was a great walking tour to get acquainted with the city.

We walked to one of the locations where we could get the Firenze Card which we had decided would be well worth the 72 Euro per person because the lines for everything in Florence are nuts. Luckily friends and everything we read confirmed that this was the right thing to do.

Definitely, definitely get this card! Otherwise, you will spend all of your time waiting in lines and not seeing anything of Florence.

We went across the Ponte Vecchio, and looked at all of the pretty jewelry in the windows as we went, and settled on a spot for lunch outside of the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens.

The Gardens were so gorgeous. It was such a fun afternoon wandering around and not doing anything. I was also reading Dan Brown’s Inferno so it was fun to be in the place I was reading so much about.

…… my jumping shot was a complete and utter fail. and I’m very special.

we stopped at a little place between our hotel and the Duomo for apertivo before showering for dinner.

We went to dinner at Il Porcospino, a restaurant our neighbor raved about from when she was studying abroad in Florence. She e-mailed ahead and told Franco to be expecting us and it was such a wonderful dinner. He just brought food out for us, no menus, and it was a perfect first night in Florence.

The next morning we got up early to go to see The David. The Academia was right behind our hotel so we got there in no time, and even though we went right at 9 (or whatever time it opened) there were lines already. The Firenze Card was a lifesaver again, but still about a 15 minute wait.

I’m so glad we got in early because there was hardly anyone indoors and it made seeing the David much much better. I couldn’t believe how big it was in person.

Then we climbed The Duomo – oh my gosh – tight spaces getting up there. Like, crazy tight. It was nuts.

worth it at the top though.

at this point in the trip Kip kept asking me when I would stop making us climb things. (little did he know what was to come with the stairs in Positano…..)

after The Duomo we did a ton of museums…. most of which we could have done without. They were just so crowded and it was lots of wandering and none of the rest of the day was as a great as The Boboli Gardens or The David (to us). It was all wonderful but it just gets to be the same religious art 9,000 times after a little bit.

We did Uffizi and got super cheap pizza and wine after which was amazing. So glad we stumbled upon the little place and not a clue what the name was but there was a cute couple our age in Ole Miss polos that seemed just as excited to find a quick cheap yummy bite.

We went to the leather school (after getting seriously lost finding it) after lunch, but no one was working when we were there so it was a bust. Their leather belts for Kip were a lot, so we passed, and luckily found two cute ones on the way to dinner that night for much cheaper for him to take home.

We also stopped at the Galileo Museum because I am a science lover and what could be better I thought that Kip would enjoy it, but it was just weird. Like, a lot of vagina (or allota fagina) and pregnancy things.

I was like “wheres the finger that Rick Steves said was here? Lets just look at that and get out of here”

we ended our last night there with Gelato after a dinner surrounded by locals at I Che Ce Ce Trattoria while we strolled past the Duomo one last time at night to our hotel.

We loved Florence, but it did get exhausting. I can completely see why it was so many peoples favorite places. We saw so much in the two days we were there that it kind of started to become a blur, but it was an amazing highlight to the trip. I can’t get over how these pictures do no justice to how beautiful the buildings are there.

So, definitely do the Rick Steves Renaissance Walk – the app is so helpful for so many different things and we loved it for Florence to get acquainted.

We also loved the Boboli Gardens for wandering.

Hotel Information :

We stayed at Hotel Loggioto Dei Serviti. (website)

It was about a 3 minute walk to the Duomo, and when you rounded the corner from the square out hotel was in, you could see it immediately towering overhead in the distance. I could not believe how beautiful, and how BIG, it was.

I did like our hotel, but the square was definitely not a lively one and I’m sure there are better places you could stay. But the room was massive and very old Italian. The inside of the hotel was beautiful – the hallways and stairwells and everything. And breakfast was great too 🙂 So overall we were happy with it.

Below I am including the two pages from my nerd-alert word document that I combined from all of your recommendations along with my friends emails and things like that. So this was what I had on hand before our trip and hopefully can help some of you with your trip plans!

:: FLORENCE ::

Sights +
Activities

*Renaissance Walk : Rick Steves

Start at Duomo, can do self guided
walking tour, hit all the main sights – theres a free audio tour in the app

*The Accademia that houses the David

book a tour for the
accademia, massive lines

*Dumo : have euros to enter

* Giottos Tower : less crowded to climb than The Duomo and
with great views

*Scuola del Cuoio (here) which is a
leather school. This was a definite highlight of our time in Florence.
You can stroll through the building and see true leather artisans at
work, learning the ins and outs of the trade. The leather they work with
is the best of the best, and you really feel like you are in the presence of
artists. There are photos on the wall of celebrities who have been there.
And, it’s completely free to enter, which is refreshing when you are on a
two week trip where everything, everything, costs money.

* Pizzale Michaelangelo

From there we made our way up the 26742 steps
(or maybe it just seemed that way) to Piazzale Michaelangelo (here). There was a cathedral up at the very
top where we stopped to sit on a bench and just take the glorious view in.
If I had it to do again, you better believe I’d go armed with a book and
a bottle of red.

*Piazza
Santo Spirito for nighttime

from
Amy : One night we just happened upon the Piazza Santo Spirito when walking
around – definitely a local young person spot to drink outside and really fun
people watching!

*
Ponte Vecchio : the famous bridge, especially romantic at night

*
Galileo Science Museum : has 3 of his fingers! Telescopes , gadets, inventions

*Leather
Shopping + Visit The Leather SChool great leather, leather jackets. Rick Steves
has a few places in particular recommended, can get amazing jacket for 250-300.

*Uffitzi Museum

Food

* I’ Che’ C’e’ C’e Trattoria We got advice from one of
Ryan’s wholesalers who grew up in Florence. It is a MUST! No tourists, except us of course. Off the beaten
path, very cool. Once again our hotel called to make reservations. The balsamic
beef was amazing.

* Il Porcospino – The
Porcupine – Glenn and Angelina’s favorite place

*
Cibreo (it’s a country club like place that we had to join – I think it
was like 10 euro pp but it was worth it) was another restaurant recommendation
we got from Ryan’s Italian guy. It is family style and they just bring
things out and they bring small dishes to your table. The wine is on tap.

(from
online : Il Cibreo is THE restaurant that you have to go to in Florence; it
ranks as one of our favorites in all of Italy. We prefer the trattoria, over
the more formal ristorante and café across the street (the formal ristorante
& café are very good, but very expensive, and a little stuffy); in
any case, they all use the same kitchen, the only difference being that the
trattoria menu is more limited. Il Cibreo’s menu is based on traditional Tuscan
cooking, before the introduction of pasta. The menu sticks by classic dishes —
e.g., polenta, minestra di pane, pappa al pomodoro — but they are typically
done with concentrated flavors in a more sophisticated way than your typical
Italian restaurant. The secondi are also highly recommended, including their
collo di pollo ripieno (stuffed chicken neck), polpetti di vitella (veal
meatballs), and salsicce con i fagioli (sausage and beans) Note that the
Trattoria does not take reservations, so keep this in mind, because you will
likely have to wait for a bit to be seated.

* Aqua al Due – * this is where EVERYONE has recommended * You
MUST go here. There will be a wait but order their pasta sampler and blueberry
steak with a bottle of brunello wine, it will fill you up but it is amazing!

Osteria vini e vecchi sapori – need reservations, amazing tiny hole in the wall!
Le colonnine – quattro formaggio pizza and the
Nutella calzone dessert

La Fagolio (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187895-d1068024-Reviews-Del_Fagioli-Florence_Tuscany.html) and ordered the steak for two. Best meal of my life. I think
it’s cash only and I would highly recommend a reservation. It was
incredible.

*
Il Pizzaiuolo – best pizza ever had, per cupcakes and cashmere

Il Cibreo Trattoria: Via dei Macci, 122R;
Ristorante: Via dei Macci 118r; Telephone 055 234 1100; closed Sundays and
Mondays.

*Perche No! in Florence (here)

voted one of top gelato
places in the world

*Il Latini – make a reservation, its about
$45 euro per person but is about 5 courses, includes wine and is delicious

* Westin Bar for great views

* Lunch: Trattoria Mario (you sit with
locals, close to Mercato Centrale)

I looked up on the map and this is an 8
minute walk from our hotel

*Procacci – Wine and Truffle Bar

Tips

* We
walked to the Galleria dell’Accademia (where David is) and instead of waiting
in the crazy lines, we bought tickets for a particular time and went and
explored/had lunch and then came back and got right in at our designated time.

* We got the Firenze card which I highly recommend. Let’s
you jump the line and get into all of the museums.

* You MUST make reservations in advance (well in advance)
for the Uffizi Gallery especially (and Accademia)

And incase you missed previous Italy Posts:

Packing for 2 Weeks In Italy

Venice Recap

Siena Recap

International, Italy, Lifestyle, Travel

:: Italy Travel Diary : Siena ::

November 24, 2015

:: SIENA/TUSCANY ::

I’m back with more Italy info (finally!!!)

After leaving Venice, we headed to Tuscany with out first stop in Siena.

we took the train to Florence, and switched to a Train to Siena.

I had a sandwich at the Florence train station that was so good I didn’t understand how something that delicious could come from a place like that.

We spent two nights in Siena, with one day spent on a vineyard tour of Tuscany in the Chianti region.

Siena was a great small city that could easily be done in one day/night, but since we were doing the wine tour I am glad we stayed for two.

:: WHERE WE STAYED ::

Our friends had gone to Italy the year before and had recommended the Hotel Athena because of its gorgeous views.

It is located on the outskirt of the center of the city (but Siena is so small that by “outskirt” I mean it was a 5 minute walk if that to Il Campo (center square) and even less of a walk to the Duomo so still in the heart of it all).

The views from the hotel were simply gorgeous. Stunningly beautiful and so quiet and peaceful.

These are the views from their restaurant/bar rooftop area.

I loved walking around and strolling Siena.

Cars cannot drive in many parts of the city, and so you basically stroll little walkways up and down little hills. It was so quaint and picturesque.

The first day we climbed the City Tower in Il Campo after checking in and dropping off our things.

Then we wandered around, and to reward ourselves for our hike up a million stairs, we had cocktails outside the Duomo.

Then, why stop there, cocktails on our rooftop bar with the gorgeous views.

We saw a sign for a restaurant Va Vine not far from our hotel that said “come inside and see our views” so we ate on their back patio which was gorgeous and then when it got dark and the views disappeared was romantic with twinkle lights and candles. This was one of the few places the whole trip where the waiters did not speak english, but it was easy enough to order and the food was spectacular.

We had fried zucchini and calamari, pasta dishes, wonderful steak, and ended with tiramisu that was to die for.

The next day we went to The Duomo right when it opened, and if you pay 2 Euro you can walk straight up to counter and get a skip-the-line pass. We walked straight in, and we were the first handful of people to go in that day so it was nice and quiet.
This was one of my favorite places that we saw in all of Italy.
It rivals the Duomo in Florence with its beauty : STRIPES.

We strolled Il Campo and grabbed a bite on the square before heading back to the hotel for our Chianti and Castles Tour.

For the vineyard and castle tour, it was a group of 6 of us and we went to 2 vineyards and 2 castles.
I do not drink red wine….. ummm ever. Like, never. But it was still fun 🙂
There were older ladies that didnt drink red either and they would drink the tiniest sip and pour the rest in the bucket and I was like ARE YOU CRAZY? DRINK IT! YOU JUST SAW IT IN A BARREL! YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE GRAPES!
I mean….. sometimes I worry about people.

So for those of you that love Chianti, FUN FACT: it is only a real Chianti if is has the *black rooster* on the label, otherwise it is an IMPOSTER.
The second winery had a smokin’ hot George Clooney type Italian man leading the tasting and I really wanted to make Kip get a picture of him, but instead I silently stared at him while I pretended to just LOVE the different types of Chianti (every time the cheapest one tasted the best to me) and ate the 25 aged balsamic with cheese.
The balsamic. was. the. best. thing. ever.

Later that night we walked to a random little pizza place to eat and there happened to be a big race (about a half of a marathon) going on so we sat outside and ate as runners came and went. There was a big cookout with tables set up too, but we couldn’t figure out how or if we were allowed to join in 🙂 All of the “roads” are stone and on hills – I seriously have NO idea how they were doing it. We had cocktails and saw the final racers making their way down to the finish and it was fun to see the locals and the children cheering everyone on as they ate their ice cream. It was very much an italian moment that we were so lucky to stumble upon.

Let the pictures begin !

Right after dropping of our bags, we climbed the tower to get views of all of Siena and the Tuscan hillside

so sweaty.

The unreal views from our hotel. This was more beautiful than any views from towers!

Day two, we went to the Duomo.

It was so gorgeous. The stripes took my breath away!

The back part of the Duomo that we walked past constantly on our walk to-and-from the hotel to the Campo had these gorgeous, gigantic doors that I loved.

First stop on the tour, one of the castles in the distance

At our first winery

see the black rooster!?

the second winery (with Italian George and the killer balsamic) had the most beautiful views!

Even if only for one day and night, I definitely recommend making a stop in Siena. It was such a wonderfully quaint Midieval town and different from anywhere else we went in Italy.

Day One :

Climbed the Tower
Lots of strolling, shopping, up and down the little roads
Day Two :

The Duomo

Chianti and Castles Tour : Two Vineyards and Two Castles

Logistics:

Everything here was so simple and easy to manage.
You will need to take a cab from the train station. There is a little cab light straight out from the station but be prepared to wait for a cab, they come slowly one at a time. It was a cheap ride, less than 10 Euro.
Food Recommendations
from friends that we never made it to:

*
Osteria Baccon Del Prete or Osteria Cice

reservation required for both – have the concierge call

*La Taverna di San Diuseppe

Our favorite meal of our entire trip
(and there were a LOT of meals!) was at La Taverna di San Giuseppe in Siena.
There was a savory chocolate pasta dish that I’m still thinking about 4 years
later. It’s in a beautiful cave like setting too.  

And incase you missed previous Italy Posts:

Packing for 2 Weeks In Italy

Venice Recap

International, Italy, Lifestyle, Travel

:: italy travel diary : venice ::

November 3, 2015

:: VENICE ::

we flew into Venice to kick off our 2 week Italian adventure.

we weren’t sure what to expect, because Venice probably was the least “oo’d and aah’d” about place by far from everyone. we didnt have too many restaurant recommendations or anything like that… people had said it wasn’t the best food and that it was super, super expensive, blah de blah.

and yet, other than the amalfi coast, Venice was our favorite.

we loved, loved, LOVED Venice.

we landed at 9 AM after a lengthy 9-ish hour flight where the sleeping pill I took DID NOT WORK.

(don’t even get me started….. after finally getting the balls to take said sleeping pill for the first time, Kip and I were awake constantly, and he informed me that is definitely not how the ambien should work. so I had some wine and did the best I could. sleeping mask, neck pillow, ear plugs all we wonderful).

anyyyyyyways, we landed at 9 AM and after about a 45 minute ride on the blue line water bus, we hopped off at San Marco stop and found the hotel super easily. even the public transportation is enjoyable here – you’re on a boat with views galore!

exploring Venice and just wandering was so incredible. there is so little to see (compared to places like Florence and Rome) that it was wonderful to just wander around, look at the beautiful buildings and squares, and admire the insane water views everywhere you looked.

we were both stunned with how beautiful it was.

was it expensive? yes. was it our favorite food of the whole trip? no, but we did have some very delicious meals at the random places we stopped at, and especially with nothing to compare it to we loved it. was it crowded? yes and no, not at all compared to florence or rome, and the majority of the time it didn’t feel crowded at all – only at st. marks during the height of the afternoon for example. was the gondola a rip off? YES, but who cares we loved it!!

everyone says you don’t need more than a day or two there, and while I would agree, we were very sad to leave. we could have sat along the canal and drank and ate and people watched, or sat outside any of the little restaurants in any of the dozens of little squares and been so happy.

it poured rain later in the afternoon our first day there, and we sat and waited it out with cocktails and lunch. later on it did another heavy, but quick shower and the place we ducked into, right next to The Accademia, was filled with several gondoliers drinking right next to us. we knew we had accidentally stumbled into the right place! when the rain stopped and we stepped out to a gorgeous rainbow and an even more beautiful view from the bridge.

…. more of me chatting about where we stayed/what we did

following some/ a lot of pictures !

I’ve never enjoyed a rainstorm so much in my life!

hiding out from the second rainstorm with the gondoliers!

the little bar we tucked into was right here next to the Accademia.

we took this photo on our gondola ride. this is a great example of where things can get a little packed. the tiny bridges that are close to the busier parts of Venice can get very backed up at times, but other than moments like this we didn’t feel like it was crowded.

in Harry’s Bar after our gondola for a Bellini

this is me on the water bus towards the train station to leave, and even this was as great as a gondola ride to soak in all the views of the city.

:: where we stayed ::

Hotel Flora

WE LOVED THIS HOTEL. so much. the location was incredible.

we got off at the san marco stop and it was less than 5 minute stroll to our hotel, but still far enough from st. marks square to be quiet and quaint and tucked away. and just next to our hotel entrance were some gorgeous shops like Burberry, Bvlgari, etc, so the window shopping on our way in and out of the hotel was an added bonus.

Sergio who ran the front desk could not have been kinder or more helpful. he was truly one of the nicest people we encountered on the whole trip in terms of hotel staff. their rooms were beautiful, with views overlooking their courtyard. their courtyard alone was so stunning. I could not recommend this hotel more. the price, the location, the staff, the breakfast, ALL OF IT.

(a few of our pics, and a few from trip advisor that show the beauty of the hotel much better below!)

the entrance is tucked down this little walkway and is so adorable.

our room was a great size with beautiful Italian touches, like the murano glass.

how beautiful is this courtyard ?

eating breakfast out here was so, so nice!

:: where we ate ::

I didn’t write down a single name of a place we ate 🙂 well, I did, but I threw the map out that I wrote them on. Whoops. We wandered for most of our meals, and our second day ate lunch and dinner at the same place because we liked it. We did, however, really love our food – we didnt go too crazy and stuck with the basics. Oh, except one shrimp cocktail we had at a place along the grand canal that had us never order shrimp the rest of the trip. We washed it down with wine and all was fine 🙂

:: what we saw ::

St. Mark’s Basillica

beautifully covered in Gold, it was incredible to see. we booked tickets ahead online to go in at a separate entrance. I was able to light a candle and say a prayer and it was a favorite moment for Venice.

Doge’s Palace

so large we couldn’t believe it. quatrefoils galore everywhere. especially as one of the first sights for us to see, it was beautiful.

The Accademia

we went here in the morning our second day here. it was not crowded at all since we went early and was easy to go through quickly.
Rialto Bridge + Grand Canal
we had afternoon cocktails on the canal near the bridge twice while we were there, it was perfect views of the Regatta and people watching

Annual Regatta

the weekend we were there happened to be the weekend of their annual regatta down the grand canal which was very fun. boats with bands playing music was a fun addition to the regular sights on the canal.

Gondola Ride

despite our best efforts, because of the Annual Regatta, being selective with the Gondola was more difficult than we thought. We had wanted to do a sunset ride, but ended up hopping in one when it was free and our Gondola driver was less than wonderful. still, it was great. it was 80 euros and he definitely didnt take us for longer than 20 minutes and he definitely didnt take us down any of the beautiful canals 🙂 oh well. OH and he didnt even wear his striped shirt, he had it stripped off from him sweating and just a wifebeater on. oh yeah. it was PURE ROMANCE people.

Harry’s Bar

18 euro Bellini’s? after the 80 euro gondola? What the hell, it was fun!

Walked, and walked, and walked

best part of it all was just wandering around. We took 30,000 steps one of the days we were there according to my old school pedometer that I tried to keep on me most days of the trip.

:: a few things I learned to share ::

when you land at the Venice airport, there will be kiosks for purchases tickets for the water bus. the kiosk is confusing and doesn’t work. just walk out to the water and there will be a ticket station with a person that speaks english and will make sure you are going the right way. this was much easier!!

for train tickets, the only time the whole trip a train was sold out for us was the early morning Venice train. Our friends who had traveled before us experienced the same thing. We were still able to leave about an hour and a half after what we had originally planned, but perhaps book the Venice train more than one day in advance if you can. the rest, we were fine.

** I did some updates to my packing post after some questions/comments.

any questions or comments about Venice I will answer and update the post as well 🙂 **

for legit gorgeous Venice photography, check out Classy Girls Wear Pearls.

She just got back from a trip and her professional photos are far superior to mine in capturing the beauty of Venice.

Venice, we love and miss you. Terribly.

fashion, Favorite, International, Italy, Lifestyle, Travel, Travel Tips

:: Italy Travel Diary: Packing for 2 Weeks in Italy ::

October 13, 2015

Italy Posts are finally here!!

This week I’m starting with the basics, but something I put just as much (read: WAY TOO MUCH) thought into as other aspects of the trip:

Packing for 2 weeks in Italy, all with a Carry On only!

it can be done people. if I did it, anyone can.

preach.

For our two weeks in September we traveled to:
Venice, Siena, Florence, Positano, Sorrento, and Rome.

Two keys to packing in just a carry on suitcase + a carry-on purse/bag:

the best carry on purse/bag in the history of the universe, packing cubes, and lots of little pouches so you can find things in your carry on quickly.

{ sole society travel satchel }

this bag alone fit the majority of all of my non-clothing related items. it was crazy. I couldn’t recommend a single item to take on a long trip more than this.

the packing cubes were the other thing that made it possible to fit so much into a carry on suitcase.

{ compression packing cubes }

you should always roll your clothes to maximize space,

but rolling them and then doing the compression bags maximizes space even more.

I used a hanging toiletry bag (Vera Bradley toiletry bag I’ve had for almost 10 years) and then LOTS of little pouches in my carry on bag. The little cosmetic pouches were key to fitting a million things in there, but being able to find everything quickly and easily.

:: Clothes ::

I prefer to wear dresses, so my wardrobe was more dresses than tops and bottoms.

Compression Bags : I used 2 large, 2 small

Chambray Shirt

Jean Jacket

Green Cargo Jacket

*didnt pack but would have been nice for Venice/Siena cooler temps

White Jeans

Blue Denim

1 Pair Shorts

2 Sleeveless Tanks (one white, one printed)

Grey V-Neck Tee

Striped 3/4 Sleeve Tee

2 Pajama Sleep Shirts

Sunglasses (2)

Panama Hat

Scarves (3)

Belt (1 or 2)

Underwear (1 weeks worth, then did laundry)

Socks

1 Strapless Bra, 2 Nude Regular Bras

Smaller Cross Body Bag (Red Rebecca Minkoff)

Bigger Cross Body Bag (lots of compartments, fit so much, even our big camera when needed)

Baggu : perfect beach bag folds right back into a little square when not using

Bikinis : two tops, two bottoms

2 Pairs Sandals: One day, One dressier for night

2 Pairs Flats: Converse Sneakers, Espadrilles

Dr Sholl’s Shoe Inserts

Swim cover up (2, but we had 5 beach days so 1 is probably fine for most)

Jewelry (few pairs of studs + dangly earrings, bracelet, one long necklace, two everyday necklaces)

Dresses: 3 maxi dresses (all solid colors), 8 short dresses

:: Toiletries ::

some in hanging toiletry bag, with daily necessities packed into cosmetic pouches

Pills : Prescriptions, Vitamins, Ibuprofen

(I also brought benadryl, zicam, dayquil, etc for if needed)

Roller Ball Perfume

Travel Moroccan Oil

Travel Size Deoderant

Razor Blades (2) and Handle

Make-up (keep it to your basics)

Hair Brush, Elastic Hair Ties,
One Hair Clip, Bobby Pins

bring a full size hairbrush. I brought a small one because I figured who cares, and with their soft water and lack of

Cough Drops

Kleenex

Eye Make Up Remover/Make Up Remover Wipes

Mini Dry Shampoo

*CONDITIONER

no hotels had conditioner, and between that and my small hairbrush I practically came home bald. I finally went and bought some but the water is so soft there I still would rip out half of my hair. bring your good conditioner with you 🙂

* Body Puff or washcloth

seems unnecessary, but wish I had brought with me

Bandaids + Blister Pads

(LIFE SAVERS – I got moleskin blister thingies that saved my life in Rome when my feet got destroyed)

Gum

:: Other Items ::

Empty Zip Lock Bags

Headphones

Camera and Camera Charger
Converter for Outlets
Deck of Cards
Rick Steves Book
any other Books/Magazines/iPad
Laundry Detergent + Sink Stopper, Line to hang Clothes
Snacks for the Plane, Kind Bars/LaraBars
Pair of socks for the airplane

*100% necessary and make sure they are easily accessible in your carry on to put on right away. it was FREEZING every time I woke up (which was far too often) on our overnight flight to Venice.
Moleskin notebook (for trip notes)
Neckpillow, Eyemask, Ear Plugs
Tide to go Pen

Refillable Brita Water Bottles

*loved these, amazing for water on planes/tranes/and even when in hotel room

A smaller wallet

(I just used an alligator clip to clip my cards and cash together. you’ll want them small to tuck into inside pockets of your purse and to easily switch from your day to night purse)

Luggage locks
Rubber Speaker thing to hook up to phone so we had music in hotels
RFID Sleeve (keeps credit card info from being stolen)

our nerd alert packing purchases : eye mask, neck pillow, RFID Credit Card Sleeve, Converter, Laundry Packets + Clothesline, Blister Medic

general packing tips :

always roll your clothes. roll, roll, roll. saves so much space.
wear your largest items on the plane : shoes, jacket, etc.
I combined my items in my carry on into pouches for easy access to know where everything was. one for the tech stuff (my headphones, phone charger, camera charger, etc). one for daily toiletries (chopsticks, ibuprofen, tide to go pen, perfume). one for make up. etc.
shower caps from the hotels were great to cover shoes.

was this OCD enough for you?

what am I forgetting that would be helpful to add for other readers!