Venice, Italy

The last leg of our trip was Venice.  When traveling internationally, I expect things to go wrong, but I think it's safe to say that Venice was where Murphy's law took full effect.  It all started with us getting off one stop early on the train ride from Florence to Venice and then having to take the bus to our hotel.  Then, we missed our stop by a 30 mins walk, so we had to drag our luggage in the rain and back track.  We finally made it and after taking a short break in our hotel room, we ventured off into Venice.

We ate at Pontini, a restaurant we found on Yelp.  The waiter was super energetic and the food was delicious!

I finally understand what people mean when they say to "get lost in the streets of Venice".  It is very easy to get lost as you take turn after turn with sensory overload over all the beautiful sites, stores and eateries.

So when it came time to check out, the hotel accused us of not paying our bar bill of 15 Euros the evening before.  I am 110% sure we paid them, but they did not document our payment, so we were delayed by 25 mins and had our train to catch to head back to Rome.  Needless to say, we missed our train and I had to buy 4 new tickets and were delayed by an hour.  I am a big baby and cried after that because I just absolutely hate wasting money and didn't think it was "fair" that we had to pay the price for the hotel's stupidity.  You can be sure I will file a complaint with the hotel to get every penny back!

All in all, I had a good birthday in Italy, but it is truly nice to be back home again!!  I am so grateful that my parents took good care of Echo while we were gone.  They took him to daycare everyday and picked him up after they got off work.  They sent me countless videos and photos so that it would make being away from him easier.  They also bought him a brand new toy and fed him an apple everyday as a little treat - he definitely gets spoiled over there!  I am lucky to have such amazing parents!

Florence, Italy

Our next stop in Italy was Florence.  This was by far my most favorite city.  It was so beautiful there and maybe staying at the beautiful Westin Excelsior helped since it was a very central location to shopping and restaurants.

Every morning, I ran along the river while enjoying the beautiful view which was so very surreal.

 Like the locals do, we visited a local pastry shop for breakfast and drank our coffees at the bar

We took a private tour to Pisa and into the Chianti region to check out the countryside of Tuscany.  The Leaning Tower of Pisa was much smaller in person, but still remarkable to see in person

 Supposedly, the owner (pictured here) of Gelato Donoli won a contest on the food network for the best new flavor of gelato.  Honestly, I couldn't really tell the difference between different gelato places, but the gelato here did taste very creamy

 During our tour, we also stopped by a winery for some wine tasting.  Their tastings are more formal in comparison to what I have experienced in the states where it's sit down with a plate of cheese, prosciutto and crackers and at this particular winery, they offered at least 9 tastings for a total of 20 Euros 

We traveled up the bell tower next to the Duomo and climbed 414 steps for this view.  Every bit worth it!

We actually ate at this local sandwich shop twice because it was SO delicious and cost only 5 Euros!

There were so many dogs in Italy!  I would definitely live in Florence because they are so dog friendly there.  Dogs were allowed in restaurants, supermarkets...everywhere!  We saw a couple dogs who got lost and were actively looking for their owners.  Luckily, Italians love dogs and they were more than helpful in helping the dogs find their humans again.

 

Next stop - Venice!

Rome, Italy

We just got back from a 10 day trip to Rome, Florence and Venice.  All in all, it was a great trip with a lot of sightseeing, pasta eating and traveling.  I feel extra blessed to have been able to travel with my sister and brother-in-law as I know that as we continue to get older, group trips like these will be more and more difficult.  This was my second time in Rome, and I have to admit that none of it looked familiar because it's been over a decade since I last went.  We tried our hand at an AirBnB rental and absolutely loved it!  It was great to have our own bedrooms and kitchen where we could enjoy a delicious cup of coffee in the morning over a home cooked breakfast! 

 Our first meal in Rome at Osteria dei Pontefici

 

Selfie stick photo at the Colosseum

Fun photo spot at the Pantheon

Birthday presents for me from loved ones

At Roma Termini getting ready to hop on a train

Top recommendations & tips: Dinner at Osteria der Belli in the Trastevere area, Buying tickets in advance to the Vatican, Entering the Colosseum via the Pantheon entrance to avoid the long lines, Take the bus everywhere - it's super easy and affordable

Next stop - Florence!