Rome – Capitoline Museum & Victor Emmanuel Monument

Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! On our second full day in Rome, we had an unanticipated free morning because our Colosseum tour got rescheduled for the afternoon. Some people would use this extra time to sleep in and maybe enjoy a relaxing breakfast, but not me.  We decided to spend our morning…

Florence – Palazzo Vecchio & Tuscan Wine Tour

Hi friends, welcome back to the final post of our time in Florence. It was downpouring at this point, but we had some time to kill before our wine tour so we headed to Piazza della Signoria to see Palazzo Vecchio. This fortress looking building was the town hall in renaissance times. In 1540, Duke…

Florence – Duomo Museum, Bell Tower & Baptistry

Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! After climbing the dome, Jon and I spent about an hour at the Opera del Duomo Museum. The museum underwent an extensive renovation in 2015 and the exhibits are spread across three floors and twenty-eight rooms. Admission was included with our dome climb tickets and we loved…

Florence – Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella & Accademia

Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! After exploring the Uffizi Gallery and grabbing sandwiches for lunch, Jon and I headed to visit the Basilica of Santa Croce. Tickets are eight euros and we purchased them onsite. You can also purchase an audioguide, but we passed on this. Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan…

Florence – Uffizi Gallery

Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! The first museum on the agenda, and one of our favorite museums of the trip, was the Uffizi Gallery. Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance (1450-1500) and this museum houses the greatest collection of Italian paintings by Leonardo, Raphael, Caravaggio, Michelangelo, and Botticelli. I booked our…

Lower Manhattan Historical Tour – Federal Hall & New York Stock Exchange

Hi friends, welcome back to my Lower Manhattan historical tour. In case you missed part one, you can check it out here. Heading north from Fraunces Tavern we’ll turn onto Wall Street. Currently 55 Wall Street is an event venue, hotel, and residences owned by Cipriani, but it was originally built in 1841 as a…

Lower Manhattan Historical Tour – Battery Park, Bowling Green, & Fraunces Tavern

Hi friends, welcome back! Jon and I have been living in the Financial District for four and a half years, but we haven’t truly explored the historical sights we walk by almost every day. Before Times Square, Fifth Avenue, and Central Park, Lower Manhattan was where all the action happened and the north of City…

Newport, Rhode Island – Chateau Sur Mer, Fort Adams, & Ocean Drive

Hi friends, welcome back to the conclusion of our time in Newport, Rhode Island! Our last mansion of the trip was the Chateau-sur-Mer, “Castle by the Sea” in French, and we didn’t love this tour. There was no interior audio guide, only a guide of all the trees and plants on the property, so we…