Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! On our first full day in Rome we had a 9am reservation at the Borghese Gallery. This museum is in the northern part of Rome in the Villa Borghese park, and it took us about thirty minutes to walk there. It would’ve been faster to take a…
Tag: vacation
Rome – Churches & Churches & Churches Oh My!
Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! When planning our itineraries, I always try to leave our first day in a city flexible to account for any possible delays or issues. So for our first day in Rome, I planned for us to see as many of Rome’s 900 churches as we could squeeze…
Continue reading ➞ Rome – Churches & Churches & Churches Oh My!
Rome – Where to Stay & Eat
Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! Today we’re leaving Florence and heading to the Eternal City, Rome. For this train journey I booked our tickets early and upgraded to business class seats for an extra five euros. Business class comes with larger seats, less people per car, and a little snack box. I’d…
What’s Up: July 2023
Hi friends, welcome back! Jon and I started the month with a relaxing trip to the Catskills for the Fourth of July. We stayed at a great Airbnb in Phoenicia and managed two hikes, lots of grilling, and even a campfire. The yard backed up to a large creek and the hypnotic sound of the…
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…
Continue reading ➞ Florence – Palazzo Vecchio & Tuscan Wine Tour
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…
Continue reading ➞ Florence – Duomo Museum, Bell Tower & Baptistry
Florence – Climbing the Duomo
Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! As with most people that visit Florence, the Duomo, officially called Cathedral di Santa Maria del Fiore, was my favorite sight in Florence. I loved walking by this beautiful church every day and it’s hard to appreciate the sheer size of this iconic sight until you see…
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…
Continue reading ➞ Florence – Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella & Accademia
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…
Florence – Piazza Michelangelo & Ponte Vecchio
Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! After checking into our hotel and having our first Italian meal, it was time to explore Florence. You never would’ve guessed it was hailing and nasty earlier because the sun came out and it felt like a brand-new day. I immediately fell in love with the quaint…
Continue reading ➞ Florence – Piazza Michelangelo & Ponte Vecchio