Florence Italy
Florence, Italy.
Not going to lie, when we first got there, I was so mad. I was sad to leave Positano in general, but then when I saw Florence, I wasn’t impressed. Turns out the spots that we were walking around in at first are some of the most run-down. LOL. We both looked at each other during that first lunch and were like “whyyyy did we just leave paradise for this?!” There are so many beautiful and historic locations in Italy that you can visit, but to us, Florence wasn’t what we were looking for, maybe if we went more rural? Like the abruzzi italy region? We’ll have to pencil that in for next time!
But here’s the moral of our WHOLE EUROPEAN ADVENTURE: if you feel like it’s not beautiful or safe, just keep walking. You WILL eventually run in to a spot that is breathtaking. Safe. Exactly what you imagined!
We had zero plans for Florence (much like the rest of our trip!) so when we got there we were a little overwhelmed with where to begin. Like i said, our first lunch and first few hours sucked. But then we wandered until we found the Duomo. And that was beautiful! IF we had planned better, we would’ve bought the “skip the line” passes online, but we didn’t, and by time we were there-all those style passes were sold out. And the actual line was easily two hours long.
We are not history buffs, and I honestly just didn’t want to wait that long, while we could be out exploring and actually taking in the city. So we made the decision to veto the Duomo, and explore around.
We had a fun day of shopping (the first time we did on this trip) and scored some amazing things! There are markets alllllll over with a million and one leather bags, jackets, etc. if you go in there, or really almost any of the leather shops- haggle your price. We were dumb Americans and paid $40 for a backpack for Georgia in one shop, and two doors down they had the same exact thing for $10. No joke. And they totally all have the exact same stuff, so definitely don’t ever pay full price. THEY WILL make you a deal.
We went to a few vintage shops-but my fav one was vintage shop I found an amazing jumper, dress, and scarf there. And the people who work that store were some of our favorite strangers from the trip. So so kind.
That first night we tried to go to a restaurant but the wait was at least an hour, so we booked it online for the next night and went to a different spot. And we were so happy we did because it was probably the most memorable night of our time just us two! Thank goodness we were able to book online as we would never have been able to go. Restaurants take note! If you do not have a website that can do this then you may want to check out some Restaurant Website Design Ideas or talk to a web developer so you can, as it will certainly help people come to your restaurant
Restaurants we loved:
-Trattoria za za-probably the best Italian meal I had. MAKE SURE TO MAKE RESERVATIONS. The line is never ever short here. We had the a few pasta dishes here and they were all heaven.
-le menaguere- basically like Anthropologie on steroids! It’s a flower market, small goods shop, restaurant, bistro, and live music venue all rolled in to one. SOOO cute! And they have some sort of live music almost every night-with every Tuesday being a cover band for The Beatles. That was what we got to experience and it was the best. We literally were out till two just dancing and laughing so much. Best night!
–the rooftop bar for sunset overlooking the Duomo. The drinks were good but the view was spectacular. Go at sunset and enjoy!
–gelato everywhere is basically awesome. And we took part in it daily ??
-there is a speakeasy on the other side of the river that you have to go to! It’s called Rasputin. It’s no joke to find, but ask around! It’s a 1920’s vibe, super beautifully decorated, and the cocktails are wild!
The last night we were there was the only night we crossed the river, and I totally regret that!! We should’ve spent most of our time over there. It was way more authentic and beautiful. Next time we know:) Next time we would stay on the other side of the River and explore fully over there! And maybe go into the countryside a little bit too! Our trip just wasn’t long enough. Are they ever?!
We did go to a spa while there, SOULSPACE. It wasn’t amazing, and I would’ve skipped it if I had known. I don’t know if it’s a European thing, but neither massage that we had was focused much on the back st all. Way more focus on the legs and feet. But unlike the massage I had in Spain, this one just wasn’t great and the spa itself wasn’t awesome.
Ostia, Italy
We spent our last day in Ostia. It’s apparently a really popular spot for locals during the summer, since it’s right on the beach. To be honest-we only stayed there because we had a 9am flight the next day, and we knew we wouldn’t want to have to drive in from somewhere far away. As it was, we were already having to get up at 5:30am to make it!
Ostia was interesting ? jeremy and I learned by the end of this trip that, MAN, we almost always happen to choose the wrong directon to walk. We stayed at Fly Deco, which was fairly nice (definitely the newest hotel in the area). When we first arrived we walked out the hotel to the left, and let me tell you, we should’ve gone right.
Most places weren’t open yet since it wasn’t season, so that didn’t help either. But we had never seen a beach town so run down and vacant. We are used to US beaches, where almost everything is always so nice and fixed up since it’s such prime real estate. But not here.
We did find a cute little spot on the water that had drinks and light food. And then at dinner time we had the sense to walk the opposite direction and found a much nicer area! And turns out-we actually had the best pizza of the entire trip there!
We got to talking with a nice guy from London (who lived in Ostia currently) and he was telling us how this whole city used to be heavily run by the Mafia. There were three families that ran everything, and then one day about three years ago, one of the heads of the family took a bat to a reporter, and it got cops brought in, and basically since then the focus has been to clean it up and kick the mafia out. He told us some wild stories!!
Anyways! The best restaurant there was pizza So cute, and incredible food!!!
The airport was about a 15 minute taxi ride, which is nice for early flights. You could always stay in actual Rome, and take a taxi or the metro to get to the airport, but again, we didn’t want to be up an earlier than our already early wake up call!
AND THAT’S IT! Our incredible Europe trip that was 2 weeks long and yet not long enough!! Can’t wait to go back!
Positano Italy
Positano, Italy
My new favorite place on this earth. Seriously. I could’ve easily stayed there for another week and been so happy. Positano is actually the place that I had dreamed about going to for years!! A blogger years and years ago shared about her trip there, and ever since, I knew I had to make it happen one day. Imagine having a home here, it would be the ultimate luxury. I know a few people who have been on holiday and thought about potentially buying property in the area they stayed in as they loved it so much. Just recently I heard through a friend of a friend that they were planning on buying a Spanish property for the family to use and they went through the whole process to get it done (wasn’t just a dream for them!) They even used a mortgage calculator, read this blog content from Simon Conn to see why this is important, so they could get the best deal for what they wanted. I’m just dreaming my Italian property dream, looks like they are living it.
When we arrived at 12:30 am and it was all dark, I was bummed. But man, when I got to take it all in the next morning, I legit cried tears of happiness multiple times. There is nothing else like it there.
We were expecting it to be freezing the whole time since the forecast said mid to low 50’s (which to this AZ girl is straight up winter!). But it turned out to be beautiful. The first day we were there we were at the beach in clothes (again, didn’t even think of wearing our suits since the temp said cold!), and we were actually sweating a little in the sun!
So then the next day I made sure we had our suits, paid for lounge chairs, and then of course it only had pockets of sun, but mostly windy and drizzly ? oh well. I was just so thankful to be there.
Our hotel we stayed at was hotel villa Franca. It was amazing! It was at the very top of the hill, which lead to having the most UNREAL views all around. It wasn’t cheap to stay at (I think it was around $400/night) but omg, worth every penny.
Only one hotel is really big in Positano (le sirenuse), and villa Franca I believe had less than 40 rooms. The lobby, bar, restaurant areas were all gorgeous. And SO many windows all with the breathtaking view of Positano.
The breakfast there is FREE, and is EPIC! They have a “buffet” of sorts that you can just grab stuff, but then also have an incredible chef that will make you basically anything you want. And all the endless cappuccinos and coffees. All the whole the whole doors are open with a breeze and sun pouring in. I could’ve sat at that breakfast spot for hours! And it was amazing that it was all free, because if we would’ve gone out to order all that we did there daily, it seriously would’ve been like $40-50! So take that in to account when looking at the hotel price!
The bar was good, tiny but good. And all places in Europe always bring you a plate of snacks with your drink. At first we were always confused because we were like, “um we didn’t order these things”, but it happens everywhere! The one thing we did not like about the hotel was the dinner. I believe it was even a Michelin Star restaurant, but man it was not for us. Too stuffy. Too fancy. Approximately 6 servers constantly hovering, attending to your every need (which sounds nice, but was actually quite overwhelming). So IF you like that vibe, go for it. But it wasn’t our jam.
The pool at this hotel was unreal. And I can only imagine how much better it would be in the warmer months. In summer the pool is open all day, and has tables for drinks at night. It was closed in the evenings while we were there, since it isn’t “season” yet, so I was bummed. But man, in June I bet it’s magic! Speaking of timing, everyone said DO NOTTTT go in August. That is hands down the busiest month ever there, and it’s super overwhelming. They said may and June are great (June warm enough to where you can even enjoy the water). July gets a lot busier, and August is way too much.
If we had more time there, and it was warmer out, I would’ve lovedddd to have gone out on a boat. There were so many on the water!
We did zero shopping here. They had some cute linen shops, but in general, everything was touristy and over priced. And we knew Florence was next, and supposedly that had amazing shopping.
Restaurants we loved:
There was a little bar down at the beach with couches and chair right on the sand. And the food from there (specifically the pizza) was actually really good! And they also have lounge chairs that you can rent for 10 euro each, which we did!
We also went to pizza cave for dinner one night, and it was great! People freak out saying it’s fun because it’s in a cave, but don’t get your hopes up too much for that. Lol. It’s basically like two tables that really have that feel, and the rest is normal. But the food was great. Some of the best prosciutto and cheese I’ve ever had.
We also went and had a drink at le sirenuse one night since everyone raves about it. The views were amazing, and the drinks were good (albeit probably the priciest of our whole trip).
Positano truly stole my heart. I WILL go back there someday. I don’t care if it’s not till I’m old and grey, I will experience it again! Preferably not that long of a wait, since those hills and steps are NO JOKE!
-there isn’t much public transport in Positano. They have buses, but holy crap I can’t imagine being in one on those tighttttt small roads! So we flew from Spain in to Naples, and then took a DayTrip driver to take us in (and out) of Positano. It was around $120 for the nicer car option, and both times we were taken in a very nice Mercedes. If you can squeeze that in your budget, definitely do it. I’ve heard the buses to ferry to whatever else is a lot of navigate. And if you don’t care if the car is as nice, the cheaper option is $90 I believe. And it’s just over an hour to and from Naples to Positano (where there’s the airport and train station)
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