Florence, Italy

After spending a few nights in Rome, we took a bullet train to the most beautiful and romantic city I have ever seen or been to, hands down! This is where we were able to celebrate our big one year anniversary – so perfect and epic!

For those wondering- we took a bullet train from Rome to Florence; from Florence to Venice; and from Venice back to Rome. We also booked out tickets online ahead of time just so we wouldn’t have to deal with the language barrier at the station. It was so easy and convenient since at the train station there are a lot of foreign people trying to scam you. The train we took is called the Italo and you can book tickets here- Italio

Well, in Florence we decided to be a little fancier since we were celebrating our anniversary, so we stayed at the Grand Hotel Villa Cora. Can I just say – ELEGANT! Our hotel was located a few miles from the center of Florence and also walking distance from the main sight seeing spots. Of course, we walked everywhere again and only got lost once! The city was too pretty to take a cab or car anyway.

In Florence, we were able to see the beautiful Duomo located in central Florence, take a half day trip to Pisa on a charter bus, take a private Vespa tour all over the Tuscan hills and Florence, and do some fine dining. I have to say that this city had the best food we ate in all of Italy! If you ever get the chance to visit this beautiful city, make sure you find a place that serves authentic Neapolitan pizza – the best you will ever taste!

As I said before, we did book all of our tours through Viator. There are several different things you can do, but this is what we decided to go with.

We took a half-day trip to Pisa on one of the days we spent in Florence. It was so cool to see and climb to the top of the historic Leaning Tower and learn the story behind such a neat building! I’ll definitely recommend you book the tour that allows you to climb your way to the top. It’s a few extra bucks, but the view up at the top was absolutely breath-taking! Another memory I will never forget!

Our anniversary date, April 27, was a little special so my husband made sure to make it an unforgettable day, and boy did he score! We started our day early in the morning walking all of Florence while the city was still sleeping- you have to try it. The silence is so soothing. After taking a stroll, we headed to our 9:00 Vespa tour appointment. Now, this tour is usually in a group of six or more people, but we were in for a surprise! Since we booked our tour early in the morning AND on a Sunday, we happened to be the only 2 people taking the tour – jackpot! Not only was our guide super nice and friendly, but he also spoke very fluent English, so it was easy to understand him. Because we happened to be the only 2 on the tour, he took us even farther, as we rode our own Vespa all throughout the Tuscany hills. He also took us to the top of Florence, Piazzale Michelangelo, where we were able to take in the beauty of Florence! The whole Vespa tour was an amazing, cool experience that will never be forgotten! Our tour ended with an amazing Italian cuisine. We went to a top notch restaurant where the chef cooked up some pretty amazing dishes (too fancy to pronounce and remember but for short: rabbit, veal, Italian meatballs, eggplant parmesan, and bacon wrapped chicken/asparagus). All of this was included in our tour, which is why I think it’s a must!

I wish I could reveal all the memories in my mind of the beautiful things I saw and did, but you’ll just have to go see for yourself! However, I do have a couple pictures just to show you a little of the beauty that Florence holds. Enjoy! 🙂

The most amazing gelato in all the world!!!! Holding heaven in my hand.

For our anniversary night, our intentions were to dress up and have a fancy dinner at our hotel, but after reviewing the menu, we decided to skip out and head to the city.

Best choice, food was AMAZING!

Last day in Florence, we stayed indoors and just enjoyed the beauty of our hotel.

You get the picture, it was beautiful.

We ended our days here with some room service- the food was just okay but it was fun.

Venice, Italy

We ended our trip in Italy by visiting the magical city of Venice. This city was small but so unique. Because we had booked various tours and were constantly on-the-go in Rome and Florence, we decided to just enjoy and explore Venice at our own leisure. Keep in mind that the city is pretty small so you can easily be in and out of there in a day. We were not aware of this or else we would have definitely spent extra days in Florence. However, our time was very enjoyable. We did explore Piazza San Marco in the early morning and also explored at night when choosing which place to dine at. This city is also full of romantic patio restaurants so if you aren’t able to do that in Rome, do not worry, that’s all you’ll get in Venice. Several nights we enjoyed dinner late at night by the canals full of lighted up gondola. We didn’t spend the extra money to ride a gondola, but the sight of it was enough for us as we strolled around in the evening. This city was definitely magical, romantic, and relaxing- the most perfect way to end our vacation in Italy.

Below are a few pictures to show you the beautiful and magical little city of Venice. Enjoy! 🙂

Thank you for reading and following along! Xo