That one time I went to Italy...

Since today is throw back Thursday, I thought y'all might appreciate a post of the time I went to Italy. 

It was January 2011, I quit my very stable job, and went to Italy. I thought I was going to stay for 3 months (the max time a travel visa would allow) but, I'd recently met a guy. I had been planning my trip for a long time, so I did actually go, but I became very homesick and love sick the moment I landed in Rome. I stayed for 3 weeks, and then caught a flight home. I'm thankful for the experience because I got the best of both worlds. I got to travel and fulfill that dream, and I also got to come home to an amazing man that I now call my Husband. 


The Swiss alps from the plane flying into Rome

I know I'm probably going to catch some flack for the following statements... I was not a fan of Rome. I found Rome to be like many other big cities. Over crowded, dirty, graffiti practically everywhere, and just generally blah. Gasp!? You might say, but the coliseum!? The Spanish Steps!? The Trevi Fountain!? Yeah, the big ticket sights were cool but other than those, I didn't see the appeal. Actually the big ticket sights were so overrun with touristy riff-raff that it almost ruined those cool places too. Maybe I need to give Rome a second chance? Maybe I would like it better had I been at a different place in my life? I'm just not sure though...

THE best gelato I had while in Italy.
(It kills me that I can not find the name of the specific gelateria. Tragic.)

Stracciatella Gelato aka Chocolate Chip

St. Peter's Basilica

The real life Pantheon!

Pizza with cold Buffalo mozzarella on top
Seriously check out resturant Dar Poeta while in Rome. 

Off to Florence... 

The top of the Duomo in Florence

Florence aka Firenze. 

Now Florence was more my speed. Much more relaxed, less crowded, so very cute and picturesque. I spent several days in Florence and used it as a jumping off point to many other locations; Pisa, San Gimignano, Cinque Terre, Fiesole and Venice. I enjoyed Florence so much that I came back right before heading for home and spent my final couple days in Florence. 

The streets are medieval which is charming, but it makes it quite frustrating to find your way. I found this quite charming though! I had to make sure to always have a map with me or else I would be hopelessly lost.  I hit the usual sights, the Bobli gardens, Pitti palace, the Statue of David, Ponte Vecchio, and the Uffizi Gallery. My personal favorite was the Pitti palace, which actually had a great little costume/clothing museum built into the palace. 

THE best pizza I had in Italy

Ok Seriously. We need to talk about the pizza pictured above. I can not express how amazingly awesome this pizza was. I stumbled on this pizza shop while roaming around Florence. If you are in Florence and you don't go to Amici di Ponte Vecchio Da Stefano you are missing out. It's across the Arno river just across the Ponte Vecchio. Not only is it a fantastic walk to the shop, but you get AWESOME pizza in the end. I made several trips to the shop during my time in Florence.

About the pizza. The bread is fluffy, crunchy, thick, yet not overwhelmingly thick either. The herbs, the awesome olive oil, the fresh tomatoes... everything. Just perfection.

You can see, I was so excited about my piece of pizza that I forgot to take a picture before my first bite. My mouth is watering now just thinking of this pizza! 

Um? What?? This was at the Bobli Gardens in Florence.



Ponte Vecchio, Florence

Opposite side of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence

I didn't realize how much I have to say about Italy! I can not squeeze it all into one post. I'm going to leave this post with just Florence and Rome. I will make another post to highlight my adventures in the smaller cities of Italy. Venice might even get its own entire post too! Hang with me while I ponder that topic!

I hope everyone is having a great week!  

xoxo -Casey