February 2024

Getting there…

We took a direct flight from Paris (ORY) to Faro in order to get to our destination of the province of Albufeira. We had a LONG day since we had to be out of our apartment at 11am and our flight didn’t leave until. 5:35pm. The airport was decent…the information guides that stood by the gates board were super nice and helpful and there was a good enough restaurant area for us to have food and beers. Once we arrived, we ran through the ran to get our rental car then made it do our apartment within an hour. Our little Fiat was not powerful nor comfortable, but got us where we wanted to go for the week.

Where we stayed…

Airbnb was our go to again. We decided to prioritize close walking distance to old town, the beach and also having a hot tub. This place “Casa Rooftop” delivered on all fronts. Our host was friendly, responsive and full of energy. The apartment wasn’t new and was tiny. The bed and ventilation left something to be desired but the private rooftop deck and hot tub with a very made up for it.

What we did…

Hiking and eating were on the top of our to do list for Portugal. We had a car and it made it possible to see all the coastline had to offer. The weather wasn’t ideal, so we didn’t get any real beach time, but we did get to walk the length of our local Praia with was long and lined with interesting cliffs. Also, I had my first “Euro Hour” experience when we wandered down to a beach so I could get my toes wet. I did not snap any photos to capture that memory.

Highlighted list of hikes (it’s pretty much the whole southern coastline)-

• Praia da Morena– public beach & cliffs
• Arco Natural– arches, & rocky cliffs
• Praia do Pau– cliffs, beaches, caves
• Arco da Praia da Letra– colorful cliffs
• Arco de Albandeira– cliffs, caves and arches
• Praia da Cama da Vaca– cliffs and caves
• Albandeira Beach– cliffs, beaches, arches
• Praia da Marinha– beaches, cliffs & caves
• Punto Panoramico sulle dune fossili– cliffs, dunes and fossils
• Ponta da Piedade– cliffs & arches in Lagos, great new wooden plank trails.
• Praia da Zimbreirinha– windy kite surfing beach on the west coast

What we ate…

There were many restaurants and bars in Albufeira. We went off recommendations from our host and visited a few that Dave had enjoyed at his last visit. We stocked our fridge with fresh orange juice (SO GOOD), local bread, cheese, and cured meats. Oh, yes, and don’t forget the Vino Verde. We had plenty of that 🙂

Here’s a highlighted list of some of the places we visited.

• Restaurante Solgamba– Fantastic first night dinner that was right around the corner from our apartment- green wine, sea bass, & meat platter. The owner who served us provided the best service we have ever had and even sold us a bottle of wine for us to take home since it was late and stores were closed.
• Club Nau– We found this little place after a hike and driving towards the town of Portimao. We had Aperol Spritz, Sushi & ceviche right on the beach. There was a table of loud talking, smoking Germans near by but the food was much better than expected.
• Mar– Took a day trip to Lagos and stopped here for a glass of Verde and a beautiful seaside view.
• O Pescador Benagil– This was a treat of a place that we found to get out of a sudden rainstorm. Fresh fish was their speciality and we had prawn curry & grilled squid with lemon risotto.
• Casa da Fonte– This was on the recommended restaurant list from our host. It featured “traditional” Portuguese fare. We had seafood kabobs & beef tenderloin. The portions were large, and we walked home feeling very full.
• Restaurant Atípico– We went here on Friday night upon recommendation from our host. It is a modern French tapas restaurant in which we were served again by the owner. Very
• Alfredo– This was our Saturday night dinner-we enjoyed lasagna & brazed pork tagliatelle. It was a close walk from our apartment and they had heaters and blankets so we were able to sit out on the patio in comfort.
• O Lusitano– Dave’s favorite restaurant from his last trip to Albufeira. We had the pleasure of being served by the owner and enjoyed the veal cheeks & duck with a perfect local Cab Sav.
• O Camilo– Cliffside restaurant in Lagos close to the hiking trails. We had vino Verde, oysters and calamari.
• Staar– This was an absolute gem that we found on our last night downtown, close to our apartment. The owners were lovely and the service and attention to detail was top notch. We splurged and shared the Tomahawk steak for two. They were able to cook it at 2 different temperatures for us (basically seared and medium rare) and the recommended wine was delicious.

Final thoughts….

The Algarve of Portugal is one of the most beautiful places I have been in the world. It checks all of the boxes from natural beauty to delicious food and friendly people. I would love to go back when the weather is a bit nicer, but I have zero complaints about our stay in Albufeira.

P.R.

October 2022

Tuscany was my number one place I wanted to visit in Italy. I had visions of rolling countryside with vineyards, historic Florence, and beaches. It pretty much checked all the boxes for me. Dave was excited soak up the history and eat all of the steaks, I was looking forward to seeing the architecture, art and gelato. It didn’t disappoint and I loved our stay there. It was BUSY. Tourism had bounced back big time after the pandemic, so I was glad that we were there during the shoulder season.

Getting there…

We book the high-speed train down to Florence from Ortisei through Bolzano. It was a little over 4 hours to get there as we made short stops through Trento, Verona, and Bologna. We were cutting it close making our way back into town from the village. There were considerably more people shuttling around on the weekend as compared to the Wednesday that we arrived. We did make it through with a few minutes to spare. Dave sprung for first class to seat so we could see what that was like. there was a bit more space, the people surrounding us were more refined and we were served one drink (don’t you dare ask for another, we were shot down promptly). It wasn’t as bit of a difference in quality as when you fly but it was a treat nonetheless. The scenery was a beautiful as the ride up and we made it to Florence without any hang ups.

Where we stayed…

This was where our pre-booked accommodations ended. The evening before our departure, we hopped on Airbnb, Expedia and Google maps in search of accommodations. Our priorities were to be close to the train station, close to the Duomo and center of the city and since the included breakfast at Hotel Hartmann was included, we thought it would be nice to have that again. We landed on B& B de ‘Biffi, which did meet all these requirements, but was not quite as nice as were anticipating. We found it relatively easily from the train station (thank god, because I was in desperate need to use the restroom), and we made our way up the super sketchy, tiny, ancient elevator to the room. Our room was right off the kitchen, so it was loud in the morning as they prepared either your “European” or “American” style continental breakfast. This was a huge let down after the spread at Hotel Hartmann, but honestly, our internal clocks were so off, and we were staying up so late that we missed most of the breakfasts. The room was clean, and the location was prime, so despite it being not as nice as it looked online, and it worked out well enough. Honestly, we didn’t even take any photos of this place. Take that for what it is 😉

What we did…

We continued to do our marathon walking days in Florence putting on 10-12 miles per day. We spent the first day touring around the Duomo and the surrounding piazzas and walking along the Arno River. Beautifull churches and marble statues were everywhere, the whole city feels like an art museum. It is a huge tourist destination, so people of all kinds were everywhere. There was at least one leather, gelato, and art shop on every block.

So basically, we walked, ate, watched people, walked, ate, drank, walked looked at old buildings, drank, and walked some more. It was great. I did miss the nature and peace of the mountains, but we were there for the full-on city experience.

We tour the Uffizi Gallery to appreciate the collection of Renaissance paintings and statues. The building is impressive, but my favorite was actually the courtyard that was outside the entrance. On our last evening as we were walking home from dinner, we actually came upon a man that was just playing his violin for free for anyone to enjoy. It felt like a movie scene and incredible to experience.

We found many cool bars by just wandering around. One evening we found this tiny beer pub and chatted with a trio of Americans that tipped us off to a tour guide they had loved. They hooked us up with this number, we texted him the next day and went on a private tour with Leonardo, a young, super friendly local that loved his city and was knowledgeable about the history and highlights in Florence. He took us around the Duomo, up a little know tower in a hotel that was open to the public and got us fast tracked into the museum to see Michelangelo’s statue of David. This was amazing and I learned way more than I normally would by listening rather than reading signs. I have such a low attention span for the sign reading that having someone just narrate what we were seeing was a huge plus for me.

Other memorable sights we enjoyed were the bridges across the Arno river, the piazzas with statues, the hidden bars in alleyways and the people watching.

What we ate…

Florence was a great place culinary adventuring. I was not aware that there were some very distinct features to food in Florence such as there is no salt in the bread, they are known for amazing ginormous steaks (Dave was so happy), gelato was everywhere, and you could find tiny little windows that housed wine if you were lucky.

Here’s a highlighted list:

• Osteria Filetto d’Oro– Florentine steaks to die for
• La Cantinetta– We enjoyed our last meal in Florence here. The food and service were top notch.
• Pandemonio di Casa Brogi– More steaks and delicious pasta a bit out of touristy region we were staying.
• King Grizzly Firenze– Tiny beer bar in alleyway that was a fun surprise.
• Vini E Vecchi Sapori– We shared a multi-course meal here with wine, artichokes, pasta and steak. I somehow managed to get oil on the new leather coat I had just purchased.
• Trattoria dall’Oste Chianineria– We popped into this little place looking for a glass of wine and found ourselves surrounded by a local’s private birthday party. We did get some sideways glances, but everyone was very friendly, and it was fun to see how Italians celebrate.
• Carabe– We found this place upon recommendation from our tour guide. Delicious!

Final thoughts….

Florence was an amazing experience- the architecture, food, wine, & people watching- all things that were quintessentially Italy were found. As I would see younger people hanging out or studying, I would wish that I would have taken a term abroad in such a culturally rich place.

I was super happy that we visited in October because I can only imagine how hot and crowded it would have been in the summer. The variety of tourists was fun to see, and I enjoyed the freedom of wearing whatever the heck you wanted because everyone else was doing just that.

I would for sure venture back to Florence and it is a must do if you are contemplating a visit to Italy.

October 2022

Rome was our final destination on this Italian adventure and honestly I don’t think prepared for the energy needed to do this famous city up right. It was a wild juxtaposition of a modern city with ancient excavations sites and cultural landmarks sprinkled throughout. I really had no expectations going in besides knowing some of the well-known features such as Vatican City, the Coliseum, the Forum and piazzas galore. We only had 2 days here and packed it full of checking out everything possible by foot.

Getting there…

We hopped on another high speed train from Masa to Rome and it took about 3 1/2 hours to arrive. There were many stops along the way but it was timely and travel was smooth. We did grab an Uber from the station as our apartment was not in walking distance. Driving in Rome is really its own thing. I think there are rules and laws but it was hard to tell. It felt like crazy race or battlefield but no one was running into each other. Driving in Rome is not on my bucket list nor will it ever be.

Where we stayed…

Our amazing tour guide Leonardo in Florence graciously recommended we stay in the hip Trastevere neighborhood. We found one of our best Airbnb here and our host was lovely. It was newly renovated had the most amenities of any of our Italian stays (other than Hotel Hartman of course).

There were tons of restaurants and shops just outside our place and it was a quick walk across the River Tiber to the main city center.

What we did…

Surprise, surprise….more walking, sight seeing, and enjoying local food and drinks!

I think our favorite adventure in Rome was touring Vatican City. We chose to join a small group tour and were glad we did. The variety and amount of art collected here was insane. The guide was very helpful and made it less overwhelming. I personally loved the paintings on the ceilings, Raphael’s rooms, the marble sculptures and the architecture that changes with each new pope. Seeing some mummified popes in Saint Peter’s Basilica was just a cherry on top 🙂

The sights in Rome were spectacular and gave you such a unique peak into the past and how civilizations evolved and built upon each other. I enjoyed the fountains around as well. The photos below say it better than I can.

What we ate…

We did have some fairly good food on this leg of the trip but nothing spectacular to be truthful. I think my favorite memory eating in Rome was just sitting at a tiny table in an alley enjoying the little snack they give you while sipping on some yummy local red wine.

Here’s a highlighted list of some of the places we visited.

• Restaurant in Trastevere – Locanda Tonnarello, since 1876 (nannarellaroma.it)
• Ristorante Il Ciak (superbexperience.com)
• Osteria Cacio e Pepe
• La Tavernetta 29 by Tony and Andrea – Ristorante Roma | Italian cuisine near me | Book now (eatbu.com)

Final thoughts….

Rome was not my favorite part of our trip but I am absolutely happy we made the time to visit. It is a vibrant city, I just don’t think it was completely my vibe with how chaotic it is all the time . I was surprised by the amount of graffiti everywhere. They seemed to be trying to frame it as an art but it didn’t do it for me. For anyone planning a visit to Rome, I would do it at the beginning of their trip while energy tanks were on the fuller side.

My memory of our departure does make me smile though. We had a seasoned driver who zigzagged his way out of the city going at speeds of 120km/hr+ in a car that really had no business going that fast. The flight to our connection in Finland was filled with fittingly rowdy Romans but it did make the clean, calm, organized Helsinki airport feel like an oasis. We also were able to enjoy a beautiful meal before boarding a near empty plane and see the longest sunset I’ve ever experienced. It was a perfect way to end a trip of a lifetime.

October 2022

The Cinque Terre villages and trail system was our other hiking destination planned for this Italian vacation outside of the the Dolomites. It’s iconic brightly colored buildings on brilliant clear blue are highly recognizable from tourist marketing, blogs and even puzzles (we’ve had one a my house for years). The allure of no cars and being able to reach the villages only by foot or train was undeniable. My mind had romanticized hiking peacefully with my love in the fresh air along the sea to explore the quint shops and restaurants each spot had to offer. It turned out to be more crowded than I had imaged but was a memorable day nevertheless. The views were spectacular, but I could have done without the aggressive speed hiking we had to do to get around the slower hikers.

Getting there…

Trains again for transport. Nothing fancy on this leg of the trip. It was the usual story of chaotic Italian public transit by train and bus. We had no delays and there was not much to report about getting to Massa.

Where we stayed…

We chose to stay in the seaside town of Massa-Carrara for a chance to check out the ocean and its proximity to the train station. October is off season for this part of coastal Italy, and it proved to be completely dead. I had hoped for a little downtime to sit at the beach under a colorful umbrella after being in Florence. This wasn’t the case due to stormy weather and all of the umbrellaed beach clubs being packed up for the season. It was pleasant enough though and served its purpose to get us easily to our hiking destination. We secured a brand-new condo on Airbnb that was walking distance to the beach and the main town.

It was a last-minute booking, and it was lacking basic amenities such as towels or soaps. The host did respond quickly though and got us what we needed. It was quiet, clean and had a laundry machine, so I don’t have any complaints. We were able to rest and take a few gentle, flat jogs along the canal trail on during our off time here.

What we did…

Hiked! Obviously. We had checked out the maps on the train ride up and learned that the southern 2 villages were not accessible by trail due to maintenance from floods during the previous years. We started at the Northern most town and got straight to it. I had read plenty prior to arriving about the need to purchase the trail pass and was prepared for a solid hike of hiking through the speed terraced vineyards and hills along the coast. The weather was sunny and humid the day we visited, so water was a must! It was a bit of a tease not having swimwear or towels to cool off in the clear waters below but getting back on a train all salty and sweaty was not appealing.

The trails were well maintained and spectacular views the entire route. However, they were heavily trafficked with tourists whom were underprepared for the level of hike it was (apparently no one read the thousands of warnings about it being a challenging hike) and the villages between were very crowded to match making it a bit difficult to stop and enjoy the beauty of the place.

We sprint-hiked in order to not get stuck behind multi-generational families or beach goers clad in flip flops. I truly can’t imagine what it would have been like during the high season of summer. My hip was in terrible shape after this day, but we did take appreciate the uniquely beautiful place and enjoyed a very cold beer and local fish at the village we ended at.

What we ate…

At Cinque Terre, we only had the opportunity for 1 lunch. It was cool, the servers weren’t jerks and the food was tasty. I considered it a win for the day. I was in the spirit of eating what’s local and ordered the fish of the day, which I was able to expertly debone from watching the waiter back in Venice doing it table side.

Now in Massa, we ran up against a language barrier and it being off season, so choices were more limited than they had been in week before. We ended up cooking at home after our hike which was a lovely break from eating out every meal. Here are the few restaurants we did enjoy-Ristorantino da Mariano, La Casina, & Bagno Fassoni Ristorante & Cocktail Bar. I left out the lunch we had upon arrival as they were very unfriendly and the fish appetizer they brought out instead of the caprese salad I ordered gave us both sour stomached.

Final thoughts….

The northwest coast of Italy is spectacular. I am really happy that we took the time to venture up this way to hike the seaside villages even if wasn’t as perfect as I had imagined it to be. Next time, if given the chance to visit here, I would consider staying in one of the villages for a few days in order to enjoy the ocean more and to be able to take it in at a slightly slower pace. Cinque Terre is one of a kind and worth a visit if you enjoy the ocean, and don’t mind dodging some crowds during a moderately challenging hike.

October 2022

The Dolomite Mountain range is the Italian region of the Alps. Being the hikers that we are, Dave was quick to put this on our itinerary once we had decided to visit Italy. I had never heard of this area before but as we researched and explored online, I was blown away. The pristine villages and striking peaks were unlike anything I had imagined seeing in Italy. We stayed in the village of Ortesei in the region of Val Gardena and had plenty to explore in the short 3 days we had there. It was everything I had hoped it would be and we left with tired legs and smiles on our faces before heading down to the Florence.

Getting there…

From our Venice apartment, we negotiated the water taxi system to the train station to get hop on a high-speed train headed north. It was fairly easy to get tickets at the station and we were off. The train was comfortable enough and had several stops along the way to our destination to Bolzano where we caught a bus to the village. The scenery was beautiful and became progressively greener as we travelled through Verona then north through Trento up to the mountains. We had views of the miles of vineyards and were able to catch glimpses of old castles. The roads to Ortisei were winding and narrow, but bus driver drove it with no hesitation whatsoever. There were multiple shops with carved wood offerings and religious souvenirs along the way. Our bus stop was a short walk to our hotel and though we were still a bit tired from the travel and lingering jet lag, the fresh mountain air was invigorating.

Where we stayed…

We chose to stay at the lovely Chalet Hotel Hartmann during our stay in the Dolomites. We almost chose the Hotel Hell because, well, how often do you get to say you stayed in Hell, right?!? (FYI- it did look nice, so I’m not throwing any shade their way) Anyhow, Hotel Hartmann was about a mile walk into the village center, but there were really nice paths throughout the town to connect us. It was friendly, clean, quiet, and the breakfast spread was AMAZING. I’m not kidding. Everything was freshly made (baked goods, sliced meats and cheeses, spreads, some sort of to die for yogurt), your cappuccino was made to order as you sat down and there were views of the valley and mountains throughout the dining area. The concierge woman who greeted us gave us a list of restaurants to try that all turned out to be unique and delicious. I would stay here again without a second thought.

What we did…

We hiked until the sun went down on both of the full days, we had in this magical place…and then we walked some more. It set the pace for the amount of walking we did on this trip. The weather was pleasant, and the trails were all clean, so it was no both to walk everywhere. There were ample bus stops available, but we opted to stay on our feet.

On day one we took a gondola ride (actually 2) up to Seneca and hiked through picturesque meadows and craggy peaks. It felt unreal. Literally there was a horn playing across the valley when we arrived, we were able to stop at these little huts (we stopped here at the end of the day) for beers and snacks, and there were only whisps of clouds in the sunny blue sky. I had a pang of feeling like we were cheating a bit by taking a lift up there but there were ample heights to be climbed still. I did like how it was accessible for those to enjoy the view but weren’t up for a climb. If you choose to hike in the afternoon, do note the time that the gondolas stop working. We arrived at the gondola to return us to our starting point just as it was closing. So, we had to ride down to the town of Santa Cristina and walk back to Ortisei, not a huge trek in general, but after covering 10+miles in the mountains, your legs are ready for a rest.

One day 2 we took the other gondola from the center of town up to the mountain plateau of Alpe di Siusi for another day of hiking. This is considered the sunniest area of the Dolomites, and we lucked out and had another epic day of walking under the blue skies. This was more walking trails that wander through pastures with view of the mountains, rather than climbing them like we had done the day prior. Personally, I was ok with this as my legs were rather like jello from the day before. That being said we still covered over 10 miles again. We saw horse-drawn carriages, more rocky peaks and enjoyed some local beer in the sun. It was as picturesque as it comes.

What we ate…

Much thanks to our host at Hotel Hartmann, we enjoyed a delicious variety of restaurants during our stay in Ortisei. It ranged from “Typical” cuisine (we learned that this means local) to pizza to a higher end modern restaurant. This stop on our trip got us primed up for the mass amounts of sliced meats that we would be consuming over the next weeks. If you were having a cocktail or beer, it was customary to be given chips, prosciutto, cheese, and pickles. You almost didn’t need dinner, but it was good to soak up drinks for sure. We also hit up a local salumeria in the village on day one for hike snacks and wine as well. Note to our future selves- grab a knife from the hotel prior to leaving for the day. Hard blocks of cheese aren’t meant to be eaten by biting off chunks.

Here’s a highlighted list:

• Turando– Upscale Pizzaria & bistro. The Crudo Gialla pizza was to die for and upon recommendation from our serve we had our first (but definitely not last) Amaro cocktail. Yum!!
• Snetonstube– This was the most “typical” style restaurant we visited. It seemed to be mostly locals celebrating occasion or another. The food and wine were great. We started with meats and cheese starter, and I ordered some sort of schnitzel type dish that felt authentic for the region. It was fun to feel the vibe of this place.
• Adler Shop- Lively bar and cafe attached to the upscale Adler Hotel. We had the best gin and tonics I have ever drank. Both ingredients were local to the area.
• Zicoria Brasserie– We enjoyed steak, pasta and wine at this upscale steak house that was near the base of the gondola on day 2. We were pretty tired from hiking and didn’t want to walk all the way back to the hotel before dinner, so we showed up a bit grubbier than what we normally go to a place like this and arrived before they opened. They were still kind and we sat at the bar before being sat. It was a really nice meal to end our stay in the Dolomites.
• Hotel Hartmann- I have to give them a shout out, because as I said earlier, the breakfast included in the stay was next level.

I was off my game for food pictures so enjoy some mediocre pics of our bar food at Alder Shop and a very questionable hotel sign that cracked me up 🙂

Final thoughts….

The Dolomites is officially on my top favorite places in the world I have visited. Being with my love and hiking around majestic mountains in the autumn sunshine cannot be beat. I would go back here in a heartbeat and would enthusiastically recommend anyone give this place a visit if they find themselves in Northern Italy.

October 2022

We chose Venice as our first destination for a few reasons….. First, it really is so quintessentially Italy and felt that it would be a perfect place to set the tone and get into the spirit of being in the country. Second, it was the best our best option to see the Adriatic Sea and catch a high-speed train up to the mountains of the Italian Alps. People always swoon when the topic of Venice comes up if they have been there and rightly so! It was so unique and fun to explore. The canals and alleyways were nothing like I have ever seen. We only stayed in Venice for 2 nights and we significantly jet lagged when we arrived but I think we made the most of it.

Getting there…

Our flight from Heathrow to Venice landed around noon. It was disorienting to not sleep for an entire day and hit the ground running. We navigated our way out of the airport to find the water taxi station. This was no simple feat! The signs were easy enough to read but I swear we ended up going out through a service exit and had to back track more than a few times. We made it to the window to buy our tickets and got in line the long to zone out and wait for our taxi to get us over to the island of Venice. I wish I would have taken a video to capture the chaos of chopped up water and boats zooming in and out to pick up passengers barely avoiding collision. As busy as it was, all the boats efficiently made it in and out relatively on time like it was nothing. Once out on the open water it was captivating to see the boats and take in the little surrounding islands of Burano and Murano in anticipation of what Venice had in store. The Airbnb that we had booked ahead that was close to a drop off point, so we only had to rumble our suitcases over the bumpy cobblestone for a few minutes to meet our host.

Where we stayed…

D found us a quaint little stone wall apartment that was well located and well stocked. The host was friendly and had stocked the fridge with wine, pasta, cheeses and sauce. The bathroom had soap, shampoo AND conditioner. These may seem like a given for travel accommodations, but we quickly learned that in Italy (and likely Europe) you get the bare minimum when it comes to toiletries. On Venice and a few other of our stays, they need to document your name and passport as a visitor to the city. The photos online made the space and view seem a bit more spacious that what the reality was but it was clean and felt authentic. It was perfect for our short stay.

What we did…

Our basic agenda for Venice and basically all of Italy was- explore, people watch, eat, drink, repeat. This city was so fun to wander around and see what was around the next corner. There is plenty of shopping near the Rialto bridge, but we aren’t really into that so much. It was a full moon while were visiting which made nighttime walks magical. I will let the photos tell the story…

What we ate…

Being our first stop in Italy, I was so very excited to start to experience local cuisine. Unfortunately, I didn’t take into account local customs for dining times and how they would intersect with our arrive time and jet lagged brains. We set out for our first meal around 2pm and quickly realized that this was NOT when people dine around town. After being very directly denied by at least 3 small restaurants who had no interest in us ever coming back, we finally found a small bar with outdoor seating who were happy to let us sit a table for 2 (not one for 4, they made that very clear). We took in the gentle tourist traffic and enjoyed our first version of the Aperol Spritz (which was delicious), the little snacks that come with drinks (cicchetti,) and some tiny white bread sandwich triangle called tramezzini. After that, honestly, we struck out when it came to food…not great pizza, ok lasagna and snacks with beer and wine in the apartment. Pretty much all the things they the travel blog foodies tell you not to eat. When you get hungry and are tired, it’s survival rules, so we did our best. We did however, have the most amazing last dinner at a restaurant that came to us upon recommendation from a friend with fantastic taste in pretty much everything- Cip’s Club. The ambiance, quality of food and service of this upscale waterfront restaurant is hard to beat. It is attached to the beautiful, exclusive Hotel Cipriani. We took their private wooden boat water taxi to the hotel, walked the gardens, acted like we were supposed to be there and felt very fancy. We completely lucked out even getting a table at Cip’s because we arrived an hour before they opened (places don’t even think of serving before 7:30) and there was a cancellation for the first seating. Make a reservation well ahead of time if you want to experience this location. It was a treat for our last night.

Final thoughts….

Venice was a whirlwind of a visit but memorable to say the least. It was cleaner than I would have expected, it felt very safe and was super fun to explore. I do wish that we might have done a bit more research on what and where to eat, but overall, it was enjoyable. It is a unique experience to be in a place with no cars, you really don’t get that anywhere in North America. I can’t say that the people in the shops and cafes we ventured in and out of were all that friendly (with the exception of Cip’s) however we were new and there are all tourists so I suppose that could get annoying. I will always have fond memories of winding through the narrow alleyways and viewing the canals at night under the light of the huge full moon and the excitement of starting our adventure in Italy.

October 2022

Backstory

I have longed to visit Europe for my entire adult life.  I was always intimidated by language barriers, long travel times, and just not knowing where to start.  I would get analysis paralysis when it came to planning such a trip and would end up just doing nothing.  Last year, when I made my 21k trail run goal, I also had made a goal that I wanted to get over and see Europe…no place specifically but at least the intention was set.  Well, I didn’t make the trip prior to my birthday, but with the extremely generous and thoughtful gift from my guy, my first trip to Italy was set in motion just after.  

After hemming and hawing a bit over it, I finally decided that I wanted to explore, taste, and drink in the beautiful region of Tuscany. So, this was our starting point and we went from there.  There really is a crazy amount to see in Italy.  Each region has its own unique culture and personality despite being grouped together under the umbrella name of “Italy”.  We didn’t want to do the tour group approach where you spend 1 day in a bunch of different locations, but we decided that staying 2-4 days in a variety of towns would allow us to cover a lot of ground within the 2 weeks. Once we scoped out the cities surrounding Tuscany, we decided that we would have to put off visiting the Southern and Eastern regions for another trip.  

Planning this trip was so fun. We had a great time coming up with our loose itinerary. Before leaving we put more attention into the first 2 stays so we could hit the ground running.  Between August and October, it was easy to let the excitement build without getting overwhelmed this way. I had lots of details to smooth out to prepare my kids and work to keep rolling without me around but it was all worth it.  By the time Canadian Thanksgiving came around we were all set to take off! 

Getting there…

To be honest, I did not arrange for the flights.  There were plenty of options from Seattle though connecting through other main hubs in Europe.  We ended up flying with British Airways with a layover in Heathrow en route to Venice.  Everything was timely and the flight crew was properly British. This was the longest flight I have ever taken.  It was like a time warp.  We had 2 meals, several drinks and many many movies. I don’t do well with sleeping upright on planes and maybe napped for a little while.  It was a strange combination of being tired from no sleep but not being tired because you are just sitting for hours on end and you have the excitement of a big adventure on the horizon. I actually didn’t find the long flight unpleasant but did experience some major spaciness the day we arrived.  It’s a good thing I am a pro at powering through 🙂  Our only hiccup getting to Italy was that our plane apparently had a fuel leak once we landed in London, so they parked us out in BFE and had to shuttle us back over to the terminal so we could catch our connecting flight.  It was a bit disturbing to think of a fuel leak and why we were parked so far away from our gate, but with virtually no sleep and the flight crew in no rush to evacuate the plane, it was fine.   We made it to Venice with ease and started our sampler platter of transportation.  It was interesting using so much public transport.  I have never even taken a bus in the US (that is kind of embarrassing but true) and experiencing transit in Italy was a trip!  It was chaotic but worked with relative timeliness and some form of order that was foreign to me. I will talk more on traveling around the different regions in the other blogs about each area we visited.  Overall, getting to Italy was easier than expected and made for a great start to our trip. 

Where we stayed….

We decided that it was most important to have our first 2 destinations booked while we got used to being in Italy, then booked most of our accommodations a night or two before leaving for the next destination.  Overall, we had no issue finding nice places to stay by searching AirBnB and Google maps.  We also lucked out in that the Euro was at a low in October, so the exchange rate made for fair pricing on the accommodations we chose. Some people might find this way of travel stressful but it was fun focusing on one thing at a time and not getting all worked up trying to predict what we wanted for every location before arriving in Europe. It was off season (though much busier than expected thanks to the previous years of pandemic shut down) so we were able to have several viable options to choose from.  This might not be the approach to take during high travel times of year.  It is worthwhile to know that the European Hotel Star rating system is on a 4 star scale rather than 5 stars in the US and Canada.  Most hotels actually post it on their signage and they also usually indicate whether kids are welcome or not.  I found it funny while researching stays in St. Ortesei that many hotels strongly post “For Adults Only”, as it invoked the idea of some XXX adult club or something.  We found out quickly that this is a resort town that many families visit so there were family centric hotels and places that were less suited for hosting kids.  It was nice to know and we readily chose Adult Options. 

What we ate….

EVERYTHING…. When relying on eating out for virtually every meal you have the opportunity to sample a lot of food.  Plus, Italy is famous for it’s cuisine so it was a pleasure to have to sample and experiment with what each region had to offer.  Eating happens late in Europe and while recovering from jet lag, it took a few days to get used to.  We typically had late breakfasts or lunch, midday snacks and a later dinner.  Restaurant didn’t even open until 7:30pm.  We would find a local market to stock up on some sort of sliced meat and cheeses, crackers, beer and wine for the room.  We learned that most restaurants would serve a bit of a snack with each round of drinks you order.  This is a very smart strategy as day drinking is normal in Italy, at least it seemed to be if you were on vacation.  I did take a few cappuccinos at the coffee bars as the locals do.  The travel blogs I read prior to leaving were correct in that Italians do not sit and luxuriate over Vente sized coffees (ie Starbucks).  It’s in and out with a strong but delicious shot of espresso, cappuccino or macchiato.  The wine was amazing and we never tasted a house wine that was bad.  It seemed to be more economical to order a bottle than individual glasses, so many bottles we consumed over the course of this trip.  Each region was very specific in its food culture and I will expand on it in the other blogs.    Last note on food is that the service is not fast and when a server does bless you with their presence, be ready to order the whole meal.  We had a few times where we wanted to order appetizers and drinks while we browsed the menu, and the server just gave us a look like we were confused and the most annoying thing they had dealt with that day.  As a natural born people-pleaser myself, it was uncomfortable for me to feel like I was bothering someone by asking  to explain something extra or fumbling with hand signals and broken English to communicate.  After a while though, I came to appreciate the honesty of saying directly what I needed/wanted without a bunch of “I’m sorrys” and “whatever is easy for you” phrases.  Tipping isn’t like it is here, so they have no reason to kiss your ass.  That being said, we had ample wonderful and attentive servers in Italy, and dining out was one of the highlights of our trip.

What we did….

Walking, eating, people watching and marveling at architecture and art.  Repeat.  That pretty much sums it up. There is so much to see in Italy from nature and what has been made by man.  Each region had a new and exciting offering for us to take in. From the spectacular mountains in the Italian Alps to the excavation sites scattered about the busy city of Rome.  It was so fun to know you could just step out your door and immediately be taken aback by what was out there.  We intentionally stayed in central locations so we could easily reach restaurants and sites by foot. We did have at least one or two must-sees in each place we visited, then allowed time for wandering and seeing what came our way.  It was a really nice balance.  Much more details are to follow in the regional blogs.  

Parting thoughts…

This Italy trip was one that will forever be a sweet spot in my memory.   It met all of my expectations and gave flavor and color to how I had always imagined Italy to be.  I have such an appreciation now for the cultural diversity that can exist within one country and with each new region we explored I was left with wanting to see more.  My favorite spots were the Dolomites and Florence, but each spot we stayed had something that took my breath away or had something that I was seeing for the first time.  Italy is a place I absolutely want to visit again and I would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone craving a European adventure.