(Euro) Trip of a Lifetime: Florence

Florence, Florence, Florence - you're my GIRL! My late CEO warned me about the dangers of missing out on this place as we were originally going to skip the stop all together. BUT THANK YOU,JESUS, FOR CEO'S THAT CARE ABOUT YOUR TRAVEL WELL BEING! Seriously, I'm forever thankful that he made me feel like I was going to be committing an unspeakable crime and nearly forcing me to agree that we'd make it to Florence - every single thing of amazement that he shared with me, was backed 10 fold when we actually made it to this magical city.

I seriously don't even know where to begin with this place. If you read our previous post about Venice, you're aware that we did the Italian portion of our Euro-Trip through GoAhead tours. So as we started in Venice and made our way south via Charter Bus, we were able to see the land transform into the beautiful and famous Italian Countryside that is Tuscany. Let me tell ya, it was just as gorgeous as you would imagine, if not more so! We made our entrance into the Capital and we instantly fell in love. Florence just has this peace about it that you can't ignore. From friendly people, dreamy and impressive architecture to wide open, vacant land, you almost feel "home" when you're exploring. Or at least we did.  Here's some recaps from our 1.5 day visit to Florence.

The best way to describe the streets of Florence is, cozy. Even in the busiest areas of the city and at peak hours, we literally felt so comfortable, like this was our second home. The old brick that covers the roads and buildings throughout make this city so elegantly detailed, there truly aren't enough words to describe this place. As we were visiting with the tour group, our first day was mapped out in detail. We explored Piazza del Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Learned how to spot a fake Gucci Leather purse from a mile away and of course made a pit stop at about 2 million gelato shops (who's counting). We had the option to visit the famous museums but neither Aaron or Myself are huge art history fans so we opted out of going to any of the galleries. However, you better believe we were quick to snap selfies with the Statue of David replica in the Piazza della Signoria because, Statue of DAVID!

We also made our way into a few churches to peep the scene. SHOUT OUT TO ALL OF OUR CATHOLIC FRIENDS! It's so bizarre to us how these places used to be filled with people as a place of worship and they've now turned into museums.

Some famous man riding some famous horse: Equestrian Monument of Cosimo I

The sculptures were a lot more vulgar than our 8th grade art classes led on.... is this even SFW?

"Hurry Slowly" - Giant Turtle Sculpture was in Florence with the Jan Fabre Exhibit while we were visiting. Super random but the story behind it was actually pretty cool. Go ahead, give it a Google search.

Uffizi Gallery

We lucked out and had the BEST tour leader with GoAhead, Emilio, and he guided Aaron and I to the central market. This place is AMAZING! We unfortunately were in such a daze and were truly on a mission to get our grub on, so we didn't really get to snag that many pictures for this post BUT trust us when we say, this place it worth a visit.

Stacked with shops ranging from fishmongers to fresh cheese, meat and homemade sauces/soaps/cleaners/etc. that was up for grabs, this is definitely a one stop modern shop to get your snack on and fill up your fridge at the same time. They even offer cooking classes here! Whether you're in a mood to devour food, looking for a fun girls night, need to stock your pantry/hotel mini fridge or just want to people watch, this place is a MUST! Icing on the cake? They have free Wi-Fi!

Pizza and Ice Cream, you can't go wrong. They're a dynamic duo like Batman and Robin, Pinky and The Brain, Tequila and Mistakes. So of course we couldn't pass up the opportunity to join in on a cooking class - once again, we used our handy dandy Chase Card and snagged a cooking class FOR FREE! Thinking this was going to be nearly identical to the nights when purchase that (delicious) garlic and herb crust from Trader Joe's and make our own pizza's "from scratch", we figured it would just be a fun little 15 minute class with lots of ice cream. Turns out, we were completely wrong. We ended up in this class for over 2 hours! But we're not complaining. We ended up meeting a family from Virginia that had just dropped the daughter off in Rome for her study abroad program, a British couple that was on their honeymoon, a couple from Spain that was traveling for fun, and few other people from Greece, Nothern Italy, and South Africa. Our Chef for the night truly belonged on TopChef and not some cooking class because he taught us more about the art of making pizza than any person could possible know and he was a true artist! Anyone that can take my holey, helpless, horse shaped crust and magically thicken it out and turn my horse into the perfect circle has got to have talent.

If you've never opted in for making some delicious local meals while on vacay, we highly encourage it! We've yet to experience a class where we were twiddling thumbs or awkwardly sitting at the end of the table by ourselves. Even something as 'simple' as making a pizza from scratch was ridiculously entertaining. I'm not sure if it was because of all the different backgrounds/cultures that were represented, the fact that half of us could not make a circular pizza crust to save our life, or maybe it was the gelato or the bottomless wine, regardless, we ended up having the best time! Not only did we learn all these fun facts about the art of pizza and gelato making, but we also learned so much about other peoples' traveling adventures, home life, and what brought them to Florence. It was truly an awesome experience.

All in all, we would absolutely do Florence again and spend at least 1 week there! To this day we're bummed we only had a couple days to explore this majestic place.

Here's a couple of tips we learned along the way:

• Explore on foot as much as possible - there's so many cute alleyways that you don't want to miss out on!And plus, walking requires you to pay attention to your surroundings more than riding in a vehicle so you'll be able to snag some views that may have been otherwise missed.

• If you plan on exploring the Tuscan countryside along with enjoying Florence, stay at least a week. That way you're not rushed through anything like we were.

• When at a restaurant, eat everything on your plate. Aaron and I went for some pasta and had ordered an appetizer to start because naturally, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs - we ended up leaving one piece of meat on the plate, literally, and our waiter was truly offended and asked us why we didn't finish eating.

• Don't be ashamed to use a map. These streets are so intertwined, it's easy to get lost. And then you end up sprinting to your cooking class and arriving all sweaty because you were too good for a map and thought you had a good sense of direction.

• If you're into museums, plan ahead! You'll want to make sure 1] the museum is open (the have funky hours/days of closure) 2] you don't have to wait in line and 3] you're not overpaying (you can by the Firenze Card if you plan on hopping around - this will save you a few pennies)

• Cash is king

(Euro) Trip of a Lifetime: Venice

It's that time of the year - Our annual HONEYMOON has finally arrived! (Yes, we go on an annual honeymoon) We had our bags backed, our GoPro Storage Renewed, and our passports ready! Just like that, we were off for an adventure through the big hitters of Europe and our first stop was Venice, Italy.

We decided to do an Italian Tour with GoAhead tours, which was actually really nice - everything was easily mapped out for us before hand so our only job was to get there. We hopped on our plane from London, headed to Venice and then off to our fairytale hotel on the CUTEST little Island outside of Venice named Lido. To be completely honest, at first we were bummed that we weren't staying on the famous island of Venice but by the end of our stay - we completely understood why GoAhead selected Lido as our escape. It was a small island feel minus the "island time" pace - the drivers don't mess around, the food service was speedy (and delicious) and we felt like we were on set, filming for a retro Italian movie the entire time we were there! That's how perfect this place was.

After aday and night of exploring our cozy new home, Lido, we made our way to Venice. We lucked out and had an amazing tour guide that shared with us the in's and out's, do and don'ts, facts, and opinions about the amazing "sinking city". So incredible! We made our way through the alley's of Venice, learned about the art of glass blowing (ain't no walk in the park!), and of course toured Saint Mark's Basilica. The entire tour only took about 30 minutes and we then had some time to wander on our own. Wandering aimlessly in Venice is highly recommended. Between all the canals, greenery, gondola's and amazing architecture/building structure, you cannot go wrong! Even when the island became extremely crowded with people, it was easy to find some backways that were quiet, serene and empty.

We hung around Venice for a couple of hours after our GoAhead headed back to Lido as we had previously booked a gondola tour though our Chase Sapphire Card. Great option if you're not already on a tour but we failed to realize that we'd be doubling up on adventures and tours. Not to mention it was hotter than the devils armpits, a really long day (about 12 hours on the Island), with minimal shade, and little, to no free, open seating. Once we realized what we had done, we almost instantly regretted the choice of "saving a couple pennies) and booking a tour on our own with points as opposed to the optional tour with GoAhead. Despite the heat, long day and feet cramps we stuck it out like champs because... GONDOLA RIDE! Isn't that one of the main reasons people go to Venice? Let's be real.

So after about 3 hours of delirious conversation and eating our 8th meal of the day (just so we could sit down somewhere) it was time for us to go on our "one of kind, romantic, gondola ride, just the two of us" - little did we know... By this time we were already somewhat over the day thanks to jet lag and we were really looking forward to just relaxing on the Grand Canal together. So off we went! We ended up getting lost finding trying to find our next tours meeting spot (by this time, we were about 2 hours into our aimless walk through the maze that is Venice Alleyways). However! We're proud to say we were able to find our way back to Saint Marks Square and navigate to the tour meet up spot from there. TIP: If you end up lost on Venice, just head back to the Square and start over.

The tour that we had booked through Chase offered a walking tour of Venice but seeing as how we had already been walking for 6 hours at the time and had already experienced a separate walking tour through GoAhead, we opted out of the tour and just met up with our tour group at the Gondolas. We tried to lead the pack as we made our way to the common gondola port in attempts to snag the first gondola for 2reasons: 1. To wrap things up on Venice as quick as possible so we could go home and rest up & 2. We were hoping to snag a duo gondola or at least the front two seats on the gondola that sit together. BUT! As luck would have it, we got to the front of the line and heard, "You 2 - you go on this gondola". Aaron and I looked at the Gondola, looked at each other and then hesitantly wobbled our way on to the Gondola. We were with 4 other women that were selfie stick happy. Aaron had to sit up front by himself and I had to share knee space with not one, but TWO perfect strangers. Had we known that this is what our "romantic gondola ride" was going to look like, we would have skipped the gondola all together and headed back to Lido for a romantic cat nap and some gelato. But... as goes life. Here's a couple of shots we got on the worlds most romantic glide around the Grand Canal.

Clearly BEFORE we knew we were going to ride with 4 other women...

At the end of it all, we decided that truly 4 hours is more than enough time to spend on Venice.  As beautiful as it was, and how impressive the history and traditions are on the island, the fact that there wasn't really a place to sit, recharge and keep it pumping (unless you're staying on the island) trumped all Venice wondering desires that we had.

• Get there EARLY to snag photos without 8 billion people in the background. We're talking 6am early - it's worth it!
• When you fly into Venice, you can either take a water taxi or take public transportation (bus) to get to different areas
• There are ZERO cars on Venice so wear comfy shoes and bring that Fitbit to easily win any "steps challenge" you're a part of
• Be prepared to pay about $40-70(USD) for a couple cups of coffee and ice cream in Saint Marks Square - no joke, no exaggeration. Ironically, purchasing food/drink is the only way to get you a seat and some shade in the Square
• There are public toilets, but be prepared to pay to use them
• If you're not sure which boat to take when leaving/going to another island, ASK! There are few things worse than hopping on the wrong boat
• Gondola's are cool, but some may not think they're worth the ride and/or the price that you have to pay - it's pretty hefty!
• Tours are great for the history buffs out there! If you're there just to stroll and take pictures, no need to book a tour in advance

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"CRAP! IT'S NYE!?"

Sequoia National Park

[ It’s 10 days to New Years Eve and we realize “CRAP! IT’S 10 DAYS TO NEW YEARS EVE!” ]

Living in a major city, it’s expensive and somewhat difficult to go out for NYE, especially last minute! So we were left scrambling for things to do. It was our first New Year as a married couple and our previous New Year was spent playing duo Monopoly, saying “HAPPY NEW YEAR” and going to bed at 12:03, literally. So this time around, I refused to be THAT boring while bringing in the New Year.

So with the 10 (technically 9) days left to plan, we scoured the internet for last minute, close and CHEAP options to ring in the New Year and came across Sequoia on handy dandy Expedia. We’ve both always wanted to visit Sequoia but never found the time to make it happen so I jumped on this as soon as the option was presented.

All of the resorts at the top of the mountain were booked [ unfortunately ] but we were able to score a nice little Bed and Breakfast at the bottom of the mountain in a town called Lemon Cove. The BnB was actually really cozy and we were able to talk some friends into coming up with us so it wasn’t as awkward as we had envisioned (this was our first BnB experience). Not to mention, the place had an awesome backyard (that we didn’t get to really enjoy considering it was 12* outside), hot tub, fireplace in our room, and a living room full of games to play. All for about $120 bucks - for New Years Eve, it wasn't too shabby).

Backyard of our BnB. Conveniently called "Plantation Bed and Breakfast"

Questionable art work that was in our room

If we had to do it all over again, we’d absolutely stay at the top of the mountain (ideally at Wuksachi Lodge).

Wuksachi Lodge

That way, the only time you have to worry about driving up and down the ICY/SNOWY mountain is at the beginning and end of your trip. And too, you’re surrounded by a winter wonderland when you stay up the hill.

Considering this trip was last minute, we experienced some expected hiccups and other “road blocks” that we weren’t exactly prepared for. We’ll dive into this trip over the next few posts.

Cheers to '17!