my friends.

half of our trip was spent just sitting and watching everybody who walked or rode by. there was a lot of that. i was amazed out how dapper the men looked and how chic & carefree all the women were who rode by on their cute littler cruisers. i wish i could tie a scarf around my neck and ride around florence the rest of my life.

out and about.

hubs and i started out our long weekend right by grabbing lunch at la esquina. it is {by far} the most delicious and authentic mexican food in the city. 

yum!! 

we followed lunch with  a trip to the flea market in hopes of finding a entry-way table. while we didn't have any luck on that end, we did score a killer painting for the house. and the best part? it was only $40!! after that, well, we went shopping... naturally. and all for  hubs! {his 10 striped t's filling out his wardrobe just weren't doing anything for me anymore...} i don't know how i tricked hubs into so much shopping for one weekend, nevertheless, one day! woot woot.

oh florence, i love you.

i cannot believe we debated leaving this town out of our trip!

i just adored walking through the quaint cobble-stoned alleyways with my lover.

i swear we covered the whole city, exploring every possible nook and cranny.

and can we just talk about the scent of florence? it smells like leather! the whole city!

or as todd put it, "it smells like nordstrom." {'atta boy!}

although it was a bit last minute, we were fortunate to get tickets for the uffizi gallery and the accademia.

the statue of david was breathtaking and absolutely perfect. i've never seen buns so tight!

twice i dragged todd back to him to get just one more glance.

what an enchanting city!

{and, might i add, the one with the best gelato}

you live and you learn.

since i know a few of you are heading to italy this summer, i thought i'd share a couple tips i learned. 

and unfortunately, a few were learned the hard way.

{1} if you're road tripping, a gps system is a must. if it speaks, even better. 

{2} when in rome, take a cab. buses and subways are to not be trusted. ya hear? not to be trusted.
{3} rick steve's guide book = personal italian tour guide + bff

{4} lose weight before your trip so you don't feel guilty when you gain it back.

{5} pictures pictures pictures!!!
{6} italy does not believe in road signs. even the best map will not help you.

{7} bring a journal to document your every day.

{8} pay the at&t international data plan. just do it!

{9} eat as much as you can. really. make it a goal to do so.

{10} save up and be prepared to spend a lot of money. 

no matter how you do it, italy is not cheap.

{11} even if you love museums, two full days in rome is enough!

{11b} if you're going to be in rome for 3+ days, get the rome pass.
{12} there's no such thing as too much gelato.
{13} go with your best friend.

{14} don't bring heels. no matter how cute or "comfy" they are, wearing them one

night is not worth it. i'm just guessing, that is.... 

cheering for my bronx bombers.

looky looky...

... who was waiting for us when we got home!!

cinque terre. {the hike}

if i could take a stab at what heaven smells like, i would guess cinque terre. that scent could get bottled into a perfume and make millions. heavenly!

i was eagerly looking forward to our hike from town to town. i'd seen many pictures and heard so many stories before i left that i was dying to experience it myself. i've been fortunate to enjoy a lot of beautiful places in my day, but cinque terre tops the list. it was ridiculous.

hubs and i started early in the morning. leaving from riomaggiore, we spent the next six hours hiking in and out of the other four cities up the coast. we'd stop for about 30 minutes in each town to grab some gelato and take a breather from the previous hike. hubs and i are not your all-star hikers. you'll notice i did not post any pictures of us hiking because, well, our physical state was a little humorous and something like that was not going to be documented.

while each city had its own charm, i'd have to say vernazza was my favorite. it provided a great little beach for me to get my tan on while todd jumped from the cliffs nearby. and it had a castle. that's pretty cool.

cinque terre. day one.

on our second day, we took off to cinque terre. it was a long but beautiful four-hour drive to the town that we were staying in, riomaggiore. 

now let me just start off by saying, the planning of our trip was a very peaceful process except for when todd and i would debate as to whether we wanted to spend the extra money and invest in a gps system. while i don't want to knock todd's great sense of direction {ha. we'll expand upon that in a later post}, i strongly felt we needed one. and let's just say, after that drive to riomaggiore, hubs was thankful he gave in. tom tom was our BEST friend along our whole trip and without her, we would still be driving aimlessly through tuscany.

upon arriving in riomaggiore, we met our b&b owner, tuba. he was the cutest old man who loved speaking "spitalian" {aka italian & spanish} with todd. he was the grandpa-figure of the town who hooked us up with all sorts of goodies! {complimentary champagne at dinner included. no thanks. a diet coke would have satisfied...}

after dinner, we beached like seals on the rocks for a few hours, and then took a stroll along villa dell'amore to grab pastries in the next town over. the weather was perfect and the sunsets were breathtaking.