Looking back I really wish we could’ve stayed longer, but I guess getting back to real life was a necessity as much as we wanted to frolic under the Tuscan sun forever (see what I did there?!). Debbie & Andreas were the awesome couple who hired Jami and I for their wedding and without their generosity we would’ve never had the opportunity to travel to Italy together:) We had such an amazing trip, not to say that it wasn’t full of almost-fiasco’s a lot of the time, but being home for a few weeks now you kinda forget all the mishaps and just remember the amazing-ness! Jami and I made perfect travel partners from the very beginning. We were pretty much on the same page the entire trip and made the most out of all of our days . . . especially when our internal clock was messed up and we were up until 4 o’clock in the morning!

We flew direct from Newark to Milan and hopped a train (well ended up being 2 trains, “almost-fiasco #1”) to Florence. There we met up with Debbie & Andreas and their families at Borgo I Vicelli which is the most beautiful villa set in the rolling hills just outside of Florence. Our jaws dropped to the floor when we arrived! Everywhere you turn, you feel like you’re in a movie! Gorgeous fresh flowers EVERYWHERE, beautiful architecture, serene landscape and a whole lot of Italian charm. The others decided to head into town for dinner but we opted to stay at the villa for a home cooked meal. We shared a bottle of wine (when in Rome, right!? or Florence I guess!) and had our first delicious meal al fresco as we laughed and pinched ourselves:) A very memorable part of our trip.

The next day we met the rest of the group and all went wine tasting just 10 minutes away at this GORGEOUS winery! We strolled the gardens and toured the wine cellars and snacked on salami and cheese while we tasted their wines. Um, can I do that every day please?! It was amazing. The views from the top of the winery were spectacular and we spent a good portion of the day up there taking photos. After the group purchased the entire little store they had, we headed back to the Villa all stocked up with new wine and the most delicious olive oil!

Jami and I hopped in a cab and went into Florence for a couple of hours by ourselves before meeting up with the other for Debbie & Andreas’ rehearsal dinner. We wandered the streets, took in all the sights we could, had our first GELATO experience which was just as good as I had remembered (I should’ve ordered a large!) and popped into a few little shops. I could’ve sat in the middle of Palazzo Vecchio for hours just people watching! Thinking about it now, I’m really sad we didnt have more time to be in the city. As you may know, I studied abroad in Italy during college and spent most of my free time in Florence. It’s the most amazing city and we only scratched the surface in our little time. We met up for dinner at a great restaurant and eat our little hearts out. . . again:) After wandering the city at night and eating some more gelato and taking some more pics we headed back to the villa to gear up for WEDDING DAY! I posted all of that beautiful day here if you want to check it out!

I’ll leave our adventure to Cinque Terra and Venice for another post. There’s just so much to be said about our trip that I can’t even get the words to say it all. . . I’m just so glad I have all these photos to remember it all!

Enjoy!

Borgo I Vicelli

Our room, top left window! I felt like I was in Romeo and Juliet overtime I looked out the window:)

A favorite little nook:)

THIS WALL! Gah! Flowers and more flowers . . .

Trip to the winery with the crew!

Those tall skinny trees. . . 🙂

This view was ridiculous!

Ponte Vecchio

First cup of gelato! (clearly it wasn’t big enough. . . darn it!)

Palazzo Vecchio

He was actually asking if I WANTED to take a pic of him, although he looks like he’s yelling at me!
That’s why I love Italians so much! Their expressiveness is unlike any others!