Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens

On a beautiful day in Florence, what a better way to spend it than with a great friend and astounding fashion? When visiting the Pitti palace you are greeted with fabulous artwork, but my favorite was the costume gallery. The gallery was home to many fashion shows, before Milan become the new fashion capital of Italy. In the costume gallery we can view fabulous work from the pleating genius Mario Fortuny and other famous Italian designers. The gallery was stunning and even overlooks the famous boboli gardens. I like to compare these gardens to the gardens of Versailles.

Italy’s hidden gems

Living here really opened my eyes to realizing how BIG Italy really is! When given the opportunity to go to Padua/Padova…how could I resist a charming small town in Italy?! The trip also involved anther stop at Venice, which I was certainly not going to pass up. Padua is a great city that is home to many scholars and lecturers such as Galileo. Padua is also the home of the shoe market and the incorruptible Saint Anthony who has remains inside the cathedral. As is the day wasn’t amazing enough, we were invited to visit the farm of an Italian family were they gave us a tour and even cooked us an organic lunch filled with homemade metat sauce, pasta and fresh baked cookies for dessert that were all to die for!

Lastly, my favorite city in Italy has to be Venice. It was even better the second time as we decided to get “lost” in Venice. Here we found even more fabulous glass, jewelry shops and classic Italian restaurants. When in Venice, take a gondola of course and enjoy this scenic location!

Switzerland…enough said

When arriving to Italy, we knew it was imperative to do the ever so popular “bus2alps” ride to the Swiss alps. This trip was by far the best decision I’ve ever made. And of course, when in interlaken…night sled! Riding a gondola 5,000ft up and sledding down in the pitch black night was eventful to say the least. Living in a city I have never been anywhere where I could see more stars than sky, making this experience worth all the fear I had anticipating the night.

Seeing the edge of the mountain was amazing and a great bonding experience between us girls. Of course a traditional Swiss fondue dinner after was completely necessary. We became infatuated with the quaint and friendly town of interlaken as we explored Lake luzern and the delicious chocolate show. Switzerland was truly refreshing and gorgeous.

When in Rome…

Thus far, our weekend in Rome was probably the most exciting. The city was filled with so much history and just as much beauty. Seeing St Peter’s Basilica, Castillo St Angelo, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum and the Trevi Fountain were all truly life changing. Falling in love with Rome was instantaneous and it was a trip I’ll never forget!

What would a trip be without sampling Rome’s best cappuccino and most delicious gelato?!

Adventures around the boot…

Who knew how much there was to see around Italy itself? Our major trips are all planned, but for now we understand how important it is to explore the boot.

Seeing the leaning tower of Pisa, was more beautiful than any of us imagined. At first we were eager to take the goofy pictures in front of the infamous tower, soon we realized how stunning the tower really is. Extremely tilted and covered in great detail it was a must to visit the tower. Next we knew we had to explore Venice for carnevale!

As if we aren’t lucky enough!.. We were fortunate to spend a snowy Saturday in Milan for fashion week where we saw Italian models, and the most beautiful stores and window displays one could ever imagine! Of course I had to visit the Michael Kors

Grom

One would think every gelato in Italy is good gelato. However, since we arrived in Firenze we instantly crowned ourselves extreme foodies. The longing for the perfect gelato was finally found when we walked into Grom. Here we indulged in chemical free and all natural gelato. For me, the dark chocolate cured my craving and the cheesecake de pinoli was to die for!

Secret Bakery

After a long night out, we walk in the freezing cold to find the “secret bakery.” A large group of us waited outside in silence. A few knocks at the door later, and limited noise…we were greeted. The experience was exciting and delicious. Moments later we were enjoying a fantastic hot pastry filled with a Nutella-like filling; well worth the wait and 3 euro.