Honeymoon: Roma, Chianti & Florence

And then there was Italy. For two weeks. We trekked from Roma up to Lake Como and back to Milan to head home. I'll share some fun pictures and places we stopped in between. First stop: Rome.

We were only in Roma for about 1.5 days, so we really didn't get the full picture. We didn't see the Vatican, or the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain was under construction. So, we kind of botched Rome. It was 100 degrees and were just coming off of Mykonos. So, we didn't have the best experience. We had one delicious and memorable meal at Roma Sparita where Brian enjoyed the much anticipated Cacio e Pepe. Thanks for the recommendation Anthony Bourdain. We stayed at the Marriott which had a beautiful rooftop breakfast and was steps away from the (slightly disappointing) Villa Borghese gardens. All in all, 1.5 days was enough for us in Roma. Next time!

Next stop, Tuscany and Chianti! We loved Tuscany so much. We had a magical Airbnb in Castellina in Chianti which was situated directly on a vineyard and winery. It might not be everyone's preference, but we were so excited to have a kitchen so that we could buy local products and wine and enjoy them on our balcony and cook in our cute kitchen. And that we did! I think we cooked every single night when in Chianti after days full of exploring Siena, wineries and driving through the hills of Tuscany. We had a few favorite wineries and sent a few (oops!) cases home that we're already enjoying.  Castello di Ama, Biondi Santi, Casalvento/Livernano and Talosa were some of our stops. Castello di Ama was probably our favorite because we stopped in for lunch and had such an amazing meal overlooking the vineyards. Tuscany was definitely a contender for one of our favorite spots. 

Off to Florence! We just fell in love with Florence and agreed we didn't spend enough time there. We would have wondered through the streets for hours, eating gelato at every turn. We went back to hotel life in Florence and stayed at the beautiful Westin Excelsior which was right on the Arno River. Some of our favorite stops in Florence included: Mercato Centrale for lunch, Konnubio and Il Santo Bevitore for dinner, Langolino for drinks, and of course, Gelateria Dei Neri for gelato. We even bumped into some friends while we were there to grab a few drinks with the night before we took off for Bologna!