For me, Florence was “quintessential Italy”.  Everything I expected to see and feel and experience, I found in Florence.  Romance seemed to ooze out of every nook and cranny, and life there just seemed to have a warm glow of love.

The hostel where we stayed was an old villa set on top of a hill, surrounded by nature…so peaceful.  We journeyed to downtown to see the Duomo, the Baptistry, Santa Maria Novella, the Boboli gardens and the Pitti Palace, all of which were amazing and beautiful.  But my favorite part was an afternoon in Fiesole, a little tiny town on a hill that sat just above the city.  It was quite a hike, considering that in order to get there and back, we had to climb hundreds of stairs…everywhere!  But it was definitely worth it.  We saw an oldfashioned outdoor theatre, walked through a delicious smelling vineyard, and made our way to a cliff to get a bird’s-eye view of the city down below.  There were musicians playing accordion music like you would expect to see in the movies, and rows of artists on the street, each with an easel, painting the beautiful skyline.  What a life….

ancient theatre

typical streets

Venice was our last city to visit.  I didn’t feel as though it was the “most romantic place on earth,” but it was still pretty cool.  We stayed on the Island of Giudecca, which was very tiny but very cute.  (For those of you who may not know, Venice is built on 120 little islands, connected to the mainland by 400 bridges.)  There definitely was a majestic quality to life in Venice…having to take water taxis or gondolas everywhere, seeing huge buildings rise straight out of the water, and wondering how they were able to have streetlights all over the city with no visible power lines.

While we searched the islands, we saw St. Marks square/basilica, the Doges Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, the Rialto Bridge, took a Gondola ride down the Grand Canal, shopped for famous Murano glass, and ate lots of gelato…which is nothing like we have over here!

The pace of life seemed to be the slowest in Venice.  Especially on our little island, in the evenings, where everyone spent time at the little cafe, sipping the most delicious coffee in the world.  We spent a few nights staring at the stars, while listening to the constant movement of water that was literally at our doorstep, a few feet away.  Not too shabby.

Multiple times during my trip I felt that I was really at home.  Perhaps it was the gestures and mannerisms of the locals that I found familiar, or maybe deep down, I could just sense that my blood had come from this magical place.  Either way, it was hard to leave.  After 10 perfect days, miles of trekking, tons of pictures and countless cones of strawberry gelato, it was time to say “ciao.”