I have longed to go to Europe for so many years that I really can’t count them. There are actually several places I’d like to see over there, but Italy was always at the top of the list. You truly can’t imagine the amazement and utter excitement that I experienced when I found out that dream was going to come true. I literally jumped up and down repeatedly for quite some time – my husband, Kendall, thought I’d lost my mind.
I could write for days about this trip, but I will do my best to give you the short version. However, to start, I really must say that without the help of Plan-it Italy we would not have had the wonderful experience we did. I seriously can’t rave about this company enough. They exceeded every expectation and provided us with the very best service and accommodations. Moreover, they took the stress out of traveling abroad, and that in itself is priceless! I am beyond thankful I found and booked our trip through them.
Our first city that we visited was Rome. I’ll never forget my first glimpse of the ancient ruins as we passed them on our way to the hotel. I swear the history seemed to exude from the crumbling structures. We spent two and a half days sightseeing Rome; I felt like I was in heaven. Some of the more notable things we got to see were the Roman Forum, the Coliseum, Capitoline Hill, Trevi Fountain, the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and Saint Peter’s Basilica, along with many, many more places. It was amazing!! If you’re wondering, I did indeed throw a coin into Trevi Fountain. I certainly wouldn’t mind returning to Rome and I figured every little bit of luck helps.
We then said arrivederci to Rome and traveled to our next destination; Florence. I must confess that Florence was the least favorite city that we visited. Although the buildings were really quite spectacular with marble everywhere. I think the most impressive structures we saw there may have been the Cathedral of Florence, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery. In addition to gawking at the architecture we visited a couple of museums, the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery. It was interesting to learn (and in some cases relearn) about all of the Renaissance paintings and statues and the history of the artists. Of course, the most extraordinary piece of art that we got to see was The David.
While staying in Florence, we took a day trip to Siena and a few other small medieval villages. The drive was incredible, and the scenery breathtaking. The hills were so green with Cypress trees, vineyards everywhere, homes sprinkled here and there, and small medieval towns protected by walls and towers made up the landscape as far as the eye could see. Siena and the villages we visited were also remarkable. The Duomo in Siena was Kendall’s absolute favorite church that we saw throughout the whole trip. It was indeed extremely beautiful. I think mine was the very small and quaint church we visited in Monteriggioni that same day. In fact, it felt more holy to me than any of the churches we went to, including the Vatican and Saint Peter’s Basilica (and I’m even Catholic). Perhaps it was the humbleness of it…
Our next and last city we visited was Venice, which was hands down our favorite place we ventured to. We were completely captivated by the water and canals, along with the gondolas and boats. I suppose I should also mention that the architecture there was also amazing. My fascination with the canals came as no surprise to me since they were practically the sole reason for my wanting to go to Italy. Naturally we went on a gondola ride because who could come this far and not do so? We also got to see many of the popular attractions such as the Rialto Bridge, the Grand Canal, St. Mark’s Square, and a few other places.
As with each location we traveled to, we spent a good deal of time walking around the city and exploring our nearby attractions, fun places to shop, tasty places to eat, and so on. I was a little shocked to find that I didn’t really care for the food in Italy which may have been because I’m not a seafood fan, and they tend to put something fishy on nearly every pasta dish. Kendall on the other hand, had no reservations with this. Even if the food wasn’t exactly how my Granny fixes it, I was still in heaven the whole trip. I went through Italy with my camera plastered to my face and loved every second of it!
Below are just a few of the images I captured. For the record, I took nearly 3,000 pictures…
