{Travel}Italy-Day 9 Exploring Venice

We were leaving beautiful Florence and heading to Venice.

 Of course we were early to the train station but that just meant another cappuccino.

 The Florence train station is huge and very modern.

 Before we knew it, we were in Venice and could walk to our charming hotel.  We stayed at the Hotel Antiche Figure and the staff could not have been nicer. They gave us this gorgeous room in their annex building which was behind the main building.

 Time to get out and explore.  Back in my lemon shorts!

Right outside our hotel was this beautiful spot.

 We walked around and kept seeing more beautiful spots.

 This is where we stopped for lunch.

Yum!

 After lunch we explored more of Venice.

It's true what they say about Venice--you will get lost but it's not hard to find your way back either.

 The canals are everywhere linked by bridges but you can get stuck in some dead ends.  There are so many twists and turns!

 The Grand Canal is the main one around the island and where our hotel was located.

 We made it to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square).

 The Bell Tower.

Selfie time.

More exploring (and getting lost).

Comfy evening outfit.

 I was pretty jealous of this cat!

It was wonderful to see kids playing in the square.

 Where we had dinner.

 Venice at night.

Until tomorrow...

to be continued..

Please follow me!

Instagram @heather_ourlife 

Twitter @ourlifeinaclick 

Facebook @ourlifeinclick

Linking up:

Welcome To The Weekend

Pin It

{Travel} Italy Day 8-More Florence:David & Tuscany

It's been minute since I've been here on the blog but I'm back! I was down with a nasty virus but I'm on the mend and feeling better.   Back to Italy!

 We started our second day in Florence bright and early. We had priority entry tickets to the Galleria Della'Accademia.

 We were early for our tickets but they let us in (good to know!) and we didn't have to wait.  Everyone is there to see Michelangelo's David and it truly is breathtaking in person.  Photos don't do it justice.

 We explored the rest of the museum for awhile.

We were fascinated by the Medici family.

 After the museum we decided to walk to the Piazzale Michelango for what we read was the best view of Florence.

We stopped for some more Duomo pics first.

 This was quite a challenging walk up many stairs (you can also get there by car) but it was worth it.

 It really did have the most amazing views of  Florence.

This was a common site in Italy-a few tables set up outside of a restaurant for outdoor seating.

That afternoon we had our wine tasting in Tuscany.

 We were on a small group tour of the Chianta region (about 35 minutes outside of Florence).

 This was the first vineyard on the tour.

 It was such a dreamy location.

 We got to tour the grounds and main house.

The gardens were spectacular.

 We learned a lot about Chianti wines and got to sample a few while enjoying some snacks as well.

 They took us to the second vineyard and we got to see where they keep the wines in the basement.

 More tasting!

This was one of our favorite days in Italy!

to be continued...

Please follow me!

Instagram @heather_ourlife 

Twitter @ourlifeinaclick 

Facebook @ourlifeinclick

Linking up:

Good Random Fun
Wednesday Link Up

Pin It

{Travel} Italy-Day 7 Florence

As much as we loved Cinque Terre, we were excited to move on and go to Florence.

 One last cappuccino with this view in Portovenere. #sigh

There was a farmer's market going on so we took a quick look.

 Such beautiful produce!

 One more stroll along the water and then we took a taxi back to La Spezia train station.

 We had to change trains in Pisa.

 We were anxious to get to Florence so we just grabbed coffees and got on the next train.

OOTD:

halter top: LOFT

shorts: J Crew Outlet

purse:Alta Bag Luna

shoes: Birkenstocks

 Another quick taxi ride and we were at our hotel. It was right next to the Great Synagogue of Florence or Tempio Maggiore.  It's one of the largest synagogues in Europe.  It was patrolled by armed guards and surrounded by tall gates so this was all we could see.

Florence definitely had its own feel, we were in the city but not as busy or crowded as Rome.

 It was Monday so a lot of the restaurants weren't open for lunch. We finally found Caffé Michelangelo on Villa della Colonna.  Not only was it open but the owner was so sweet and made us the most delicious (and inexpensive!)sandwiches.

 Fortified from lunch, we set out to explore more of  the city on foot.

 We walked through Piazza della Signoria.

 There were so many statues and the impressive Fountain of Neptune.

 We also found Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in  Florence.

 Views from the bridge.

What a gorgeous backdrop!

We got to peek at the Duomo, Florence's most recognizable landmark before heading back to our hotel.

We met up with my friend Lisa from college and her family who live in Florence.  It was a really special evening and you would never know we hadn't seen each other in 30 years!

to be continued...

Please follow me!

Instagram @heather_ourlife 

Twitter @ourlifeinaclick 

Facebook @ourlifeinclick

Linking up:

Little Things Thursday
Love Your Creativity
Weekly Link Up

Pin It