Italy Called

Italy called and I answered. It’s bad manners to keep a vacation waiting :p Y’all, my husband and I got to visit Italy for the second time. The first time was 7.5 years ago during my honeymoon. It was still as beautiful and rich in history as before. I will say this time around we enjoyed it a lot more. Our food experience was a lot better, and I think being 7.5 years older, we appreciated the visit more. This trip was prompted by a work trip my husband had to go on, so of course I was going to be his plus 1. The first leg of the trip was for work (for him) and the entire trip was play for me! LOL! It was truly an amazing experience. I did lots of tours, sightseeing, and ate good the entire time. Europe is one of my favorite places to visit. The culture, the food and the people are a vibe! While we stayed in the main city of Florence, there are so many smaller towns to get out and explore. Let’s take a look at how to make the most of your Italy trip around Florence.

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THE TIPS

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Before you visit Italy with me, lets talk a few tips:

  • Make sure to have Euros – While some establishments accept credit cards, some only accept Euros/cash. Make sure you have a Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card on you. While some places accept American Express, it is very hit and miss.
  • Translator App – In smaller towns/areas it is very common for most employees of restaurants and stores to not understand or speak English. It is very helpful to have some type of translation app to be able to communicate. I used the app Translate.
  • Walking Shoes – Bring at least one pair of comfortable sneakers. I’ve been to Europe on three different occasions, and you do a lot of walking. One day I decided to walk the villages of Cinque Terre in boots. Let me tell you, my feet were HURTING at the end of the day. Please bring a pair of sneakers that goes with multiple outfits.
  • Booking Tours – I know tours aren’t for everyone. If you are like me and like tours, I used Viator. Viator is super user friendly and has great customer service. I booked four tours and booked them all through Viator. Three of the tours I booked before the trip and one I booked the day before the tour. I created an account so I could download the app on my phone to have access to my tour information. Let’s talk some quick tips about Viator:
    • Easy to use
    • You can book tours as late as the day before. You CANNOT book the day of.
    • They have a book now, pay later option OR you can pay at the time of booking. They will charge you 2-3 days before your tour.
    • Once you book, you can communicate with the tour operating company.
    • Like any booking app, please read ALL the details the trip mentions to know what is best for you and your group.
    • They have a helpline that is helpful. I had to use it and they were helpful and fast. I got my refund very quickly.
    • Tour prices range from $60-$90 per person upwards to $200 and $300+ person. What’s the difference?
      • A tour in the $60-$90 range is going to have 18-40 people on the tour.
      • A tour $200 per person is about 8-15 people.
      • A tour $300+ per person is private tours with just you and whoever you book with.
      • I spent hours reading reviews, from what I gathered the $60-$90 tours are not quite worth it. They are rushed and you have one tour guide trying to guide 18-40 people. Also, you are on a tight time limit. You do not get extra time to spend at the different locations. I will share the tours I did in the activity section.
      • After my own experience, I can say a private tour is totally worth it. I did one smaller tour with about 15 people on it and it worked out good as well.
    • Understand a tour guide and a driver can be one but require two separate certifications. This is important because you may be booking a driver and not a tour guide. This happened to us and we had to hire a tour guide. In Italy a driver can be a tour guide, but they have to have a certification to be a driver and another certification to be a tour guide. If a driver does not have a certification as a tour guide, they can only drive you to locations but can not get out and walk around with you at these locations. One tour we did had a driver and a tour guide. All the driver did was drive. The tour guide got out and walked around with us and explained the history. Don’t think you are booking both and then realize you only have a driver.
  • Driving in Italy – Renting a car can be nice if you plan to visit smaller towns outside of the bigger cities like Florence, Rome, etc. We had a car because my husband needed it for his work trip. The area we had to go was about 3.5-4 hours away from Florence.
    • Please beware driving in Italy is crazy!
    • I took the car one day on my own to do a tour and driving is no joke.
    • They drive extremely fast!
    • There are no traffic lights. They use round-abouts.
    • They have tolls – Make sure you understand where to grab a ticket and where to put the ticket in at the end of your trip. If you are like me and miss the initial ticket pick-up, you will be charged the entire route of the toll. 63 Euros!
    • If you miss your exit, it will take a few minutes to get back on track. Its not like the US where there are exits every so many miles.
    • They have a lot of traffic at certain hours. 8/9 ish and 530/6 ish – Know where you are going and add extra time to get there. It took me 1 hour 15 minutes to go what the GPS said would be 45 minutes.
  • Reservations – Depending on where you want to dine, I would encourage reservations. If you do not want to make reservations, I would recommend going when the restaurant opens. A lot of restaurants get filled quickly.
  • Dinner Time – Italians dinner time is very different than Americans. While we may eat at 5-6 PM or book a reservation at that time, in Italy restaurants don’t open until 7/7:30 PM for dinner. Plan meals in between accordingly.
  • Time of Year – We visited Italy this time during off season in January. It is certainly less crowded. However, some of the attractions do have a lot of scaffolding as work is being done because its not tourist season. Also, Cinque Terre was beautiful but I honestly feel it was not as pretty as it is in the summer time. The first time we went to Italy (7.5 years ago) we went during tourist season in July. It was crowded and HOT! Off season is certainly cold.

Now that you have a few tips, you’re ready to explore!

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THE HOTELS

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During our stay in Italy, we stayed at two hotels, Boiardo Hotel and Westin Excelsior.

1. BOIARDO HOTEL

Our first stop was the Boiardo Hotel. It is located in the small town of Scandiano. The Boiardo is a boutique hotel that combines eco-friendly and Made in Italy hospitality. This hotel is relatively small compared to other hotels or resorts. The rooms are small and cute. The breakfast area is spacious, and they offer a lot of different breakfast options such as ham, cheese, eggs, pastries, cakes, cereal, sausage, toast, and more. They also offer an assortment of beverages. To be honest, there is not much around this hotel except places to eat. Remember, our stay here was for the first leg of the trip which was my husband’s work trip. The area this hotel is located in is very industrial. The nearest cities to do activities in are Parma and Bologna. Both are about 45 minutes – 1 hour away depending on traffic. I did get out and explore to Parma one of the days during our stay. I will share about that in the Activities section. They do offer ordering to your room service from a local pizza spot. We did stay in and order pizza and salad one night. Overall, the Boiardo was a nice place to stay considering there was not much around it.

2. WESTIN EXCELSIOR

The Westin Excelsior was the hotel we stayed once we left Scandiano, and stayed the remainder of the time in Florence. When we visited Florence 7.5 years ago, this was the hotel we stayed in. I really like the Westin and now when we visit Florence, this has become our go-to hotel. A quick confession, I’m not a huge fan of boutique hotels. I like them but I prefer hotels like Marriott, Hilton, Westin, etc. I guess I just like what I know. Boutique hotels do give a different experience, but the rooms are usually small and sometimes they lack amenities. To each their own. While I know it doesn’t sound exciting, I really enjoy this Westin. It is a great location and in walking distance from a lot of different places in the heart of Florence. It is also a great pick-up location when doing tours. It also has an awesome rooftop bar with cool views of Florence and the Florence River.  The rooms are spacious, and the beds are comfortable. I also like this Westin because they offer amazing customer service. It was my husband’s 35th birthday while we were there, and they upgraded our room to a bigger room size with a balcony overlooking the river free of charge. Their breakfast area is also nice, and they offer a variety of food and beverages. I also like that they had a hot egg or omelette station. I ordered a fresh egg white omelette and accompanied it with sides like potatoes, ham, bacon, beans, and a pastry to fuel my day. Overall, I really like the Westin Excelsior and plan to continue staying here when visiting Florence.

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THE ACTIVITIES

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1. A DAY VISIT TO PARMA & MODENA

I’m not sure about you, but I like to get out and go. While my husband was on his work trip in the office, I wanted to get out and explore. I was so proud of myself. I am normally not the type of person to do things on my own, but I also refused to sit in the hotel room and miss out on cool places only an hour away. Some of the places close to the Boiardo are Parma, Modena, and Bologna. I booked a 4-hour tour through Viator for the visit to Parma, and while on the tour extended my tour 1 additional hour to visit Modena.

Parma – I’m sure this rings a bell. You’ve heard of Parmigiango Reggiano and Prosciutto, right? This is where both products are made. Parma is such a cool place to explore because of the making of these two products. There isn’t honestly anything else there. It’s the ham and meat capital of Italy. During, the tour I learned so much about cheese and ham making. I got to see the start and finish of both products. At the cheese factory, they even house their cows on site. They milk the cows and whatever amount of milk they gain from the cows is what is used to make the cheese for that day. At the prosciutto plant, the pig’s hind legs are brought in salted, hung, rinsed, salted again, and hung to age. There are a few different aging houses the hams are moved to throughout their life cycle of Prosciutto making. During these stages different items (i.e. fat mixed with pepper put on the base) are applied. Once it reaches a certain level of maturity the ham is checked with a horse leg bone to know whether the ham successfully becomes a ham of Parma or thrown out. Both processes were so cool to see. At the end of each tour was a tasting. YUMMMM!

To be marked as a “Parma” product, both products go through different testing and must pass. Being a product of Parma and stamped as such is a huge deal and prestigious. Besides passing the testing, to be considered and stamped as Parmigiano Reggiano with the gold and black emblem, the cheese must be aged for a minimum of 12 months. To be considered a Prosciutto of Parma it must be aged for a minimum of 18 months. It can be sold at 18 months but is best at the 24-month mark.

Modena – Modena, like Parma is a small town. While Parma is known for the production of cheese and ham, Modena is known for the production of Balsamic Vinegar. I also did this tour the same day I did the Parma tour. This was the last stop of the three stops (cheese making, ham making, and balsamic vinegar making). I visited Giuseppe Giusti Balsamico. It was interesting to visit a Balsamic Vinegar making company and learn about the process and aging of Balsamic Vinegar. We visited different rooms that explained different parts of the process. Like wine, Balsamic Vinegar is aged in barrels. The interesting thing about this is, for certain collections of Guisti Balsamico, they actually use old wine barrels that they order from Antinori Winery. Their Balsamic Vinegar is stored and aged in an attic. After the tour, we had a Balsamic Vinegar tasting. The oldest aging was 25 years. Overall, this tour is a good tour and provided delicious tastings at the end.

This was so up my foodie alley. LOL! I loved every minute of my Parma and Modena tour. All the tours were guided and very informative. If you are ever in or around Parma and Modena, I highly encourage you to take these tours. This was certainly a great memory I will always cherish!

Tour on Viator: Parmigiano Cheese and Parma Ham Tour 

2. WALK AROUND FLORENCE

After my husband’s work trip was over, we headed to Florence where we stayed the remainder of our trip. While we stayed in Florence, we explored Florence as well as went to other cities that were within an hour of Florence. Our first day in Florence, we got there early and just enjoyed the city. We walked around took pictures, talked, ate pastries, visited a rooftop bar, and enjoyed a delicious dinner. There is so much to see and do in Florence. It is rich in food, culture, and history. Some of the places we saw were Ponte Amerigo Vespucci, Ponte alla Carraia, Ponte Santa Trinita, Ponte Vecchio, Ponte alle Grazie, Duomo Cathedral, and Piazza Della Signoria.

3. VIEW ON ART ROOF GARDEN

While walking around Florence, we stopped at View On Art, a rooftop bar. One of my husband’s coworkers suggested we come here. I’m so glad we did. I’m a sucker for cute day dates with my husband so this was perfect quality time during our walk in Florence. In between walking and dinner, we wanted to have a drink. The bar is located on the 6th floor of a historic building in the heart of Florence. A breathtaking panorama. The view from the rooftop is gorgeous. You can see the top of the Duomo Cathedral. It is the perfect backdrop for fun pictures. The cocktails were also delicious. I had the Green Vision, and my husband had an Expresso Martini. My drink was delicious and colorful. I loved the pop of color the Green Vision had. It was certainly pretty in pictures. Additionally, you just can’t go wrong with an Expresso Martini. Its such a classic. They also serve small bites to munch on while enjoying your drink such as potato chips and peanuts. This was certainly a cool place to visit!

4. A DAY VISIT TO CINQUE TERRE & PISA

I was so excited for this day trip which was a tour through Viator. The first time we visited Florence (7.5 years ago), we did not have time to stop by Pisa. I made sure this time around we visited. I also found out Cinque Terre was not far either, so why not do a two for one. I booked this 10.5-hour tour and was thrilled to be able to see both Cinque Terre and Pisa. I know 10.5 hours sounds like a lot, but it goes fast. Again, tours may not be for everyone. What I love about tours is, it’s a great way to see lot in a limited amount of time. I booked a private tour for my husband and me. We were picked up from our hotel by the driver and tour guide. They work together.

Pisa – We went to Pisa to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This was such a phenomenal experience! To finally be able to see this beauty in real life, was an experience I’ll never forget. I was in awe. The weather was perfect and the structure itself was beautiful. We took a ton of fun pictures for keepsakes. While you can actually go up the tower, we did not. We visited the museum right next to the Leaning Tower as well as the Cathedral. The Cathedral was absolutely gorgeous. To see so much history, art, and beauty in one place was astonishing. If you visit Florence, I would highly recommend taking out time to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Cinque Terre – After visiting Pisa, we went to Cinque Terre to spend the remainder of the afternoon. Cinque Terre meaning “Five Lands”. If you didn’t know Cinque Terre is made up of five coastal villages: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastal villages are beautiful and colorful. Out of the five villages, my husband and I visited three of them: Manarola, Vernazza, and Monterosso. Each village has its own unique feel about it. They are all very hilly and you do a lot of walking and climbing stairs. Each village can be reached from the next by train or boat. Considering we went in January; we took the train. The buildings and homes light up the coastal line with their unique colors. A lot of the stores are closed during off season in which we went. Some were open but not many. We did find a gelato shop and focaccia pizza shop. We grabbed some delicious Salted Caramel Gelato as well as a Pesto Tomato pizza slice. The weather was also great. It was slightly warm and sunny. Probably about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. It was so fun to walk around, see, and learn the history of each village. If you like walking/hiking and enjoy beautiful views of the coast line, I highly recommend visiting Cinque Terre.

Tour on Viator: Cinque Terre & Pisa from Florence : one day private tour with guide 

5. PASTA MAKING CLASS

OMG! If you know me, you know I love pasta! In my eyes, Italy is the pasta capital of the world! What better way to experience pasta then to learn how to make it from an Italian. I have always wanted to do a cooking class in another country for what cuisine that country is known for. This trip I finally got to make it happen and it was amazing. I booked the Pastamania class through Viator. After visiting Pisa and Cinque Terre, my husband and I did a pasta making class in Florence for dinner. It was in walking distance from our hotel. We walked so much this day that the carbs were needed. LOL! Our instructor, Lapo, was amazing. He was so informative, fun, and patient. The class was 3 hours and we made three different types of pasta: Ravioli, Tortellini, and Fettuccini. We learned from start to finish on how to make and stuff pasta. The fillings were already prepared, and we just had to stuff our pasta with them. They took our pasta away and cooked it for us as well as made the sauce. We did not make the sauce as it had to simmer for 2 hours. There was also 10 people (including us) in the class, so it was not overcrowded. My husband and I had fun doing little mini competitions with one another to see who could make the best pasta. It was also nice to meet and connect with other travelers as well as locals. Overall, this class was so fun and the perfect date night for my husband and me.

Tour on Viator: Pastamania – Pasta making class 

6. A DAY VISIT TO SAN GIMIGNANO, TWO WINERIES IN TUSCANY, & SIENA

As I mentioned, I love tours. This was another trip booked through Viator. LOL! This particular day was my husband’s 35th birthday so I wanted to make the day fun and enjoyable. We love wine, so we wanted to experience wineries in Tuscany. We also wanted to visit other cities outside of Florence that are smaller but filled with so much history. This tour was about 9 hours. Although, I booked the basic tour through Viator, I worked with the driver to customize to what we wanted to do.

San Gimignano – Our first stop on the tour was the city San Gimignano. San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town. This town is known for its medieval architecture. We spent about 1 hour here walking around in awe by the architecture in this town. Again, like most cities during off season, a lot was closed. We did stop by a cute coffee shop called Bar Le Torri for some pastries and coffee. Pastries in Italy are amazing and so delicious. We also stopped by a wine shop to purchase a bottle of Vernaccia wine. Vernaccia wine is the wine known to San Gimignano made from a variety of Vernaccia grapes. Overall, a cool city to see.

Tenute Squarcialupi La Castellina – One of the things that was on our bucket list was to go to a winery or two in Tuscany. This was fulfilled. After we visited San Gimignano, we had lunch at La Castellina in the Chianti region of Italy. This was such a fun experience. We had a tour of the wine room as well as the wine aging cellar in the basement. The wine aging cellar is certainly perfect for pictures. Our tour guide Andrea was very nice and informative. After the tour we had lunch with a wine tasting in the restaurant. The Chianti region is known for red wine, so all of the tastings were red wine. We sampled four wines and had a 3-course lunch. The lunch consisted of a charcuterie board, Bolognese, and Biscotti. Our favorite was the Reale 2016. It has truffles in it and taste and smells amazing. Overall, this winery was very good and offered a nice lunch and wine pairing.

Roca delle Macie – You can never have too much wine! HAHA! I mean we were in Italy, so I’m not sure too much wine is even a thing. After having lunch at La Castellina, we headed to Roca delle Macie for another wine tasting. Roca delle Macie is located in the heart of Tuscany. The drive to this winery was beautiful. Even driving around Tuscany was amazing. At this winery we just sampled wine, it did not include a tour. The views from the tasting room were pretty cool. We sipped wine, listened to the history of the winery while looking out over Tuscany. So dreamy and fun! We tried 3 red wines here and 1 white. Again, Chianti is known for their red wine. However, because I like white wine, our wine guide allowed us to try their Chardonnay. I will say the wines from this winery are more on the dry side. If you are a dry, red wine drinker, this winery is for you. Nonetheless, just being able to visit this winery in the heart of Tuscany was an awesome experience. It’s certainly a memory I will cherish for a lifetime.

Siena – Siena is beautiful and so rich in history. Unlike our tour in San Gimignano, we did have a tour guide in Siena. When we went to Siena our driver knew a tour guide and we hired her for a 1 hour tour for 70 Euros. Our tour guide, Bene, was awesome and so knowledgeable. She is from Siena born and raised. She shared so much about her town. We walked around to different areas and learned so much about Siena and the different neighborhoods. We even tried two desserts known to Siena: Fruit Cake and Ricciarelli Di Siena (basically a lemon cookie covered in powder sugar). We learned so much in an hour and it was so nice to be able to visit such a historical place in Italy. If you have time, make sure to check out Siena.

Fun Facts about Siena:

  • In Siena, there are 17 neighborhoods named after animals, mythical creatures (e.g. Unicorn), architectural symbols, and icons. You are born into a neighborhood and a member of that neighborhood your entire life. You cannot change neighborhoods. Each neighborhood has their own church and community center. Yes, 17 churches and 17 community centers. You volunteer in your neighborhood. Each neighborhood is run by the community hours of its members. Our tour guide was from the Seashell neighborhood.
  • Palio of Siena – The Palio of Siena, the centuries-old bareback horse race that occurs in the Piazza del Campo of one of Tuscany’s most popular tourist towns twice year. What’s not necessarily self-evident, however, are the allegiances of the competitors in the event. Its not just that the riders represent rival teams, they each represent one of Siena’s historic neighborhoods.
    • There are 17 neighborhoods in the historic center of Siena that participate in the Palio (a neighborhood is a “contrada,” and the plural is “contrade”). During the running of each Palio in Siena, 10 of the participating contrade send a horse and rider to the race. Each contrada is represented by a symbol (as mentioned above) and certain color combinations, just like any other team in a sporting event.
    • The winner of the Palio of Siena gets their photo displayed in the town (city of Siena square, as shown in the photos) as well as their flag flown.
    • The winning neighborhood also has a winning celebration party. Everyone that is a part of that neighborhood gets to attend.
    • The guest of honor at the party is the winning horse. That’s it, no prize or money.

Tour on Viator: Private Tuscany tour: Siena, San Gimignano, and Chianti. Day Trip from Florence 

7. SESTO ON ARNO

I don’t know about you, but I love a good rooftop bar. Luckily for us, our hotel had a rooftop bar with awesome views of the city of Florence. After our tour, my husband and I wanted to relax and unwind. Dinner was not until 9:00 pm so we had plenty of time. We visited the Sesto on Arno for a drink and some light snacks. The bar was super chill but had great relaxing vibes. We each had one drink and talked about our day. We also snacked on some potato chips, nuts, and small finger foods. Apparently in Italy, most bars serve small snacks if you are having a drink. We experienced this at every bar we went to. My husband had an Expresso Martini, and I had a non-alcoholic drink. I wanted something cool and refreshing. This was a nice way to slow down a bit but still have good time.

8. LA MENAGERE

If you are going to a city, you want to dive in were the locals go. In the heart of Florence is La Menagere. La Menagere is a super cute cocktail and tapa lounge. From coffee to cocktails. The Bistrot de La Menagere is the place of metamorphosis. In the morning, it has a coffee house with homemade cakes and baked goods. At lunch, its perfect for a quick meeting. In the evening, it is transformed into a sparkling cosmopolitan environment with fantastic cocktails. This is truly an experience. We were referenced to come here by one of the local gals in the pasta making class. Apparently, this bar is a hot spot and I see why. The décor was stunning and so cutesy! Because they were packed, the hubs and I sat at the bar. We each ordered a drink and shared some small finger foods. This place has so many rooms and areas that it’s like Alice in Wonderland. Certainly, check them out and be just as amazed as we were.

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THE FOOD

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If there was one thing we did this time around in Italy, it was eat good! Our meals were so delicious and full of flavor. Ill be honest, the first time we came to Italy (7.5 years ago) we were not pleased with the food. I think we went to super touristy places. This time we got the true farm-to-table, home grown Italian food experience. OHHH, and we drank SOOO much wine this visit! LOL! Let’s dive in!

1. ROBA DA MATTI

Roba Da Matti is a small hole-in-the-wall where the locals go. Located in Scandiano, it’s a small restaurant pushing out decent Italian food. They are known for their pizzas. However, we dined in and tried some of their Italian dishes. Of course, we started with a glass of wine! For an appetizer we had a piece of Fried Cheese topped with Prosciutto and apples. It came with a Blueberry compote drizzled on the side. This was delicious and different. The apples and blueberries help cut some of the fat and saltiness. This was a fun and unique dish. For whatever reason, when I visit Europe I eat a side salad with every meal. Of course, I had my salad. I think it’s because their salads are so fresh. There is not any dressing, just balsamic vinegar and olive oil. For dinner, I had their Shrimp and Truffle Oil Risotto and my husband had their Prosciutto Pizza. The pizza was amazing and tasted like true Italian pizza like we had 7.5 years ago! This place was good for our first nights dinner. It gets better from here!

2. PICCOLO MARE

Small sea or Piccolo Mare! It helps to be with people that travel certain places and know the restaurants to go to off the beaten path. Our dinner experiences started to rock from here! My husband’s work host was an awesome food host and knew all the places to go in the small area we were in. Piccolo Mare was a small restaurant located in Scadiano and known for its fresh seafood dishes. What I loved about coming with a small group was, we ordered plenty of appetizers and shared. We each ordered our own main dishes. This was a great way to be able to try plenty of food. We tried their flat bread, Small Sea, Bruschetta, Whole Fish, Seafood Pasta, Fish Mix, Cake and Ice Cream, Side Salad, Potatoes, and Lemoncello. The food here was tasty! Of course we had wine! 😉

3. RISTORANTE OSTERIA IN SCANDIANO

Ristorante Osteria was housed in a beautiful building. It looked like someone’s home. This is what I would consider our upscale meal in Scandiano. The décor screamed elegant, and the food was delicious. This menu was a little interesting for my husband and I as it was a little more exotic. It had things like duck, rabbit, escargot, deer sirloin and more. Again, we ordered appetizers and shared with the table. We started with a delicious bread basket that had a variety of breads. The kitchen brought out escargot for everyone to have. I will say I was so proud of myself to try this. To be honest, I did not like it. LOL! It was certainly a texture thing. They had this delicious Fried Polenta with black truffles shaved on top that was *Chef’s kiss*. This was my first time ever having truffle flakes and I was so happy! I love truffle! What I found interesting was that in Italy they eat truffle like its candy whereas here in the states we treat it like a delicacy. In almost every dinner or lunch meal, Italians start with Prosciutto and bread. Sometimes cheese is added to the mix. We had a plate of Prosciutto and bread. For dinner this night we all had a different pasta and one person had beef sirloin. The pasta did not look fancy but it was sooo tasty! NOWWW, let’s talk about dessert! This restaurant hands down had the best dessert presentation and creativity. I had the Chocolate Therapy and shared it with my husband. It consisted of 5 desserts all made of chocolate that went from hot to cold. It was so fun and unique. I enjoyed this dessert. This restaurant was upscale but fun!

4. RISTORANTE LA CAPANNINA

OMG! This was a true home-grown Italian restaurant. Think farm-to-table in America but in Italy! This was one of my favorite places we stopped. La Capannina has won numerous Michelin awards in its years of establishment. The restaurant is still run by its 70-year-old owner. It’s a family owned and ran operation. The owner and his sons run front of the house, while the wife and daughter cook in the kitchen. The recipes for the dishes were passed down by the owner’s mother. I loved that the owner served us every course and explained each dish. His dishes as well as the restaurant were a try labor of love. We started with bread, a ham plate, and cheese. Next, we tried some delicious homemade lasagna, tortellini, and rigatoni. I loved that the lasagna was made with a white sauce and was nothing but cream sauce, noodles, and mushrooms. It was certainly different from what I’m used to, but I appreciated it. After our pasta, we tried lamb, fried mushrooms, and fowl. All were so flavorful and delicious. Can’t y’all tell I miss it! After this huge lunch, the owner brought us homemade nut brittle. It was perfect! It was made with honey as the sweetener. Lastly, we ended our fantastic lunch with gelato and fresh blueberry reduction and balsamic vinegar. We also tried this wine/liquor combination that Italians drink at the end of most meals. Its Moscato mixed with liquor. Its sweet but still has the burn from a bourbon. Talk about leaving stuffed and so happy we experienced this amazing meal! If you are ever in vicinity of La Capannina, PLEASE, PLEASE check them out! 10/10 recommend!

5. RISTORANTE BUCA MARIO

You’ve got to love when you stumble upon a restaurant and it’s a true hit! Like La Capannina, Buca Mario has also received numerous Michelin awards. This was my other favorite restaurant we stopped at in the heart of Florence. Between La Capannina and Buca Mario, it was a hard 1st and 2nd. I can honestly say, La Capannina was more farm-to-table and Buca Mario is more upscale. We accidentally ended up here. This was our first restaurant for dinner when we got to Florence. We were now no longer with our foodie guide (my husband’s work host), and we were nervous! LOL! We had eaten so good, and we wanted our experience to continue in Florence. We were suppose to have a cooking class this night but it got cancelled. So how did we come upon Buca Mario? We literally walked around the corner from our hotel and saw a line. The restaurant was about to open and there people waiting. We knew it had to be good. We walked around and thought we need to go back. YALLLL I’m so glad we did!

Everything about this place was fantastic: the ambience, the food, the wine, and the service. I truly miss this restaurant. Our server was so good! He was personable as well as knew what to recommend based on preference. We shared a bottle of Rose to start. We couldn’t stop from the tradition of all of our other meals (ham, cheese, and bread), so we ordered that here as well. HAHA! I also ordered a side salad! This salad was so good, fresh, and colorful! The appetizers were delish! Of course, I ordered a pasta dish and made my husband order one as well. The more the merrier! ;p I had this amazing Truffle Pasta and my husband got Grandma’s Lasagna! WHEEWW! These dishes were some of the best pasta dishes I have ever had! So fresh, flavorful, and homemade! I wish I could call Italy and have them deliver these dishes to my doorstep. My pasta dish came with huge flakes of black truffle, and my husband’s lasagna was layered with delicious goodness! Lastly, we shared a fresh whole sea bass! Yes, we had more food! I needed to know what all the courses were like at this restaurant! The fish was so fresh and flavor. We added a side of asparagus for a little something green and for some crunch. The tartar sauce that came with it was also delicious. If you can’t tell by now, I LOVED this place! Overall, this place certainly met my foodie expectations. If you are in Florence, put this one on the list as a must try!

6. OSTERIA

Believe it or not, I was referenced to Osteria by another Cincinnati foodie. Got to love our little community. We help each other out even in another country. LOL! Osteria, was truly a small restaurant located in Florence. This restaurant is in an alley way. It is not located in the touristy areas of Florence. Its truly a “If you know, you know” spot. Its very small, so I would recommend making reservations. We started with bread and a side salad. As you could probably guess with this being the last restaurant spot we had before coming back to the states, we had eaten so much! We wanted to enjoy our last meal, so we ended with another pasta dish and some lamb chops and potatoes! I had the duck pappardelle, and my husband had the lamb and potatoes. We also added an order of these fried chicken bites. They were delicious. The food here was tasty. My favorite dish was dessert! :p If you know me, you know I love sweets. The dessert was called Ice Cream Cake. It was literally a piece of ice cream in the shape of a pie slice, topped with a flakey pastry crust and topped with powdered sugar. This dessert was so simple but sooo good! I could have had another piece, but I didn’t! I am wishing I had it now. LOL! This restaurant was good, and we ended our foodie experience in Florence happy!

As you can see, I truly enjoyed my second visit to Italy. I got to see and learn so much! I also got to eat my little foodie heart out. My experience the second time around was certainly one for the books! My heart is full, and I can’t wait to go back to Italy already. If you are thinking about that trip to Europe, certainly take it! There is so much to explore. Save this blog post for later and don’t forget to share it with a friend who may need it. Tootles until next time!