La dolce la niente (the sweetness of doing nothing)

We spent our morning walking around Florence. I thought we could see Boboli gardens but it was walled off and we had little time to tour it so...we headed back to train station to catch a tour we booked.

We first had some lunch at La Dantesca (front is off Via Panzani 57/r) back door is off Piazza S. Maria Novella. They are known for pizza ...we know now good sign of pizzeria we like has the brick oven as times we've had it has been our favorites. Here's the oven and one few Xmas trees we've seen...

We booked and caught our 1/2 day Chianti Colours and Flavours bus tour (Ciao Florence brochure at our hotel or ciaoflorence.it). Convenient pickup near train station. 158 euros included two wine tastings..one at a more modern winery and one at a 3rd generation family owned farm and a stop at Greve- a quaint wine village. 

We sampled at least 3 wines at each location and tasted some chianti jelly or olive oils as well.  The tour started at 2:30 the drive out was beautiful even overcast but once we got to second stop it was dusk so no sights on way back. Our bus was maybe 1/4 full. My recommendation for future visitors is to look into booking a private tour to visit the Chianti region. Probably would have cost same and have more freedom.

When we got back this evening we ate at a restaurant near our hotel called Il Portale (Via Luigi Alamanni, 29r). The waiter insisted on ordering for Jason (ravioli with boar stew on top) and brought him a complimentary limoncello after dessert. Natalie loved her mussels and chocolate pie. Jacob had hard time finishing his spicy pomodora penne dish but managed to eat his chocolate Nutella cake. I enjoyed lasagna forno.

We packed up our new treasures and gifts from Florence tonight in prep for departure to Venice tomorrow.

Firenze agrees with us

Arividerchi Roma!

We got a taste of Rome's traffic this morning headed to the train station...but made our train to Florence. We bought coach tickets as part of our package (not fast tix) figuring the trip was only an hour and a half (and only stopped 2x before)...and as a family we wouldn't know what we were missing. Everyone slept except me (probably the cappuchino) which allowed me to finish my bookclub book. 

We noticed right away in Florence the pace is more chill, people ride bikes everywhere, beautiful sights in every direction (even on this overcast and later drizzly day) and town is less overwhelming...although we still manage to get lost. But getting lost when you have no where to really be is fun!

Our hotel is 3 star (hotel Delle Nazioni) and located literally a block behind the train station. Convenient location and popular spot for many hotels. They boast themselves as an "Internet Hotel" which seems funny since all hotels really need to be in 2014. We were pleased to have two separate rooms again! No view and decor is bit outdated but we've got a framed print of Jim Morrison shirtless on our wall...and a toilet with a powerful flush.  Overall clean and meets our needs.

First thing we did was eat of course!  Jason found a great restaurant on Yelp called Trattoria da Giorgio (Via Palazzuolo 100 rosso). They basically just offer a fixed price menu. 13 euros a piece included bread served in a brown paper bag, a half liter of wine, a first course of pasta, a second course of meat and a side dish. We all loved our pasta dishes, Kids really loved their ravioil. Only bust was Natalie ordered salmon as her meat course thinking it would be grilled salmon but it was cold and thin like lox.  The roasted potatoes with olive oil and rosemary had me reaching my fork over to Jacob's plate to help him out.  We also met a nice American couple who had just been to Venice- they shared tips with us and since they were headed to Rome next we just shared our blog. 

We figured the best way to get our bearings and because we already paid for it as part of our pkg...we'd catch the double decker hop on and off Sightseeing Florence bus. There are two lines. We took the one today that drive around the perimeter of Florence and up into the surrounding hills to a town called Fiesole. The bus stops there for 30 min to allow you time to see the church and take pics. We grabbed some hot drinks to go. 

We got off the bus around city center and walked through piazza San Marco (the church was closed) and ended up at the Duomo...amazing architecture and so ornate looking from the outside. We still are wondering 'how' these amazing buildings are everywhere.  

It started to drizzle so we bought tickets to hike the bell tower. It was like we paid for a great workout class...414 steps up and 414 down. Great evening view at the top. Tickets are good for 24 hours so we can climb it again in daytime.

Natalie and I have a list if leather goods we man to acquire. Jacob on a hint for the ultimate wallet. We browsed a few shops but know we need to head to the markets.

The rain suggested we park ourselves in a wifi bar. I had my first limoncello which was strong but tasty. 

After, we headed to a restaurant found on tripadvisor but didn't notice that it was closed for dinner so we hopped back online (we use data plan sparingly) and found a great option...Osteria Pepo (Via Rosina, 4/6r off Piazza del Mercato Centrale). Loved the complimentary Prosecco when we sat down. Jason's meatball dish was amazing and Jacob's beef in some tasty gravy was a hit. Natalie enjoyed her pasta and clams. Mine was the least favorite but still great. Eggplant and pasta with ricotta. We make friends almost everywhere we go...tonight we sat next to about 8 college girls who were dining with one gals visiting family...the family was from East Cobb. Girls were all from NYU or Rhodes. They shared lots of shopping tips and claimed they have all gained the Firenze 15 similar to the freshman 15.  We talked about how Christmas hype is non existent here and some girls shared that they would be going to Hard Rock Cafe tomorrow for the traditional Thanksgiving fixings. No doubt if I had to do it over again I would have studied abroad.  Our kids definitely want to- they have been bitten by the travel bug!

We decided to make it an early night tonight so we could have a full day here tomorrow and maybe do a day excursion on Friday.

Italy Trip Planning

Half of the fun is in the anticipation and planning of the trip....well maybe not half, but definitely some of the fun.

The Easter Bunny brought each member of my family a guide book but the books got little love over the summer and when school started back up.  So...we scheduled a family 'Italy Trip Planning' night about a month and half before our trip.  We first enjoyed some basic Italian food (frozen ravioli and jar marinara with Italian bread dipped in olive oil), a nice bottle of Chianti and gelato for dessert.  After dinner, we got out the travel books, emailed notes from friends, Pinterest boards, and started to better define what we wanted to do in Rome, Florence, and Venice.  We wrote one attraction or restaurant on an index card and had a pile for each city.  In general, I can tell that churches and museums are not going to be the big attractions for us.  Jason and Jacob are really into the historical sites and Natalie can't wait to experience the culture and shopping.  I think we are all excited for the food.  I'm excited to experience Italy with them.  I have been to each of these cities when I backpacked after college with 2 girlfriends.  Jason (and Natalie when she was about 11 months old) has been to England but never to Europe mainland.  But, we have been to some great other destinations as a family....Bali (thanks Grandpa!), the Grand Canyon, and Dominican Republic.  Not to mention all our family fun trips to Florida, DC, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

How this idea started...

All it took was a casual comment from my husband Jason earlier this year when we were talking about how we wanted to use our vacation time from work this year.  He said, "I'd like to take a trip to Europe with the kids".  I smiled and replied that I would begin to look for 'a deal' so cautioned him to keep an open mind on where we would go and exactly when.  We knew in general that we would need to accommodate the kids school schedules as they are getting older and missing a few days of school is just something kids today don't want to do anymore.  It's too hard to make up the work.

So I watched the deal sites and subscribed to a few travel deal emails and one day...I saw one on Travelzoo (http://www.travelzoo.com) that caught my eye.  It was for a 9 night trip to Italy (4 nights Rome, 3 nights Florence, and 2 nights in Venice) and included airfare, hotel, and train connections to each city.  Jason and I reviewed the particulars, decided on the week of Thanksgiving, and had a family meeting with our two children (now ages 12 and 15) to ensure that they would consider this their Hannukah/Christmas presents for this year.  They didn't hesitate!  The night we booked it in February, Jason and I hovered over the 'submit' payment button for a few seconds.  This was the first time either of us had booked a package like this without talking to a human being.   We'll let you know if it was a good idea.