Travel Diary: Our Italia Road Trip
Last summer (2016) my husband and I went on our dream Italian honeymoon. Brandon is quite the pro at trip planning, and this one well he really hit it out of the park. When we first decided we were going to take a European honeymoon our ideas were endless, we were all over the board really, but nothing quite had our hearts and stomachs quite like Italy, so a Tour of Italy was the chosen one! And what would be more fun than a road trip with my favorite guy!
So pour yourself a cup of coffee and let me you take you away on our Honeymoon Road Trip through Italy…
July 18 & 19
We just touched down in Rome!! Thanks to our Amex points we had quite the queen like flight across the pond! Really never thought I’d score seat 1A but hey, you only Honeymoon once right!? I can’t wait to explore Italy, eat loads of pasta, try every type of Italian wine I can get my hands one, and make memories of a lifetime with my best friend. Here we go, Tour of Italy in right under two weeks!
July 19
Today we got to Rome, rented a car for our road trip (yes were driving ;), which was hysterical and insane (driving in Rome is NO JOKE), think we went in 5 circles because we kept missing the invisible street signs all while trying to avoid the crazy Vespa drivers! We checked into our adorable hotel and walked to the most amazing dinner with outdoor street seating, truly felt like we were on a movie set only the real deal! We explored some more, then ended the night deliriously laughing and falling asleep in our hotel bar. Today was a great first day!
July 20
(AM) Woke up feeling like I slept in a Royal Palace last night, or really just stared at the ceiling all night because this time change has me all messed up! Off to the Vatican!
Where we stayed // The Westin Excelsior Rome
(MID DAY) Growing up Catholic I learned and heard a lot about the Vatican, but never did I imagine it would be as detailed and truly breathtaking as it is. Truly unbelievable and major bucket list moment for me.
July 20 (cont)
(PM) We continued our road trip to Naples today and checked into such a hip modern spot!! We lounged, sipped blinis and Italian beer as we watched the sun set over Capri. Its now 11:15pm and were just finishing up our dinner that started at 8pm!! We had no idea we were signing up for the most delicious exotic Italian 12 course meal, awarded 1 Michelin Star since 2012. Since we were only in Naples for a day we really wanted the quite the dinner experience (were big foodies over here) and this place was one we’ll never forget, highly recommended if your wanting to splurge.
Where we stayed // Romeo Hotel
Where we ate // Il Comandante
July 21
(AM) Peace out Napoli! Your Romeo Hotel was so ridiculously cool! Next stop Pompeii!!
(MID DAY) Getting Lost in Pompeii, what history!! Gosh to think I’ve had to reteach myself it all in my 20’s because I never listened in school or anything educational before I was 25 😉
If you’ve never heard of Pompeii, (me before this trip, thank God for my wiz kid hubby) It was once a thriving and sophisticated Roman city, that was buried under meters of ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The preserved site features excavated ruins of streets and houses that visitors can freely explore. Meaning this city was around in Jesus’s day, just blew my mind to explore a historical city preserved from that time. Such an an awesome real life history lesson and worth the stop if your into that kind of stuff!
(Roaming around the Ancient City of Pompeii)
July 21
(PM)- This afternoon we drove to Positano in the AmalfI Coast!! My ULTIMATE dream vacation spot!! I think I seriously had tears of joy in my eyes when we got here! We sipped on Italian cocktails at Le Sirenuse, explored the town and beach, then dined under the stars and bistro lights on our hotel’s rooftop looking out into the beautiful iconic hill stacked houses and ocean. Today was a serious dream come true!!
July 22
(AM) I couldn’t wait to get to the Positano beach today and rent one of the orange IG/ Pinterest famous umbrellas, my husband’s idea was to rent a boat, it was a much better idea to say the least!! The water so insanely blue! Kind of warm, I feared sharks and other alive things but we had the time of our lives! We cruised the Amalfi Coast then out to Capri and checked out the most beautiful yachts along the way. Positano you are a GEM!!
July 22 (cont)
(PM) Cheers to dinner under the stars at by far MOST magical place Ive ever been!! And I’ve heard lots of globe trotters make this statement so seriously, magical!!! With Bosa Nova sounds the romance card was out in full force, we dined on Positano’s freshest seafood, sipped way to many Italian cocktails under the stars. Tonight was M A G I C A L.
Where we ate // Champagne and Oyster Bar, Le Sirenuse
July 22 (cont)
Swooning on all the hand painted tile floors over here!! This is our lobby’s masterpiece.
Where we stayed: Hotel Eden Roc Suites
July 23
Ciao Positano!! You were a dream come true!! Next up, back to Rome!
Today we traveled back to the heart of Rome, oh man was it eventful finding our hotel! Our hotel is literally steps away from the Trevi Fountain, and if you’ve ever been there you know, there are thousands of people around the fountain, it was insane!! The streets in this area of Rome are all little alleys so our hotel had no parking, Brandon learned how to drive like an Italian and we found a parking sot and walked through the crowds of people to our hotel. Our first stop was the Colosseum! It was more grand and beautiful than we could have ever imagined!! Such a great experience, we walked back had dinner at a cute alley spot restaurant listening to street saxophones play. Roma you are quite popular!
Where we stayed // Hotel Trevi
July 24
(AM) Waking up bright and early, (literally at the gelato place at 7am because duh I needed gelato for my experience) to see the breathtaking Trevi Fountain without thousands of people by it is how you do it!! Had to get my wish in! Oh and the gelato is DELIZIOSO!!
July 24 (cont)
(PM) Today we drove through the Tuscany countryside to Florence. We explored the town and shops, then had an amazing personal wine tasting experience, at The St. Regis, where we got to taste Tuscany’s favorites! We had the best experience comparing Tuscany’s bests against some of our beloved Napa Cabs. Then finished our day with a beautiful dinner on the top terrace of our hotel as the sunset, another unreal dinner experience. It felt like a little slice of heaven. Tuscany you gave our beloved Napa Valley a run for their money!
Where we stayed // The Westin Excelsior, Florence)
Where we had dinner // SE·STO on Arno)
July 25
(AM) Florenz your sunset was out of this world last night! But on to the next one we must go! Next stop… Venezia! The city of water!
Today we continued our road trip to Venezia, the city of water. We checked into our room with the most beautiful terrace over looking the grand canal. The hubby really knocked it out of the ballpark with this room & view! Then strolled through the town and ended up at the famous Harry’s Bar (highly recommended) for bellini’s and dinner! They were so sweet with their extra special touches to celebrate our honeymoon. Now we’re ending the night on our terrace watching the boats go by and restaurant below us serenade their guests. Venezia the rumors are true, you are quite romantic.
The Westin Europa & Regina, Venice
Where we ate // Harry’s Bar
July 26
Buongiorno Venezia!! We feel like were in heaven here! We love our terrace so much we decided to have our brunch out here this morning! Feeling so blessed on this trip! Listening to the beautiful singers on the gondolas below us, and fighting off the seagull that’s trying to steal our breakfast.
July 27
Last night we wrapped up our final leg of our Italian road trip. We ordered in room service, got all dressed up for our final date night on our terrace and watched the sun set as we wined and dined. It was the perfect way to end our ultimate dream trip!
