Florence, Italy

Where do I begin?  This past 2 weeks have been quite the adventure for KC and I.  The weeks before of planning and packing not just I, but KC and the kids as well was quite stressful and really made us feel like we needed a vacation just from planning (so that worked out perfect.  We booked 8 hotels in 10 different cities among 4 different countries, add in trains, car rentals and what we planned to do in each was quite a task that made me ask myself "is this really worth it?" - And the answer is, Yes it is!!  For the kids because we were taking them to Canada, we needed to write up documents and have them notarized,  also doctor appointments for flu shots, and getting our Will together so you know we can be responsible parents if the worse were to happen.

We drove to drop the kids off at my parents and tried to prepare them and myself as much as I could.  It was a lot harder than I thought at first.  Walking out that door was one of the hardest things I have ever done! But once we got to the airport, hand in hand with KC, and getting my first glass of wine, I knew it was going to be ok.  The flight was long but amazing with hot towels, all you can watch girly movies, and food brought right to me.  Not gonna lie, it was so nice to be waited on...

Emails, texting and Facetime was such a blessing!!  Let me just give a shout out to my lovely parents:  Dad, Mom, you guys are truly amazing parents and grandparents!  Thank you for giving us peace of mind and thank you for making an effort to facetime each and everyday.  You gave us this opportunity to have an amazing trip that we will never forget. Forever grateful!

So onto Firenze, Italy... we arrived super late at night, and fumbled our way on to 2 buses and 1 train to get us to our B&B.  We stayed at a super cute tiny studio apartment a little north of the main tourist area.  We were with all the locals and it gave us a great experience outside the main square.  That first day, jet lagged and all, we woke up early grabbed our first Italian cappuccinos and let me just tell you they were everything and more.  Coming from Seattle where coffee is you know their thing, I had high expectations.  But their cafe' or cappuccinos are something dreamy.  Perfect espresso with the perfect foamed milk, ahh I am dreaming of it can you tell?! We walked the city from 9am-2am.  It was perfect.  So much to see, so much to eat, and so much beauty to take in.  We didn't have a real set plan for any city.  We had 1 or 2 main places we wanted to hit, but mostly did things when we wanted and just enjoyed being free to do so.  Florence, was one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been.  It was romantic and full of life and beautiful building that blew our minds.  We stayed 2 nights and then were off to the coastal towns of Cinque Terra!  // Coming soon...//