Our Italian Honeymoon | Part 1, Florence & Tuscany

we’re both still reeling from our incredible honeymoon in italy. looking back on it all, it was truly the perfect experience for us as newlyweds. billy and i established long ago, when thinking of locations for our honeymoon, that we just aren’t “lay on the beach types.” we never have been. and even though we were in mighty need of relaxation after our perfect whirlwind of a wedding (more to come on that, for sure), we knew italy was the perfect fit for us as a honeymoon destination.

our motto for the honeymoon // “we’re not doing italy, we’re letting italy do us.” this meant that we needed to remind ourselves that this was our honeymoon, not a backpacking trip. if we wanted to sit for hours at a cafe, people-watching while sipping a cappuccino, we were gonna do it. we had no schedule, no need to make it to certain tours of sites (unless we wanted to), and nowhere to be. we only scheduled our accommodations ahead of time and nothing more. and that was the best decision we made – to let italy do us. italy led us through some life-changing moments and memories. it allowed us to take it all in and experience the culture, the carbs, the gelato (about 3 times a day), and just breathe it. italy will do that to ya. it will force you to slow down and taste the many layers of each moment. and it’s definitely best when experienced with the one you love.

we couldn’t be more thankful for this experience of a lifetime that our friends and family contributed to. we did our best to capture it all so we could bring it home with us. we even kept a daily journal of what we did each day to read for years to come (billy’s idea.) *tip* it all feels so dreamlike to the point where if you’re not careful, you’ll forget. we never want to forget it. 

yours truly took far too many photos. we all knew that needed to happen. so i’ll share in two parts. part 1 – florence and tuscany. tomorrow, cinque terre and rome.

florence // we adored this city. chock full of art and markets. we spent the better half of our second day here in a cooking class. such an awesome experience. for a solid 5 hours, you’re exploring the market, learning about quality italian ingredients, buying produce for what you’ll be cooking, and then retreating back to a commercial kitchen to make it all with your very own italian chef. we had so much fun making our own tagliatelle, ravioli, tiramisu, bolognese sauce and bruschetta. learning to make pasta in italy – it simply doesn’t get more authentic than that.

tuscany // a little bit of rain forced us to slow down a bit and take some much-needed afternoon naps. when we were exploring the hill towns of tuscany, the rain didn’t bother us that much as newly accustomed seattlites. we were terrified to rent a car but after picking it up in florence, we instantly knew it was the best way to experience tuscany. you really can’t get around much if you don’t have transportation at your disposal. we stayed in greve in chianti and explored famous wineries (one where they filmed “much ado about nothing“), siena, san gimignano, certaldo, panzano, brolio castle. we chatted with locals, and really immersed ourselves in tuscany. billy even met a seahawks fan that worked at one of the wineries! life was quieter during these days of our honeymoon. we drank lots of chianti, ate lots of unsalted bread and even a little bit of wild boar. there was no shortage of medieval castles. we loved our long drives through the tuscan countryside and strolling through castle towns.

part 1 of sights seen. prego.