Italy (2026) - Piacere
Day 0 - Of Booking Vacations While on Vacation
Back in 2025, while we were visiting Austria and Prague, our friends Erin and Brian invited us to join them in Italy. We said yes, because of course. Little did we know that in between that trip to Austria and this trip to Italy, we would visit Spain twice for a few days. I didn’t write about those trips because, although they were great, we were there for a specific purpose.
Booking a trip a year in advance has its perks; there's plenty of time to space out expenses. research, and only builds anticipation. So far, the only downside of this trip is missing a wedding.
The plan is to be headquartered in Florence, take day trips to the surrounding cities, and spend a weekend in Venice. Although we’ve been to Florence with Johannes and Raquel, it didn’t matter; Florence is awesome.
In the meantime, as I did for Austria, I decided to try my hand at learning a little bit of Italian. I’ve been using the Babell app, and I hired a private tutor for help. Oddly enough, I’ve found German to be easier to learn than Italian. It’s easier to speak Italian, for sure. But I feel that I remembered more vocabulary outright with German instead of relying so much on my Italian and my Spanish.
We’ll see how it goes.
If this is your first time here, piacere!
Day 1 - Of Planes and Expectations
I’ll make this section quick since it’s not terribly exciting. We flew on ITA Airways, both our flight from Miami to Rome, and then Rome to Florence went very smoothly. As we pulled up to our Airbnb in Florence, Erin, Brian, and Adrian were waiting for us outside - like a bunch of tourists. Turns out they’d only arrived just a few minutes before us.
The flat is very nice, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Once we settled, there was a mandatory nap. All of us were kind of exhausted. Even though I’d slept decently well on the plane, that’s never the most restful sleep. I will give a shout out to the TRTL travel pillow. That thing cradled my neck and held it in place while I slept, it was great. I think I would have slept better if I didn’t suffer the curse of always having someone next to me who keeps their TV on at full brightness.
Afterwards, we went out to the city and walked around. Some places looked familiar, but even in the last two weeks, Florence has changed a little. I saw a lot more closed shops, and a couple of restaurants we’ve visited previously were not shuttered. No matter how static you think a city is, it’s constantly changing and moving. We ended up eating at Trattoria La Madia, it was empty when we arrived, but we gave them some grace since it was 6:00 PM after all. Still, the pizzas, gnocchi, Aperol's, and steaks were all great. I love Italy and its food.
I spent close to six months trying to learn some Italian, unfortunately, no one else knows much Italian, and now I feel a little pretentious using it. There’s a measure of discretion I am using so as to not seem like I am trying to show-off. Still, it’s been great speaking full sentences and going back and forth with the people I’ve met so far and speaking in their native language.
I am not sure what tomorrow brings. Erin and Brian have things they want to do, I have a few ideas, but I am enjoying this passing feeling that I am just happy to be here with no expectations.
The week ahead does have some things planned; wine tasting, truffle digging, gnocchi cooking class, Venice trip, Pisa/Lucca trip, wine windows, etc.
Alla prossima! Ciao!
Day 2 - Of Hidden Treasure and Hidden Soccer Fields
Unsurprisingly, we all woke up late. And by late, I mean 10:00 AM. Understandably, we are all still engaged in combat with jet lag.
As per tradition, or tradizione as they say - I took my morning walk, Brian joined me while we visited Pasticeria Buonoamici, a small bakery about six minutes away from our place. Inside, everyone is Italian; definitely a spot where the locals get their morning coffee and pastry. I ordered croissants and coffees, in Italian - feeling a bit accomplished by this. The pastries were all very good, not amazing, but still above what you’d find in a more touristic area.
The day was lazy; we stayed on the south side of the river, an area that is not touristic, but more local. As we walked, we did some geocaching. This was an introduction to geocaching for Erin, Brian, and Adrian. The kids loved it. We also visited the Piazza de Santo Spirito and meandered the stalls that had been set up.
After our second geocache, we stumbled upon a park. In this park was a mini-soccer field where a bunch of kids were playing. Adrian ended up joining them, looking like he was playing among giants. It felt nice to be in a space that was meant for locals, as if we had just trespassed into a safe space and took refuge from the hustle and bustle.
Once done, we went to Gustapizza. This pizzeria appears to belong to a group of restaurants nearby, Gustapanino & Gustaosteria being the other two. These pizzas were delicious; I went for my baseline 4 Cheese. Whereas pizzerias go heavy on the gorgonzola, making for an uneven taste. This 4 Cheese at Gusta was well balanced. It could have used a tad more savoriness, but still a solid entry.
We slowly walked back to the flat, and had a bit of a siesta before getting ready and heading out to have dinner. We ended up at a very nearby place called Rhione Brewpub. There, we had pasta, and it was good. The thing about places like Florence, or I suppose Italy in general, is that everywhere you go, the food is pretty great compared to its counterpart in the US. So, although my cacio e pepe wasn’t the best I’d ever had, it was still remarkably good compared to what I’ve had in Miami.
At night, I ended up falling asleep for 35 minutes in Luna’s bed, but then we stayed up until around midnight.
Tomorrow, we’ll be headed to the Galeria de l’Academia.
Day 3 - Of David and Wine Windows
I began the day with a solo walk to the bakery, opting to return to Buonoamici. The plan for today is to visit the Galeria de l’Academia. I want to preface this segment by telling you a story. Last time we visited the Galeria de l’Academia, it was with Johannes and Raquel. The statue of David, a quintessential work of Renaissance art, stands at the end of an arcade and a lighted vestibule. It’s magnificent. But the first time I ever saw it, standing just about 30 feet from David, was Johannes taking a photo of David’s penis. This time around, Johannes wasn’t there, but his spirit was felt.
After seeing David, we meandered around the gallery, but the kids were quickly done with the whole thing. Especially since an old Italian woman who worked in the gallery yelled at Luna, then at Cynthia for being too close to some old musical instruments under glass. After seeing some of the art, we left the gallery.
While in Florence's city center, we made our way to a sandwich shop aptly named “Panini Toscano.” It was delicious; they let us taste the different breads, cheeses, and meats you could use to make a panini.
After lunch, we went back to the apartment and relaxed. But before we did, Erin and I visited a wine window. It’s essentially a tiny window in a wall - you ring the bell, they open the window, you tell them what wine you want, you tap your card, and out comes a cup of wine. Not too shabby. We plan to do these a bit during the trip. I took a nap. Mmm naps.
In the evening, we met with additional friends from Richmond.
I’ve been enjoying the pace of this trip; we do a few activities in the late morning, then relax in the late afternoon, and then go back out into the town in the evening. We are all still struggling with jet lag; staying up late and then not waking up again until 10:00 AM.
Staying outside of the main city center has been fantastic. The times we’ve ventured to the main city center, the number of people there is dizzying. Yet where we are staying, there are still tons of restaurants, bars, and cafes, without being crazy packed.
I will mention that it’s been weird, yet pride-inducing to see Luna walking around. She’s not looking like a baby, or a toddler, but her gait, her attitude, and way of being; she’s a little lady, growing up quickly before us. I am trying to appreciate the moments before it all passes by too fast.
Tomorrow we are visiting Boboli Gardens. Ciao!
Day 4 - Of Boboli, not Boboli
In the morning, we woke up late again, but before anyone got up, I snuck away and walked to Wild Buns. Despite the name, this is not some lewd establishment, it’s a Scandinavian Bakery. The last few days I’ve passed by, there’s always been a long line to get in. Today, I wasn’t in a rush, so I stood in line, and oh boy, I was surrounded by Italians. I felt a little out of place, which did further my appreciation for people who don’t speak or understand English well.
Inside, I order two cinnamon buns, and two other buns that were just fantastic.
In the latter part of the morning, the whole group went to Boboli Gardens, which is attached to the Uffizi gallery. Large portions were under construction, which was a bit disappointing, but the parts that weren’t were quite nice with sprawling panoramic views of Tuscan countryside. The walk around the gardens were occasionally arduous, with inclines - Luna decided that she was not interested in walking, so I had her piggy backed on me during the ascents. Good thing I was hyped up on Scandinavian carbs.
Afterward, we took the long walk back home for leftovers and naps.
Later, we all went to Pizza Positano, a small upper-scale pizza place. I, of course, had 5-cheese pizza. It was delicious, but so far none of the all-cheese white pizzas have not wowed me. Even though they have been very good, they’ve all missed a sense of saltiness that I’d expect from a white-pizza. I’ll keep searching.
Erin and I have continued to drink wine.
Tomorrow we are going on a food tour!
Ciao!
