R O M E
Day 1
[First stop in Italy – pistachio gelato – amazing, of course]
[Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and a lot of walking around cute streets]
[Incredible first meal at Cul de Sac – voted best lasagna + proscuitto and melon on the trip]
[Stumbled upon the famous Giolitti … so of course we had to have gelato, round 2. Successful first day in Italy!]
Day 2
[A great morning of walking and sightseeing – Ancient Rome was incredible. We definitely needed more time to explore!]
[Lunch stop pre-Vatican: Bonci Pizzarium – highly recommend this place. Tons of unique pizzas to choose from by the slice!]
[Pictures of the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica don’t even do it justice – wow! Unfortunately couldn’t take pictures of the Sistine Chapel, but it was breathtaking – if only there weren’t so many sweaty people crammed into one place!]
[This wine + cheese pairing class was seriously the best – definitely our highlight of Rome. We learned a lot, drank some unique wines, ate some amazing cheeses and even got to see the thousand year old wine cellar, and Handi the sommelier was incredible! If you’re going to Rome you must make time for Vino Roma.]
[Final night in Rome: somehow found Husband’s dad and stepmom at the Spanish Steps, ate some delicious cacio e pepe and went to the best pub in the world (not really … but we did get this awesome picture from a stranger, ha!)]
ROME: we actually really enjoyed this city! For some reason, none of us had very high expectations, but we were all pleasantly surprised. It was very walkable, fun, safe and great food. There is so much history here that we did not get the time to really explore so I could definitely go back.
T U S C A N Y
Our home base was Siena, which we ADORED, then we traveled around a bit from there.
Day 1
[Our first view as we walked into the city after a long day of traveling – how could we not immediately fall in love?!]
[The best pizza I’ve ever had – everything was so incredibly fresh, including the burrata on top. Il Pomodorino was one of our favorite spots with the best views. We actually ate there twice!]
[Drank wine at Bar Il Palio on the Piazza and people watched (including these two cute people above) – exactly as Rick Steves recommended, and it was perfect]
Day 2
[Spent the day exploring Siena – pictured is the Duomo and the crypt below, which was so creepy and so cool]
[Husband and I then walked up 131 tiny, winding steps to see this view. We got some incredible panoramic photos we will definitely print and frame – it was challenging, but so worth it!]
[Our favorite meal of the entire trip! This place was so amazing and romantic. My risotto with FRESHLY GRATED truffles was literally the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life. Truly a remarkable evening.]
Day 3
Day trip to Florence
[Very cool market we stopped in for breakfast – bottom floor was fresh meats, cheeses, veggies and fruits like a farmer’s market; top floor was cafes and restaurants – this cappucino and ham + brie croissant was delicious.]
[David, David, David, you truly are a masterpiece. I cannot get over how surreal and amazing it was to see this work of art. I’m so glad we went to Florence if only for this!]
[And this! Birth of Venus by Botticelli was amazing.]
[Uffizi gallery with these views was fantastic – though by the end of the day, we were so ready to get back home to Siena …]
[and we did eventually make it home, but with a crazy story to tell (best told in person). This was us cheers-ing to Josh making it back alive.]
FLORENCE: in full transparency, we really did not like Florence very much. It was crazy packed with tourists everywhere you turned. Maybe we didn’t go to the right places and should have spent more than a day and done more than just the touristy things, but we were not impressed. (Except for David!)
Day 4
Wine tour to Montalcino + surrounding wineries 
[Montalcino was an adorable little town! We only got 30 minutes in town before heading to the wineries, but could have spent several hours wandering around. Of course, even in those 30 minutes husband found a pair of leather shoes to buy!]
[First winery was a small family-run production – the wine was delicious, we met two adorable dogs and we tried grappa (definitely not for me…)]
[Second stop had the best views by far and incredible lunch + wine in a gorgeous home. I could seriously move there tomorrow!]
[Final stop was definitely the most unique and produced our favorite (albeit most expensive) wine – this winery is super modern, entirely biodynamic, and started by the very wealthy brother of Illy coffee (who we happened to see leaving for holiday in his Porsche while we were there)]
[Finally back home at Hotel La Villa for our final night in Siena – we did not want to leave!]
SIENA: hands down our favorite city. We seriously discussed finding a property to turn into an AirBnB so we could go visit whenever we want. It was charming and beautiful and just felt magical. I could spend so much more time here, using Siena as a home base then traveling to differing wineries and small towns nearby.
Hopefully you enjoyed the first round of pictures! This was only a tiny taste of what we saw, did, ate and drank.
Watch for Part 2 (Cinque Terre + Venice) in the next week!
xo xo
You might also enjoy: Alderman’s Go Global: St. Lucia, London, Paris, Munich
[celebrating this || 
[eating this || amazing food at wednesday over water]
[cuddling with this || adorable little girl for a morning!]
[beautiful, super cozy room – and my sweet coworkers surprised us with champagne!]
[a few photos from the night below – though I HIGHLY encourage you to check it out yourself!]
[chihuly in the forest – there was even a wine tent out there!
[a beautiful day for margaritas, guac + tacos at The Fold]
[and for sunning with a few beers at Rebel Kettle Brewing]
[wedding time! gorgeous wedding for cousin Olivia + Sam at Trapnall Hall]
[love my handsome dates!]
[and the southern food was ridiculously on point – fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, crawfish + mashed potatoes and a mini mason jar layered with collard greens, beans + corn bread]
[the only pic with the bride + other cousin Blair at the end of the night, which reminded me of another pic 10 years earlier …]
[our brunch “appetizer” – fried green tomatoes (yes, again) with jalapeño pimento cheese + skillet cinnamon roll. I’m not a huge cinnamon roll fan, but this was out of this world]
[my dish – biscuits + gravy, which again, were the best biscuits and gravy I’ve ever had. next time I will get a dozen of these biscuits and bring them home with me]
[husband’s dish – a skillet with all kinds of delicious goodness inside]
[WE LOVE YOU LOST FORTY! and yes, of course we got a growler to take home]
{rockin’ out to this || blink 182 concert}
{drinking this in || fayetteville foamfest – our favorite event of the year}
Bagel is obviously a must in the city. I only got one, but could have eaten here every day. It was a cute little bakery with amazing coffee.
Unfortunately I started feeling sick about halfway through the trip – cold, allergies, probably both – so one night I grabbed a pizza in the restaurant in my hotel and ate it in bed. How could you not, with these views?? The pizza was not traditional thin crust new york pizza, but it was incredible – pepperoni, jalapeños and honey. Wowww.
Yes, you read that right – airport food. This was basically cheese toast with prosciutto and arugula on top. Did I mention I was stuck in the airport for 7 hours? I should have ordered another one, because this is some of the best airport food I’ve ever had.
m.davis xoxo 