Our Trip to Italy--Part 2 — Freedom Nutrition and Wellness

So I'm a little bit late on posting this, but what's new--it's the story of my blogging career. Why can't I get myself together?? After an INCREDIBLE day and a half in Rome (you guys seriously need to go someday, there is so much rich history), we had breakfast in the train station in Rome and then headed out for another day of adventure in Florence.

We arrived in Florence, got oriented (I had everything flipped in my mind!), and headed to our air bnb. How cute is this flat?! I felt like we were locals going to and from our flat on the third floor. It's funny, none of the places in Italy have built-in storage, so they all get IKEA storage and decorating items (my sister confirmed this--I'm not making it up!).

After settling in, we headed out to the main square, the Duomo, for another walking tour with good 'ol Rick Steves. Midway through, we found a lunch place nearby called Eataly, which had a super yummy pizza. It was definitely in my top 2 favorites, and I had a LOT of pizza while we were there. Isaac and I split a pizza with olive oil, actual sausage (they lie when they say it has "sausage"), spinach, and cherry tomatoes, and I also got a salad because I was missing my usual veggies.

Afterwards, we finished the walking tour, which took us by several massive buildings, famous statues, and an iconic bridge that was the only one that wasn't destroyed during WWII. Florence is just so beautiful and quaint! It was way cleaner than Rome and Isaac and I liked the food better, but it was more of a shopping and museum place, so not quite as much to see (at least not for free!!). After we finished tour, we stopped and got gelato and a cappuccino.

We then walked to our flat and took a nap and recuperated before dinner. For dinner we went to a restaurant that a friend had recommended, called Trattoria 4 Leoni. Nicely done, Hannah!! We really liked our waiter who also spoke great English, which was a really great thing because he had to explain the entire menu to us since it was all in Italian. Ironically, almost all of the couples around us spoke English, which was strange because we rarely heard native English speakers while we were in Italy. We split a pear stuffed fiochette (I'm sorry that I don't have a picture...but trust me, it was deliciousI It was a pasta stuffed with pears and cheese and was in a cream sauce with asparagus), massive steak (we're talking it was cool in the center), and a cheesecake. That cheesecake was oh so delicious and fluffy!

Funny little tidbit, on our way to dinner a man offered us weed 😂

The next day Isaac got some eggs at the grocery store next door and we made breakfast. That day we walked to a fortress, hung out at a little park, and then hit up the central market. Talk about such a fun place! The first floor of the central market had various vendors selling fresh seafood, meats, cheeses, fruits and vegetables, pastas, etc and the second floor was a food court. We loved trying samples of all the fresh foods on the first floor and then ate lunch up top. We circled round and round and settled on focaccia pizza, a pastry, and a cappuccino. :-)

Afterwards, we hit the San Lorenzo market where I got talked into buying a scarf and purse and Isaac got a nice leather belt. I'm such a sucker for a good deal!! (or so I think, when they reduce the price by like 50%!!). We walked around the town some more, went into the Duomo cathedral, then hung out at a library cafe. That afternoon we took the train back to Vicenza and celebrated Kate's bday by going to dinner and opening gifts.

The next morning (Friday), we packed up their car and drove to Austria for Christmas markets and skiing. Want to know something funny/sad? The Christmas markets were closed and there wasn't any snow. Wah wah. 😂 When we got there, we just walked around Innsbruck and had lunch.

After walking around, we needed to warm up and to get our daily dose of espresso.

That afternoon we went to our airbnb cabin, which was the cutest thing ever. It was basically a tiny home, which I thought was super fun. That night we just got stuff for dinner at the store and made it at the airbnb--appetizers were various cheeses and proscuittos, and dinner was roasted Brussels, rotisserie chicken, and two differed ravioli's. I've never been a big pasta person before, but after experiencing real Italian pasta, I hope to make it fairly regular. I'm gonna start perfecting my pasta making skills. :-D

Saturday we woke up and had a slow morning, complete with breakfast.

We then headed to a castle in Innsbruck that had a bunch of museum artifacts. It didn't look like your typical castle, but it was cool to look at everything and see things from the 1300s! For lunch we headed to the city and tried various sausages, apple strudels, and fried dough balls. I ended up getting fresh berries and yogurt at a convenience store, which was just what my body needed. We walked around the only Christmas market left and then headed back to the cabin for the evening.

That night was New Year's Eve and since we didn't plan well, we realized we wouldn't be able to get into a restaurant anywhere. Sooooo, we drove a few miles over into Germany, to get pizza to-go, to eat in Austria 😂. We just ate pizza, played cards, and went to bed early. Partay animals!!

Sunday we drove 30 minutes to Garmisch, Germany and the boys skied while the girls hung out around the town. Monday morning we packed up, got lunch at the largest lake in Italy (talk about gorgeous) on the way home, and then just chilled at their apartment when we got back.

Phew! Sorry for NOT making that short. One last recap is on its way, along with some pictures of actual Italian buildings and such. Hope you all are enjoying these recap posts and your week!