Florence & Cinque Terre, Italy Recommendations
As everyone so endearingly taunts, this is your last hurrah, right? Better make it a good one. I don't know about all that the end of the world is near nonsense people spout off to expecting parents, but hey, why not make it a stellar trip?
If you are in the mood to splurge, the St. Regis Florence is amazing. First class all the way. Gorgeous lobby and winter garden. We got upgraded to a room with Juliet balconies overlooking the Arno River. The champagne saboring happens each night and for ~20 euro a person includes a bottomless selection of small bites. Cue the champagne for husband and the bottomless small bites for me.
Have lunch in the Piazza della Signoria. It's super touristy, but the people watching is great
La Giostra Restaurant - make a reservation and be sure to order the burrata
Il Santo Bevitore - best proscuitto we had on the trip
Florence Cooking school - cooking classes in Italy are a fun way to experience the culture and have a great meal. We ended up taking one here with just us and one other person, so it was personalized and a fun memory
Walk around and roam the city for markets - the leather is great and I picked up some cute purses
Piazza Michaelangelo - sweeping views of the city (a pretty intense uphill walk to get there though)
Obviously, see the David, the Duomo and the Uffizi Gallery. We bought tickets ahead of time online and although we were bound to times, we were able to avoid lines and spend more time wandering the city
Speaking of wandering the city, be sure to allocate time to explore the side of Florence across the Ponte Vecchio - cute shops and restaurants
We took a looong day trip to Cinque Terre and visited all five villages. I think that Cinque Terre should be on everyone's bucket list, but I also feel like my day trip was sufficient. We chose the easy route and did a guided trip that included coach bus to and from Florence and help to get us from village to village (hike this way, take the train, etc.). You can definitely do it on your own, but this made it simple. The hike has amazing views and we had lunch overlooking the coast. The sunset was incredible.
