Italy Randos:
-First trip to Tony's homeland, and it was pretty incredible. Flew out of O'Hare. 2 United Club passes off Ebay (pro tip) for $30 total got us nice & buzzed for the long trip.
Rome: The history speaks for itself, just incredible on all levels. Colosseum Tour w/ Underground was the obvious highlight. Just letting your mind wander back to that time & place was something else. Tour also included the Roman Forum, Palace, and ruins...amazing. We went back at night as well, even cooler.
Also did the Vatican City. Obviously no Catholic Ball, but impossible not to be impressed (and slightly creeped out) by that entire place. Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's, and all the art & relics. Good stuff.
We stayed in Trastevere, which is a village just across the Tiber outside of Central Rome. It's basically Rome's 'West Village', and was by far the coolest neighborhood of our trip, and where we spent most of our time when not being a turbo tourist. Locals, endless bars/cafes/squares, and just an amazing vibe all around. Definitely recommend calling that home base for anyone visiting Rome in the future.
Food was great, as we mostly ate around there. Cacio e Pepe, Carbonara, Amatriciana, and many Roman style pizzas.
Florence: Great switch up after bustling Rome. Intimate place, cool architecture, and lots of art & shopping. Was nice to have some actual Bars & Restaurants w/ room after coming from Rome where everything is small & sidewalk based. Food was on a different level, highlights were my Bisteca Florentine & a sandwich from All'Antico Vinaio, which exceeded the hype.
The Central Market there was unreal, pretty much Foodie Heaven.
Lassie hit her wall on our 2nd day here, so I snuck out during her nap and set her up w/ a Spa Day at Four Seasons for the following day, vet move. So, day 3 was me roaming solo, hitting some bars, and chatting with the never-ending drove of American College students studying abroad. Apparently Florence is THE place for Northeastern kids to go, as they were everywhere. Can't imagine being able to experience that as a 20 year old.
Visited the Uffizi Gallery & Academia for some more Leonardo & Michaelangelo (he was a rascal). Seeing David up close and personal was really cool, had no idea how huge that thing was.
Venice: Stepping off the train & onto the water taxi, was breathtaking. One of the most unique places in the world, hard to fathom how that place is what it is.
However, after the first couple hours I'd seen all I needed to see. Probably had something to do with being the end of the trip, but I just found the place kinda weird. Food was marginal, vibe was different than the rest of our trip. We did have a really cool place overlooking a little piazza & canal, so that was cool. I suppose it was a perfect place to end our vacation, as it's really small there & we mainly enjoyed our place & relaxed to wind the trip down. I'd recommend anyone see it, but as nothing more than a day trip or 1 day passing through.
2nd day we took a boat over to Murano & spent a half day there. Cool little island, all the glass blowing going on, etc.
-Once again did the impulse ticket counter upgrade to Business on the way home. Always kinda regret it when the charge pops up, but it's so clutch in the moment. Watched more movies on the trip than I have in the past 5 years combined...Argo, I, Tonya, The Post, Last Vegas.
-We always stay at Hyatt O'Hare on the way home, which makes the terrible trip home a little more bearable. Order a pizza, LivePD/Playoffs, and friendly confines....then a 50 minute flight home the next morning.
-Catpaw had me blocked the entire trip - must be a new thing, b/c that hasn't been the case on our previous Euro trips.
Lastly, here's a picture of what our yard looked like when we got home:
