Florence

So I already blogged about the Cinque Terra, but that was only part of our incredible Italy adventure. We spent the rest of our time in the wonderful city of Florence, which will forever remain in my top three favorite cities in the world. I love Florence. It is so beautiful, quaint, rich in history, and Joey and I both agreed, and it may sound kind of cheesy, but it truly is magical. We had a great weekend there and we can't wait to go back.

We stayed with Letizia and her son Gabriel. From the moment we got there, they treated us SO well. Although they have a very sad history, they are the nicest, strongest, most generous people in the world. Every day she made us huge meals that were delicious, and she even took the time to show us around the city. We love them and we are so grateful for their generosity.

Letizia will forever be our Italian mother.

Our first night there, she made us an amazing pesto pasta meal. If you know me, you know I absolutely LOVE pesto. It's my favorite Italian meal, and having it cooked by a real Italian made it perfect!! We even had fresh mozzarella and tomatoes to go with it. Incredible.

To make things even better, our first day there was a holiday for their patron saint so they shot off fireworks over the river. We were expecting just a little show, but these fireworks were insane. They blew Sugarhouse Park fireworks out of the water. We kept thinking that it was the finale, but they kept going and going. It was so cool, especially over the river at night.

Some of the sites around Florence...

I thought this was such a sweet idea. This is a railing by the river and the idea is to go there with your lover and attach a lock that has both of your names on it, and then throw the key into the river. It is to symbolize your love and devotion to each other. There were rows of these along the water, and we even witnessed a couple doing it.

So romantic!!

Pinocchio originated in a city just outside of Florence. They had a whole shop dedicated to little trinkets of Pinocchio. Another reason why we love Italy!

Along the streets they have these chalk drawings and they are amazing. The most incredible/saddest part is that every night, the streets are cleaned and they have to start all over again the next day. But the artwork is amazing!!

On our last night, we took a bus to the top of Florence to a place called Piazza Michelanglo. We watched the sun go down over this magnificent city, and it was by far the highlight of the trip. You could see all the buildings slowly light up and the river was so pretty. It was so beautiful and literally breath-taking and I hope to remember that forever and ever.

We flew out of Pisa so on our last day we took a train in a few hours early so we could go see the leaning tower. I really don't get this structure. How is it still standing? It's insane. I'm really glad we got to see it, it truly is amazing!!

We loved Florence and it will forever be one our favorite cities in the world. Thanks to Letizia and Gabriel for letting us stay with you, and making our trip perfect. We love you and miss you!! XOXO!!