Italia Part II

Next stop, Perugia. We rented the cutest apartment, which was our home for the next few nights. This is a must if you are in the area, in need of lodging.

Around the corner from our apartment was a small little barbershop. Each day we passed and waved to the man who owned the shop. After a few days of this exchange, Dan decided to stop in for a quick shave. Since he didn't speak much English, our conversation with him was filled with hand gestures. Actually, that's what it was like in most places we went in Perugia. Thank goodness for Google translate.

From Perugia, we took day trips to Spello, Assisi and Gubbio. We would park our car and wander into the many shops, cafe's and random pathways. On these day trips, we purchased much olive oil and all things truffle.

Love this view of Perugia! One thing before I forget. We had the best pizza here at a restaurant called Pizzeria  Mediterranea. When we approached the restaurant and saw the long line, we knew we were in for a treat. I kid you not, from the time the pizza was made to when it was put in the brick oven, a mere 1 minute and 15 seconds passed before it was put before us. It was pretty incredible.

The final stop on our Italian vaca was Florence. Even before I start telling you, I'm sure you can guess which places we visited. Here is the Duomo, taken from the Piazza Michelangelo. The Piazza was bumpin', with everyone trying to score the perfect spot for pictures.

Gelato and mini cars. So Italian.

A picture of us using the tripod to prove that we were actually on vacation together :) The scarf worn here was another souvenir I nabbed for myself during our visit in Assisi.

And how could we come to Florence and not stop by and say hi to David. Tip: make sure to reserve tickets. Buying tickets day of is a terrible idea. While there waiting to get into the museum with a ticket, we overheard that the wait to buy a ticket that day was about 3-4 hours! 

We visited the San Lorenzo Market for gifts to bring home. Pictured here is a stall owner, pressing my father in law's initials into the leather belt we picked out for him.

This porchetta sandwich here was bomb. We stood in the longest line ever and it was so worth it. We highly recommend All'Antico Vinaio.

One of my fave visits was to the Salvatore Ferragamo museum. It was fun learning about the history of this fashion house as well as seeing some of the beautiful shoes and scarves. Dan didn't find it as painful as he thought it was going to be! Side note: I was on the hunt for a pair of black leather boots and after research and multiple store visits, I found them at Goccia Shoes. The selection was great and the salesperson was very low pressure. If you pay cash, you can negotiate :)

In Part One, I mentioned the toiletries I obsessed over while staying at Locanda dell' Artista. Well, I did some research and found that Santa Maria Novella is made in Florence. Of course, I had to find it. The store is a museum and was grand and gorgeous. I was in sticker shock so only walked away with a tube of the best-ever hand lotion.

On our last day in Florence, we visited the Boboli Gardens. Although not in full bloom, it sure was still a pretty site.

Ciao Italia, until next time...