Italy: Amalfi Coast recap (part III)

I am wrapping up the final recap of the Amalfi Coast with our last leg which we spent on the island of Capri. This place is beyond dreamy. I already want to go back.

Here is a panorama shot from the ferry ride into Capri.

You can get to Capri via the ferry, fast ferry or hydofoil (fastest) and during the high season, boats depart from multiple destinations throughout the Amalfi Coast. We purchased our tickets at the dock.

We went right before high season, which was good and bad. It was busy, prices were good and we were able to get a free up grade at our hotel: Hotel Floridiana. The downside was that a lot of the shops and a few restaurants weren't opening until the next week.

Either way, I loved Capri. It was absolutely gorgeous and a place I never thought I would get to travel to.

Here are the other recaps from the Amalfi Coast if you missed them:

Part I: Sorrento & Positano

Part II: Path of the Gods hike

Italy: Amalfi Coast recap (part II)

This part of our trip definitely deserves its own post.

At the end of our vacations, the bird and I pick our highs and lows of our trip. One of my highs from the Amalfi Coast was definitely The Path of the Gods (Sentiero degli Dei) hike.

From Positano, we took the SITA bus down to Amalfi.

We had a little time to spare in Amalfi, grabbed lunch to go and hopped on another bus to Agerola (Bomerano stop), where we started the hike.

The hike is moderate and was about 5+ miles. We picked up lunch and water in Amalfi and stopped along the trail to eat, which was perfect. In my opinion, this is a must-see and do in Amalfi- fits in some vacation exercise, gorgeous views and a whole new perspective of the southern coast of Italy.

Here is Part I of our trip to the Amalfi Coast (Sorrento + Positano) and Part III (Capri).

Italy: Amalfi Coast recap (part I)

I am so excited to recap our trip to the Amalfi Coast of Italy!

Our first stop was a night in Rome. We got in and found a nearby spot for dinner and our first scoop of gelato for the trip.

How cute is this shop?!

Since it was only a short stay in Rome, I don't have much. For a full recap on Rome, here is a recap wrote up from last summer.

The next morning we took the train south, stopping in Naples for lunch before heading down to Sorrento for the night via the Circumvesuviana line. You can also take the ferry.

Sorrento was so pretty and perfect for a one-night stay.

The bird had surprises waiting for me in every place we stayed! In Sorrento, we had prosecco and birthday cake.

The next day we took the SITA bus down to Positano for two nights. This place was gorgeous!

The last three are from our hotel room + balcony where we stayed at Hotel Conco d'Oro. Highly recommended!

I have too many pictures to make this a one-parter. Stay tuned for Part II + Part III to follow soon!

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Instagrams of Italy

And we're back!

I hope to have my 'real' pictures up and ready to go next week, but for now here are a few Instagrams from our vacation in Italy.

And here is one last shot from the plane ride, going over the French Alps.

Lastly, here is a lovely article on the 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in the US.

I may be a little bias since my little hometown was voted #2! Yay!

Looking forward to a full recap on Italy next week! Have a lovely weekend!

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My Beach Bag in Italy

We are packing up the beach bag today after spending a gorgeous week in Italy.

My beach bag essentials + wardrobe for the past week

We first landed in Rome for a night before taking the train to Naples, where we had a delicious lunch, and continued on for a lovely stay in Sorrento. The next two nights were spent in Positano. This place is unbelievably gorgeous. So was the place we stayed for the last two nights: Capri. So dreamy!

Looking forward to getting a more detailed recap & lots more pictures up on the blog. Until then...

Off to Italy

I am beyond excited to be spending the next 5 days, including my birthday, in southern Italy on the Amalfi Coast!

Packing for vacations always makes me so giddy. Here are five lovely pieces that I think would suit Italy perfectly.

thong sandals // white denim // panama hat // striped bikini top + bottom // lightweight long sleeve

Here's our itinerary and rough plan:
Day 1: Land and stay in Rome
Day 2: Train down through Naples to Sorrento
Day 3/4: Staying in Positano for 2 nights
Day 5/6: 2 nights on the island of Capri

I know I said this before, but recommendations are the best. If you have any, please shoot me an email or leave a comment below.

Hope you have a lovely weekend! Feel free to follow along on our adventures on Instagram @birdietobe.

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Trip to Italy, part 3: Cinque Terre

I am wrapping up our trip to Italy with our stay in Cinque Terre. (Here are our adventures in Rome. and Florence if you missed those!)

Cinque Terre was gorgeous! Just as picturesque as the photos you can find online.

At the end of our stay in Florence, we had a tour booked for a full day hiking trek through Cinque Terre.

The tour worked out perfectly for us since we planned on staying the next two nights in Cinque Terre. The tour left from Florence's main train station and we were able to bring our luggage with us and keep in on the bus for the day.

Manarola

The bus took us to the village of Manarola, where we began our hike. We hiked north through four of the five villages of Cinque Terre: Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso. From there, we took a boat down to Riomaggiore, the southern most village of Cinque Terre.

Looking back at Corniglia

Village of Vernazza

We stayed in Manarola and Monterossa for one night each, following the full day hiking tour.

Our day in Monterosso was spent at the beach under these lovely umbrellas. Some of the beach space is free, while others you can rent a chair, umbrella and a changing cabin. We opted for Bagni Eden Beach Club and it was €16 for the two of us.

Beautiful beaches of Monterosso

Sunset stroll through Monterosso

Restaurants:
• Marina Piccolo, Manarolo: Delicious and right on the water! Reservations recommended.
• L'Ancora della Tortuga, Monterosso: Views & setting on the upstairs terrace are amazing! Definitely make reservations.
• Il Porticciolo, Vernazza: We indulged in a little gelato after our long hike. It was delicious! And they had cinnamon- my favorite!

Hotels:
• Hotel Ca d'Andrean, Manarola: Highly recommended. Spacious rooms and a large balcony with ocean and village views.
• Hotel Pasquale, Monterosso: Also definitely recommend. Only a couple steps from the beach and every room has an ocean view.

On Milan:
We actually ended our trip (and flew out) of Milan. But to be honest, Milan wasn't nearly as eventful as Rome, Florence or Cinque Terre. I think by the time we got there, we were less concerned with hitting all the 'must-see' spots and being on a schedule. Instead, we spent our time shopping, wandering the city and enjoying aperitivo by the canal: Navigli District.

I am happy to give more detailed recommendations or reviews of any of the cities we went to! Send me an email anytime- I'm happy to help!

Trip to Italy, part 2: Florence

I am recapping our trip to Italy we took at the end of June/beginning of July. You can see our adventures in Rome here. Next week I will touch on Cinque Terre.

Of all the places we traveled in Italy, I think Florence was my favorite! Maybe because it was a nice change from the city life of Rome or because it reminded me a bit of home, the wine country area of Sonoma in California.

We took ItaliaRail from Rome to Florence. It took about 1.5 hours and very reasonably priced. I definitely recommend traveling via train in Italy. So convenient! We opted for 1st class which gave us a bit more room and beverage service.

We stayed directly in the city center of Florence, right next to the Duomo. While it may have been a little busier than somewhere outside the city, we were close to everything: the Arno River and Ponte Vecchio Bridge, the famous galleries and museums and the main shopping district and restaurant areas.

I took this shot from the Uffizi Museum. This museum is home to several pieces from Leonardi da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. Definitely worth a visit, for the artwork or the views!

One of the days in Florence, we took a full-day tour of the Best of Tuscany. I recommend both a trip to countryside of Tuscany and the tour group we went with: Walkabout Florence. The tour took us to Siena, a Chianti vineyard for a tasting, tour and lunch, San Gimignano and Pisa.

I found Florence to be very cultural. There were so many options for museums and galleries. You could really focus your entire stay in Florence trying to see them all.

The city is gorgeous regardless. We walked around and spent much of our time by the Arno River.

Make sure you head to the riverside at sunset, the colors are absolutely breathtaking!

Here's a picture I captured with my iphone.

While Florence is more known for its art & history over its food, we found a couple of amazing places:

Restaurants:
• Gusta Pizza (By far the best pizza I have ever had! Great spot for lunch.)
• Trattoria 4 Leoni (A must visit. Excellent food and wine! We celebrated the bird's birthday here.)
• Baldovino (Lovely atmosphere and excellent food! It is also right next to Piazza Santa Croce.)

Also worth noting is the San Lorenzo Market. It's a large outdoor walking market very close to city center. My favorite part was the indoor part, San Lorenzo Mercato Centrale. If you head to the market, make sure to take a stroll inside the lovely Mercato. It's full of wines, cheese and other delicious temptations.

If you have any specific questions about Florence, feel free to shoot me an email. I am happy to help!

All photos taken by me.