European Vacation

John and I spent the last two weeks in Europe.  He had a trip to London that he needed to take for work, so of course I tagged along.  From there we went to meet up with my parents in Florence, Italy.  As John said, we are so lucky that we don't meet in boring places!  I had a great time in both cities, John more in Florence because he had to work in London, but we still managed to sneak some time for ourselves.

London is an amazing city!  I loved being there, seeing the old and new and getting a sense of what it has to offer.  As I mentioned, John was working for most of it, but I was able to walk around and explore all of the various parts of the city.  Also, family friends happen to be in town at the same time, so I spent one of the days with Pari while John and Chris both worked.  It was so fun to see her and catch up, it had been ages!  My camera died midway through, so some of the pictures are from my phone, please excuse the quality ;-)

The first day, I walked all around the hotel, which was in the insurance financial part of town.  Some of the buildings are very cool, especially the Lloyds building.  I'm sorry I didn't get a picture, I thought I did.   The next day, I met Pari for breakfast at her hotel and then we went shopping (or browsing, the exchange rate was terrible!)  We went through Harvey Nichols and Harrods and then to Westminster Abbey where we met Chris and then parted ways.  I continued to walk along the Thames to the Tate Modern Museum, then to Borough Market and finally home.  It was a long day, but saw a ton and enjoyed the fall weather!  The building the Tate Modern is in is very cool and you know I love walking through a food market.  The following day, John only had to work through lunch, so we went and had afternoon tea at the Landmark Hotel.  It was an oasis in the middle of the city!  Tea was wonderful, an abundance of sandwiches, pastries, scones and a little champagne to celebrate the beginning of vacation for John.  On the way back, we walked by Buckingham Palace and through St James Park so John could see something other than the insurance section of town.  It was a lovely afternoon and the perfect start to vacation.

Tower Bridge 

Westminster Abbey

Pari and I

Big Ben

Tea at the Lankmark

The inside of the Landmark, looking up from the table.  A true Oasis.

John in front of Buckingham Palace - he got a real kick out of the guards hat

St Paul's Cathedral

Saturday morning we were off to Florence.  I can't get over how easily you can travel through Europe once you're there - Florence was only a 2 hour flight and super easy.  We had been to Florence before, so we didn't spend every day touring, we did hit the Pitti Palace, the Uffizi and the Boboli Gardens, but otherwise, we just relaxed and enjoyed what life would be living in Italy.

John and Mom at dinner on the first night

After John and I made our way through the Pitti Palace, we met mom and dad for lunch at Il Latini - they were so nice.  We had to wait so they brought around a plate of cheese and little glasses of wine.  Lunch here was a LOT of food, but all good and fun

Dinner at Gusta Vino - a great find by mom and dad.  If you're going to Florence, I'd make a stop here!

The space is a mix of modern and old Tuscan and the chef is creative and talented.

A day of shopping at "The Mall" - Italy's version of an outlet - Gucci, Pucci, Ferragamo, Armani etc.... what can be better???

Drinks at the Four Seasons in Florence.  The hotel was just like a museum - if you're in Florence stop for a drink - it's beautiful and they make a tasty cocktail!  

My aunt Mary's dear friend Patty happened to be in Florence at the same time with her Sam.  We met them for dinner one night and it was a hoot!  Always fun to meet familiar people in far away places.
John and Patty

Our neighbors Joy and David have a friend who is the chef and owner of a restaurant in Florence, Garga.  We went, it was FABULOUS and Alassandro was very welcoming.
John, Alassandro and I

The group at Garga with our friendly waiter/restaurant manager

A trip to Florence is not complete without a trip to the School of Leather.
Dad, Mom and John in the courtyard - not a bad place to go to class!

Every time I see the duomo, I am blown away

A view of the ponte vecchio, ahhhhhh

John and dad outside of the San Ambrogio market - just a stop to get some fresh fruit for the morning.  I have never had melon that is so sweet or proscuitto that is so tender and perfectly salty.

Just hanging on the Carraia enjoying the view after having some gelato.... 

John taking a seat while we get recommendations from mom's new friend at Busati.  The fabrics in here are unreal and the work they do is amazing.  My favorite, the shoe bag! 

Do you ever get sick of this view?

John reading in the apartment.  Notice the brick floors - the apartment is in an old palazzo and has been in the owners family for years.

After a rainy morning and a few hours admiring art at the Uffizi, we found a little spot for lunch.  I don't remember the name, but know it was wonderful and just what we all needed.

A cocktail before dinner at Hotel Lugarno.  The lounge was comfortable, the view of the arno and the drink list perfect!
Another must stop if you're in Florence.

Mom and I had the signature cocktail - vodka, ginger, pepperocino - yum!
Can you see the ground up chilis floating in there?

The view from Hotel Lungarno's lounge 

John and I stopped at Rivoire on a cool morning for a cioccolata con panna, the best hot chocolate I have ever had.  Mom and dad spent the day in Arezzo with their friend Fabio

A trip to the Boboli Gardens really got us walking, but the views were worth all the hills we had to climb.  And this is just the bottom of the gardens. 

We spent a few hours wandering around and enjoying the peace that the gardens offer. 

It's truly unbelievable that this was a family's back yard

In the building behind me, there was a porcelain museum, all china used from the 1500 - 1800's.  Unbelievable that it is still in tact

the random art throughout the gardens was unreal.  I don't know if this was always in multiple pieces or if someone put it back together, but either way - how did they do it?

Always a sucker for a tree tunnel

This one looked like a postcard....

That night it was back to the Hotel Lungarno for another drink (we couldn't help it, they were sooo good) before dinner. John's was gin with arugula and something - hence the crazy green color

Mom and I back at our signature drinks.

Dinner was at Golden View - a modern, seafood focused restaurant right on the arno with a view of the ponte vecchio, hence the name.  

Mom and John

Dad and I and another fabulous meal in Italy.

Our trip ended with lunch at the apartment with our friends from Villa Vezza, Monica and her family.  And I thought I'd show you where we spent most of the time while we were in the apartment - sitting around the kitchen table chatting.

We had a fabulous trip to Italy and it was wonderful to share it with my parents.  It probably seems from this blog that all we did was eat and shop, but what else do you do when you're in a country that produces amazing food and clothes, shoes, bags etc...?  We seriously found some great restaurants this trip - if you're going, you can't go wrong trying any of them I mentioned.