Lost in Florence

We left Venice Sunday morning and arrived in Florence just before noon. The entire time we walked from the train station to our hotel, Justin kept saying, "I miss Venice!" But we would soon fall in love with Florence too. We checked into our hotel and figured out what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. Getting on the elevator was an experience. Just look at how small it is!



Our hotel was near the Arno River - which is surprisingly low. We walked along the river looking for a place to eat and came across an outdoor bistro serving pizza and entirely too expensive but quite refreshing fruit bowl. We continued our walk to center city with some incredible views of the Ponte Vecchio (the only original bridge left standing).



We weaved in and out of the streets of the old city, getting lost in the ancient buildings and cobblestone streets. Being we are in a rather spectacular fashion district, Justin gave me his best model pose in front of the Faragammo store. And then gave me the best compliment of all - he told me I looked like I was Milanese! :)



At 4pm we headed to the Accademia, home to Michaelangelo's David. We had reservations but were surprised when there was not even a line of people waiting outside to get in. If you blink, you'll miss the museum. It's a unassuming building on an unsuspecting street.



I couldn't help myself. I had to break the rules and capture some shots of David.



For dinner, we headed to a restaurant highly recommended by Jordan and Paige... Trattoria Za-Za. The only thing is, Justin took me on a detour of the Florence ghetto to get there. We were both a little nervous - did the Codes really eat here?!? Little did we know, it was right down the street from the Duomo. We sat outside on a lighted terrace where the atmosphere was bustling and enjoyed some fabulous traditional Tuscan cuisine. I've been trying to upload a video of Justin making his best Giada DeLaurentis impersonation, but it's been almost an hour and it's still not done. I guess I'll just have to do it when I get home.



Cheers to a great first day exploring the streets of Florence!

The Venetian Allure

We finally arrived to our hotel in Venice at about 11:30pm. And, we were starving! We hauled our bags up to our room at the Hotel Cà'Zosa and headed out to find some nightlife serving food. We unexpectedly walked down the cobblestone street along the Laguna. It was beautiful. But, no food. All the restaurants were closed. We got a hot tip to check out the Santa Margherita... and that it was!

The square was hopping with music and food! We picked one of the restaurants and randomly selected something off the menu. We were pleasantly surprised. I ordered swordfish which was served on a bed of arugala and topped with strawberries and blueberries. It was refreshing and the perfect midnight meal for two exhausted Americans! (We toasted our arrival to the most romantic city... JP had the house wine and I, the house Fanta.)

We crashed that night, but only for a few hours. We heard the best way to see St. Mark's Square is at six in the morning. Well, that didn't quite happen. We slept through our alarm. Guess who woke us up? ME - frantically telling JP it's 6:50!!!! We hussled and were out the door by 7:30am and arrived by autobus (a boat in Venice) to a peaceful square. For the next hour, we owned the place and got some great pictures without thousands of other tourists and merchants in the way.

We headed back to the hotel for a traditional Italian breakfast and got ready for our boat trip to Murano.

This is the bus stop. Not bad for public transportation! We opted to take the scenic ride around the entire island. The breeze was cool and the views spectacular.

We decided not to take a tour of the glass museum and instead walked the streets, popping in and out of shops. We managed to cool off with our very first gelato of the trip! It definitely lived up to the hype!

We made our way back to Venice for a change of clothes and the ultimate night cap - an overpriced, but unforgettable sunset gondola ride. Let's just say gondelier, Juan Paulo, was some serious eye candy for the price... tall, dark, handsome, speaks five languages and will serenade you at no extra cost.

Think Fabio meets Andrea Boccelli. I think he was the hottest Italian man I've ever seen in person (second to my Italian husband, of course!). Sorry all you single ladies, he's married with kids. (I would play matchmaker with Finley and his youngest son who's only seven months, but that would mean Baby Pullaro wouldn't have a chance! It's hard to compete with a professional gondelier.)

Juan Paulo took us through the quite canals of this quaint city and then for a brief ride along the Grand Canal. Here we are in front of the Rialto Bridge. You assume it's a cheesy, touristy thing to do, but it takes your breath away.

We ended our evening with a wonderful dinner at Sempione on the canal (recommended by both our hotel owner and the hotness that is Juan). The fresh fish was grilled to perfection. Our dessert sampler included some of the best tiramisu we've ever tasted.

During our brief 36 hour stay, JP and I fell in love with this city! There is literally no place like it. We can't wait to come back and soak it all in... the simple, laid back lifestyle, the cool breeze flowing through your hair and the picturesque views. It's easy for a Floridian to connect with this one-of-a-kind water world.

Ciao Venice!

Forget Paris

At least that's what we were thinking after our brief, but action-packed four hour stay. We had hoped to make the most of being in another city and training to The Eiffel Tower for a quick picture to say we were there. However, a nice man at the Delta counter solved our problem. We realized if we got on the flight to Milan we wouldn't make it to Venice on Friday night. The last train out was only an hour after our arrival time and having already missed a plane we didn't think we could chance it. There weren't a lot of options. Pay $500 to switch our flight to Venice OR... catch an earlier flight into another airport in Milan! Who knew?

I mentioned in my last post that I managed to spill my hot chocolate all over the table, the floor, JP's shoes and even a strangers' white pants. Think tsunami of chocolate. JP and I were on our hands and knees trying to clean up the mess with 700 cocktail napkins. (That was JP, even though he refuses to admit he will have any creative input in this blog because of the name... mainly, "the sisterhood".)

I'd like to say the only reason I spilled my chocolate is because of a jarring gun shot inside the airport. But, we were already cleaning up the mess when that happened. Why a gun shot in the airport? Apparently, some celebrity or dignitary whom we've yet to determine was arriving at the airport and everyone had to move from their location so the armed guards could secure the perimeter. The guards impatiently asked us to move ourselves and leave our bags where they were. Let's just say all the commotion was too much for preggers to handle.

A MINUTE IN MILAN
Fashion, fashion, fashion!!! It is true... it's a fashion mecca. The people are beautiful just like their clothes and shoes. I loved people-watching.

We are officially Venice bound!!!!

Flashbacks of the Final Four Fiasco

It's been a long day! So forgive any grammatical errors in this post - my hands and my brain are not in sync. Evidenced by the spilled chocolate milk on JP's brand new white tennis shoes. Like I said, I'm uncoordinated and a clutz right now. Although, I am pretty proud of myself. In typical Raquel fashion, I asked the worker at the Pomme de Pain counter about the "chocolate viennoise"... in FRENCH! And I understood her response. Wow, I guess I did retain something after four plus years of studying the language. So, that brings me to the fact that we are at the airport in PARIS... not Milan, as originally planned.

Our flight leaving Tampa was delayed by about 50 minutes because of rain/lightning. To start with, we only had an hour layover in Atlanta. So while we were a bit concerned, Justin said, "it's just the stress talking." Well, about 45 miles from Atlanta the pilot announced we would be circling the area for about 20 minutes because there was no room for us on the ground. But that was okay, we'd already strategized our plan. You see, we've been here before. In 2006 we tried to go to the Final Four in Indianapolis. The Gators were playing for the National Championship title (which they won!). But, we never made it there. We got stuck in the Philadelphia airport... and ended up watching the game at the Philly Gator Club bar. We can laugh about it now. :)

As soon as we landed, I checked the flight status from my phone. Boarding. Perfect - Justin was going to run with his backpack all the way to the gate to hold the doors open for me. I was going to grab the two bags and alert the gate attendant that we were on the way. Of course, we were at the back of the plane AND had to go from gate A to E... clear across the Atlanta airport - a one mile sprint.

I can only imagine the sight. JP's running a 6-minute mile and preggers here is wearing a shirt with "what's kickin'" on it and lightly jogging with two rolling suitcases. Let's just say I was breathing heavy. We got our workout in at CrossFit Airport.

I finally catch up to JP and it's not good news... he's walking back from the gate shaking his head. We missed the flight. Off we went to the service counter to find an alternate route to Milan. That brings us to Paris. And let me tell you, we pulled the prego card as much as we could. No such luck.

We already have crazy stories from the Paris airport, but I'll post it later. We need to get to the gate. Au'revoir!

PS- Still figuring out this blog thing. I can't get the right pictures to post or move them around. I'll work on it when we have more time.

Italy Bound!

I've been trying to get our blog up and running for months now, but my perfectionism and procrastination are working against me. So, needless to say, the blog we've created to share all our Baby Pullaro News is still in the works. But, since we're counting down the days until we leave for our next vacation, I'd thought I would use it as an excuse to get an old (but never used) blog up and running. I got the great idea from my sister-in-law and brother-in-law who blogged their way through Italy in December 2007. Justin and I had so much fun keeping up with their travels. So, I decided I would attempt the same.

I admit... I'm addicted to traveling. I LOVE it!! And I can never get enough! I want to see the world - so far, I've had the privilege to visit four continents! Justin and I try to make it a point to take a "big" trip (outside the USA) every couple years. It's a tradition my parents started when I was growing up. I can always remember my dad saying, "We don't drive fancy cars, we don't have fancy furniture, but we do travel to fancy places!" What wonderful memories!

I hope you'll journey with us on our travels outside of Tampa! I am so excited to finally join the blogging craze!