Florence In Pictures

Although my travels have taken me in or near Florence, Italy several times the past couple of years, I just realized I've never actually written about it here.

Serious blogger fail.

Florence is perhaps best-known for its famous sculptures. Well, one in particular: Michelangelo's David.

This is a replica, and I guess it's alright. If you're into sculpted naked men, I mean.

Actually, I hate to admit this, but Florence's world-famous works of art are completely wasted on me. I go to Florence for the food.

Also, this view...

The street artists are pretty impressive too.

Because it's Florence, even the light posts come with extra flair. Can't you just imagine them dancing when no one's looking?

Here are a few other pieces that caught my eye...

And, of course, no visit to Florence is complete without some oogling of the Ponte Vecchio and the spectacular Duomo.

Next up on the blog? Venice.

But first, I'm off to the Napa Valley for a much-needed girls' weekend.

P.S. You know you've been traveling too much when the TSA agent takes one look at you and says "You've done this a time or two haven't you..."

Happy Weekend!

{images via Elizabeth Farrar for Bella Vita}

Savvy Nomad: AirBnB

This probably won't surprise you, but I get quite a few questions about traveling. Apparently, word has gotten out that I'm a bit of a nomad. One of the questions I am asked most frequently is: "How can you afford to travel so much?"

Which is obviously code for "Drugs or Trust Fund?" (The answer, for the record, is neither).

The truth is I've chosen to make travel a budget priority (with a dedicated 'adventure fund'), and I've learned loads of tips along the way to travel well cheaply. For instance, I recently discovered the website AirBnB, a must-bookmark site for savvy nomads.

AirBnB connects individuals with spare rooms or apartments for rent with travelers. There are options available in just about any city you can think of, and the rates are usually far less than you'll find in more traditional local accommodations.

All of the booking and payment is done online through a secure website. There are pictures, descriptions, and traveler reviews to help you decide where to stay. And, as an added security measure, AirBnB holds your payment for 24 hours after your scheduled arrival date in case you're unsatisfied with the place.

I chose to rent entire apartments during my stays in Tuscany, Athens, Crete and London, which gave me a bit of extra privacy and enabled me to cook some meals at home (another big travel savings).

Here are a few pictures from the places I stayed...    

Athens (Link to AirBnB Listing):

Crete (Link to AirBnB Listing):

London (Link to AirBnB Listing):

Tuscany (Link to AirBnB Listing):

Virtually every landlord I met was kind and helpful, providing me with everything from maps and restaurant recommendations to help carrying my luggage. My landlord in Tuscany even drove me to Chianti and translated for me during a full-day of wine tasting at no extra charge.

They don't do that at the Four Seasons.

Check out the AirBnB website here.

Happy Travels!

{images via www.Airbnb.com}

Wagon Wheels & Flower Power

You may have noticed I've fallen off the face of the Earth the past couple of weeks. I don't know about you, but it seems that the more I have on my mind, the less I have to say. I'm back in Oregon at the moment (Yes, I still owe you photos from the end of our Italian adventure), and I've been spending my time (and spare brain power) trying to figure out what this Plan B life looks like now.

It's a work in progress; this whole being a grown-up thing.

In other words, please bear with me while I put the wheels back on my wagon.

In other news, I spent the weekend visiting old friends and taking pictures of pretty flowers. That is what grown-ups do, right?

Here are a few of my favorites:

{images via Elizabeth Farrar for Bella Vita}

Return to the Cinque Terre

Our picture-laden tour through Italy continues. Today's stop: The Cinque Terre.

I've written about this stunning place before; five quaint villages nestled among the crooks, cliffs and crannies that make up Italy's northern Mediterranean Coast. It's one of my favorite places in the world.

Sadly, a few months after my last visit in 2011, two of the five villages experienced catastrophic flooding that swept some villagers' dreams and lives out to sea and left the survivors up to their eyeballs in mud. The communities have undergone a heroic effort to clean up and rebuild. In fact, the only evidence we saw of the flood were the pictures in shops and Vernazza's new beach (built from all the mud and rocks that washed off the hillsides and were relocated there during the cleanup effort).

Here are a few of my favorite shots from our time there...

As I said in my post back in 2011, do yourself a favor and add the Cinque Terre to your travel bucket list. I seriously considered dropping this whole writing thing and becoming a trail guide (this area is known throughout the world for its incredible hiking trails and views) for the summer instead. Want to join me?
 
{images via Elizabeth Farrar for Bella Vita}

Rome In Pictures

If you've been following along on Facebook, you already know that I've spent the last couple of weeks in Italy and the United Kingdom with my mom, who is making her first trek across the pond.

We've been sprinting (sometimes literally) through London the last couple of days and spent Tuesday on one loooooooong flight from London to San Francisco. To be honest, I'm completely exhausted. So rather than write a lengthy post describing our adventures, I'm taking the lazy blogger's way out and posting pictures instead.

Let's start with Rome.

We started our journey with a whirlwind tour here. We only had two days to explore the city's nearly 3,000 years of history, so we focused on the highlight reel:

The Colosseum...

Gorgeous St. Peter's Basillica...

The Vatican...

And spent an enchanting evening visiting Rome's tremendous squares at night. We saw Bernini's Four Rivers Fountain (psst...check out this post for more on my little Italian crush).

Checked out the neighborhood around the Pantheon...

And visited Trevi Fountain.

Legend has it if you throw a coin over your right shoulder into the fountain, you will return to Rome.

Looks like we'll be returning.

(I threw five...just in case).


{images via Elizabeth Farrar for Bella Vita}