Italy Travel Vlog_ exploring Florence, Tuscany and Venice (2022)

Our first stop in Italy is Venice! Yay! We took a flight from Madrid to Milan and then hopped on a train to Venice. It was actually much more affordable to fly into Milan versus flying into Venice directly so we just took a train from Milan which was fairly easy to navigate. And we booked business class tickets for the train which in my opinion were worth it. I think it was only an additional 10 or 15 euro but it was so spacious and made the trip so much more comfortable. It went by so fast. We arrived in the late afternoon and we just felt so tired so we went out for an early dinner and this was probably some of the best food I had actually while we were in Venice, surprisingly on the first night. I got a spicy arrabiata sauce, so good. And it's so funny but so many people asked me while we were traveling how we were able to afford all of this and one thing we did that I think was so smart is we booked a hotel actually outside the island of Venice and then took a bus which only took about 10 minutes into the city every day. We're in Venice! First thing I need is a coffee. I need pizza. Yeah, pizza. Nico's so hungry and my head is hurting because I haven't had coffee yet. On my hunt to find coffee, we stumbled across this bar slash cafe and they had just taken this right out of the oven and it looked so good. We weren't really planning on eating pizza at 10 a.m but we just had to. Spoiler alert, I'm probably gonna say this throughout the entire video but it was so good. Like everything I feel like I've eaten in Italy was insane. So we had pizza part one and now Nico's on the hunt for pizza stop number two. We're basically just gonna be walking around and eating this entire time. Did you know in Italy you actually have to cut your own pizza because they just don't usually pre-slice it for you? Anyways, after we got pizza we had to go and look for a gelato spot. There were only three places that we went to that really stood out to me in Venice and this was one of them. For all the places that I loved, I'll put a star next to it so you know that this is one of the three that I recommend you go to. This spot has fewer flavors but they are all so fresh and it came highly rated by so many different travel guides and now I see why. It's day two! First things first, I knew I had to get myself a little pastry with my coffee because I was craving it this day. Nico of course wanted some more pizza so we also got ourselves a few slices and it was only four euro per slice which to me seems pretty affordable. I also got myself a cute little Nutella croissant. Look how tiny! But it was so good and it was stuffed with Nutella. After pizza, we were just walking and we came across this fruit stand so we bought some figs and peaches and they were so good and juicy and fresh. Mmm, those are really good. Pizza number five or six? I don't know, too many. I'll let it cool down. How is it Nico? So you might be wondering what is there to do in Venice besides just eat and while we mostly spent our time eating and walking around the best thing you can do in Venice is just get lost. There are amazing museums and of course classic historical sites that you should visit in the city but everyone has said sometimes the best thing you can do in Venice is just walk around with no plan and go where it takes you. And honestly going into it with not much of a plan could have backfired on us but I think that's why we had so much fun. I had heard that traditional Aberol spritzes are served with an olive so I was really excited to see that this one had one and honestly it actually fits really well. Like the slight subtle taste of olive, I really liked it. This pasta was so good and even though this place is apparently a chain I actually really liked the food. The quality was there, the pizza was delicious so if you have the chance check out this place as well. So we already got pizza and I don't really like need gelato like I'm not craving it that bad but I think I want to go anyways and see if I if I see something I like I'm gonna get it. I don't know do you know that feeling where you're like not super hungry for it or you're not like super craving it but you're also like well it's there like I'm in Venice so I might as well get gelato. Let me know in the comments your favorite gelato flavor. I ended up going with this really dark chocolate and then we also got some cherries after. Our last day in Venice. This was our last morning in Venice before taking a train to Florence. We came back to the first place that we found on our first day. I got myself a cappuccino and of course we had to get the focaccia pizza. That Nico was obsessed with. We ended up getting I think two or three more of these slices. 10 a.m pizza for breakfast is that weird? Yeah this one was better than the rest. We walked around for a bit and I got myself some snacks because I cannot survive without snacks and then we took the train to Florence. Here's a little look at our hotel. This was much more affordable than all the other hotels we were looking at and honestly we just knew we needed somewhere to sleep and that was it. So it worked perfectly for us. I also didn't know this while booking but they gave us free breakfast every morning as well. I actually studied abroad in Florence for only a month before COVID hit and I had to leave but this cafe I went to probably over 10 times while I was there just for the month and I love the food. I think it's all fresh, healthy. So if you need a salad place or just a place to break up the monotony of pasta and pizza you could check out this cafe in Florence. Another place on my Italy list is Sprino in Florence and this is hands down the best gelato I've had. I think because the flavors are just so unique and so fresh. Also I love how my boyfriend says he doesn't like sweets and then steals my ice cream. I look so obnoxious filming everything. People are probably like what is this tourist doing? One of the things I loved about being on this extended vacation and traveling and eating just such amazing food is I really felt comfortable eating what I wanted when I wanted and truly just enjoying my time. I really felt like I could just eat without overthinking and without seeing food as good and just as something that I ate to fuel myself as I walked across this beautiful city. Also I know this isn't very Italian but there was one day where we were really craving sushi and we found this all-you-can-eat sushi place that was pretty affordable. So if you're ever like us and you just want to eat a ton without breaking the bank this place was well worth the money. I ate enough sushi to satisfy the fact that I hadn't had it for over a month. We are just walking and exploring the sights and it is so hot right now that we're both dying and I think we might need to go back to the hotel to just avoid the heat. And we're back to my favorite gelato place literally the next day. That looks really really good. Okay everyone talks about this sandwich place in Florence so we had to go check it out and it was well worth the visit. I honestly didn't know which sandwich to order because they all sounded so good and I would come back just so I can try different combinations and different types of meat and cheeses because they all looked so so good. Wow let's get yours. That looks so good. I got La Inferno and it was so good. This cut of meat was the one that the guy at the front recommended. I think you're really gonna like mine. Mine's insane. The pork is so juicy and it was amazing. I liked it even better than Nico's even though the prosciutto was also really good. Also side note I don't know if many people can relate to this but I used to be terrified of eating bread because I thought carbs would make me fat which is so untrue and the complete opposite. Carbs are necessary to be happy healthy and energized so I'm really glad I got to get over that food fear because one of the best parts about travel is eating all the local food and not overthinking anything and this sandwich was one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. Also something we did to save money to travel to the airport was take this like kind of a train but it was above ground bus kind of train situation and it was only 1 euro 50 to go all the way to the airport and get our rental car to drive to Tuscany. Did you make all of this? It's so beautiful. So pretty. Do it with your picture. Oh my god. We're keeping our cup. Lunch was a very wholesome homemade meal with a ton of vegetables which was much needed. I felt like my digestive system thanked me but then we went out for dinner and I got cacio e pepe which is a very creamy pasta as well as another aperol spritz and it was so good. We also shared some pizzas and yeah can you just tell that this whole trip is just definitely a foodie vacation. This is like my seventh gelato. I haven't worked out in what feels like ages but I woke up and it's 5 a.m and it looks pretty cold outside like nice and cool so I'm actually gonna try to go on a run and the only reason I'm recording myself right now because this is like I just like want time for myself to de-stress, relax. I've been feeling really bloated lately and kind of just like need to clear my head so I'm recording this just to like in a way hold myself accountable and tell myself that I can do it not because I have to but because I want to and I want to feel strong and capable. Let's do it. It's actually so refreshing and cool right now. I'm excited also a little nervous. I hope I don't throw up because it's also gonna be a lot of uphill and downhill. Also excuse my hair. I don't know whenever I'm running I'm like it's gonna get messy anyways so no point in trying. I am getting major chafing. Like I feel like I'm walking like a duck right now because it hurts so bad to run and have my legs touch. I'm not a runner so I never really have experienced this before but it sucks. How does anyone run and not get chafing? Like it hurts so bad. After going out for breakfast we swam all day and then it was time for an early dinner and homemade pizza. We started dinner around 4 p.m and we ate until probably 8 p.m. We ate a total of 30 pizzas between the seven of us so you can just imagine this was such an amazing feast and I didn't film all of it because I just wanted to enjoy my time. The first thing we did was stop inside a cheese store and it was so smelly but the cheese tasted amazing. I also bought myself this cute bracelet and we walked around and just explored the cute little town. Now we are going inside the cellars where they keep the barrels. I tasted so many wines and probably had the equivalent of like four glasses by the end of the meal but wine tasting in Tuscany was just such an amazing experience to have. So we're actually staying in Cortona at my aunt's house that she is selling so this is the first and last time I'll ever be in Cortona at least at this house. Today we're going to the local market. It is Saturday so there's going to be a huge variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and also some like jewelry and clothing items. We'll see but yeah I'm excited. How is it? We bought ourselves some fruit and sandwiches and now we're gonna go pick some lettuce from the garden and make ourselves a lunch. After lunch and a few snacks we went to this lake and shared fries. I had a diet coke before going out to dinner. Between the five of us we shared three of these traditional appetizer plates and I love having multiple flavors in my mouth and trying different things so this was such a good meal. And of course had to get gelato after dinner and I swear I feel like I've had gelato every single night while I was in Italy and I was there for two weeks. After a week in Cortona we came back to Florence but this time with my family and honestly Florence is one of my favorite cities. It's so romantic and just picturesque. We are here in Florence having a total foodie adventure. I feel like this entire trip has just been me unleashing my inner child eating anything I want and it's been such an enjoyable time. I talk a lot about this but like food freedom is just amazing. These next two restaurants that we ate at and the activity we did after are things I highly recommend in Florence if you ever go. Nico got this burger that they served without a top bun but it was so good. I got this salad that was amazing before meeting a friend for mocha and gelato. As you probably already know this was my favorite gelato spot and then this rooftop restaurant is beautiful. You can go for just a drink or snacks or even a meal. After a drink and some snacks we went on a sunset boat ride and this was one of the highlight activities I did while in Italy. Our guide was so amazing and told us all these interesting facts about Florence while I got to drink a glass of wine and it's perfect for groups but also super romantic for couples. And that was sadly our last day in Italy before getting on a flight to Turkey so you can watch that vlog that will be coming up soon on my channel. Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you guys next time.