Florence, Italy was on of my favorite cities so far, it was just as nice as Venice, but in a different way. We stayed at David’s Inn hostel, which was right in the center of the city. It was a very nice hostel with recently updated furnishings and decorations. The first night we meet a guy who told us about this great spot with live music that overlooks the whole city and gives a great view of the sunset; we ended up going to this spot every night, it was absolutely gorgeous. The views were fantastic! We mainly just wondered around and explored the city, but one day we did a day excursion. We did a wine tour through Tuscany. This was probably my favorite part of the backpacking trip so far. We book the grape escape wine tour at a really good price online before we left. The tour took us to a wine tasting school first where we tasted not only wine, but also olive oils and balsamic vinegars. We learned a little bit about paring with different foods and the proper way to taste the wine. We then went to a local winery where we were taken on a tour of the production of wine. After the tour we were treated to a traditional Tuscan style lunch over looking the beautiful Tuscan countryside; we also got more wine and cheese. The tour continued with a trip to the little town of San Gimignano, where I ate the best gelato I have ever had! The little town was what I pictured an Italian town to look like. I am so glad we did this tour because it gave us the chance to explore a side of Italy that we wouldn’t have had the chance to see without renting a car.
Tag Archives: tour
Scotland
Scotland was the destination for this weekend’s adventure! The first night we stayed in Edinburgh, Scotland right next to the castle! As you can see from my photo the hostel was in an ideal location, which made touring the castle a easy walk. Our weekend was filled with many adventures, even tasting the famous Irn Brew that is more popular in Scotland than Cola; one of my favorite adventures was a day trip to the Highlands and Loch Ness. I must say the views from the bus along our drive were some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen, but unfortunately pictures simply do not do it justice. We took a boat ride around the Loch Ness, and I have to admit that I am a believer in the Nessie the Loch Ness monster after hearing the stories that our boat driver told on our cruise around the Loch. On the final day of our weekend we climbed to the top of Arthur’s Seat which is a dormant volcano in Edinburgh. The top of this volcano gave absolutely incredible views all around us and was one of the highlights of my trip. It only took one weekend, but I fell in love with Scotland!
southerner2londoner 