In the spring of 2015, my wife and I took our first trip to the beautiful country of Italy. We had a 10 day adventure planned out that took us from the serene countryside of Tuscany near Florence, to the bustling city of Rome, alongside the ancient ruines of Pompeii and to the incredible beaches along the Amalfi coast at Positano. It was on this trip that I discovered a love for wine (Chianti Classico), rode a horse for the first time (his name was aptly named Buffoon), and saw some of the most famous works of art in the world.

We started our trip in Florence. Florence was one of my favorite cities we visited. It was quaint, relaxing and we had an amazing view of the Duomo, the Arno river and the Ponte Vecchio from our hotel. Some of the highlights from our time in Florence was seeing the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence’s Duomo) and climbing the 463 steps to the top, the statue of Michelangelo’s David at the Galleria dell Accademia, strolling along the shops across Ponte Vecchio, visiting the Giardino di Boboli (The Boboli Gardens), horseback riding in the country side of Tuscany and wine tasting at a family owned winery in the Chianti Fiorentino region.

From Florence, we took a high speed train to the metropoltan city of Rome to see the Colosseum, discover the Roman Forum, and visit the Holy City of the Vatican. While exploring the Colosseum we took a private tour which led us inside the bottom level where we could really get a feel for what life and the conditions of the animals and gladiators were like back in the Roman era. Our time at the Vatican was breath-taking. We took a tour which led us inside Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel where we learned a lot of the history of the Catholic faith and some interesting facts about the artwork and daily life of the Vatican City.

From Rome we took a train to visit the ancient city of Pompeii for a day. Walking around the amazingly preserved stone streets and buildings was a surreal experience as we imagined how people from hundreds of years ago were walking and standing in the same places we were. After walking the city for close to 5 hours, before our journey back to our hotel in Rome, we stopped and got the most refreshing lemon ice that was made from the largest lemons we had ever seen. These lemons were easily the size of grapefruits if not bigger!

After our time in Rome, we traveled to the scenic Amalfi Coast staying in Sorrento and visiting Positano and the Island of Capri. Our hotel in Sorrento was easily our favorite of the entire trip. It was situated on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Gulf of Naples with a private swimming and sunning area right on the water. We spent our time relaxing and enjoying the sun and beautiful scenery that surrounded us. We took day trips to Positano and The Island of Capri where we enjoyed the local scenery and food. Positano is one of the most beautiful places I have been in my life, I felt as if we were in a movie the entire time.

We greatly enjoyed our time in Italy and would love to go back and visit other parts of the country. The food, people, and scenery were all incredible and it is definitely a place I’d recommend on visiting if you ever get the chance.