Eat, read, love

After spending 10 magical days in Italy, it’s finally time to share with you the inside scoop (and not just of gelato!)

After a ten-and-a-half-hour flight to London, a basket of chips and a few pints of Guinness, another two-and-a-half-hour flight to Rome, and a two-hour drive in a stick-shift operated car, we finally arrived in Tuscany. Speaking as someone who lived in Italy when I was younger, I’d consider myself a pretty legit source when I say everyone needs to visit the gorgeous Tuscan countryside at least once in their life. The perfect home base for day trips around Italy, Tuscany is where you’ll find the rolling vineyards, miles of sunflower fields, and tree-lined driveways winding up to sprawling estates that seem to only exist in the movies. After arriving this last week, my family and I soaked up all the sun and Aperol spritzes we could manage (and maybe a few more spritzes for good measure). When we weren’t spending our time by (and in) the pool, escaping the 100-degree heat wave, we ventured out to a few of our favorite cities. Cortona, Florence, Siena, and Rome were our chosen stops this time around.

• BOOK REVIEW: Tell Me Lies

  Now, throughout this looong day of travel, I read the only eBook I had downloaded on my phone. Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering took me on a journey even more complex than my taxis, flight changes, and bag checks were. Following Lucy, a girl starting college, I had assumed this book would follow her life and friendships throughout her years in school. And while I wasn’t entirely wrong, there was more drama, psychological warfare, and twisted lies than I ever thought 400 pages could contain. The characters were toxic. I honestly really hated most of them at times, and yet somehow was rooting for them and haven’t been able to stop thinking about them since. I really don’t know what else to say about this book, except to save yourself now by never reading it… Except you absolutely need to read it.

Back to reality! We took a day trip to Cortona, a 15-minute drive from our countryside rental up into the city center. A tiny town with one main “centro” (pronounced chentro), Cortona is home to some of the best leather stores you can find—I still have a shoulder bag in perfect condition I bought there six years ago. Another stop you can’t miss in Cortona is the wine shop, Enoteca, Enotria. For as cheap as €4, you can sample the best wines in Italy out of an epic wine-tasting dispenser (if you’ve never seen one of these, look it up immediately!) We made friends with Sara, the sommelier, and chatted with her about all her favorite Italian wines. After our tasting, we were nice and ready to cool off from the summer heat with a gelato from Gelateria Dolce Vida, one of my favorite spots in all of Italy. My tried and true combination is coco (coconut) and cioccolato fondente (dark chocolate), but you can’t go wrong with the Italian classics either: pistacchio and stracciatella. After walking around a bit more and exploring the town, we paid a visit to our favorite dinner spot, Cortona Bistrot. If you ever plan on coming here, call ahead and ask to sit on the patio, where you’ll have a panoramic view of Tuscany’s rolling hills to match those of Under the Tuscan Sun. I always choose between one of their handmade pastas or local specials, and this last time, I had a pici all'amatriciana I’m still dreaming about. By finishing the night off with a walk around the moonlit town, it’s impossible not to fall in love with Cortona.

• BOOK REVIEW: Great Big Beautiful Life

  We spent another day or two lounging by the pool, where I read Emily Henry’s newest release: Great Big Beautiful Life. As someone who’s never minded reading “overhyped” books, I really enjoyed this read. While it wasn’t my number one Emily Henry book (nothing will ever replace PWMOV for me), it was extremely fast-paced and kept me hooked the entire time. Essentially a spin on TJR’s 7 Husbands, Alice and Hayden are two reporters competing to write the biography of a former tabloid princess who’s been in hiding for the last two decades. The book follows Alice and Hayden’s relationship, beginning as competitors and slowly developing into something more. Additionally, we get the full story of Margaret Ives’ past, discovering shocking details along the way. All in all, I enjoyed my time reading this book. My only complaint is that after the halfway mark, I felt certain scenes were skipped over that would’ve developed the characters’ relationship significantly. The book felt a little distant by the end, and the twist and resolution didn’t hit as hard as they could have if I were more connected to the characters. However, I’d definitely recommend this book, especially to someone looking for a quick summer read.

Later in the week, we headed out for a day trip to the province of Siena. We began in Pienza, a city we’ve somehow never visited before (a mistake we won’t be making again). This adorable town is walkable in only 20 minutes, assuming you’re not lured in by all the sights like we were. We stopped in cheese shops, a gelateria, and at La Terrazza del Chiostro for drinks with a view. Not too big or touristy, Pienza quickly became one of our favorite stops of the trip. We could’ve easily stayed all afternoon, but hopped back in our car for the short drive to Montalcino, the Brunello-making capital of the world. Now I’m not going to lie to you—there’s one place and one place only we go to when in Montalcino—and that’s our favorite wine bar in all of Italy. Enoteca La Fortezza, which translates to The Fortress Wine Shop, is exactly what it sounds like: a wine shop in the old fortress of Montalcino. Once you select your tasting, they’ll pull out all the stops for you, filling you up with complimentary meats, cheeses, and bruschetta alongside your fantastic Brunellos. They have cheaper tasting options, such as 3 glasses for around €30. However, if you’ve been here more than a few times, or you’re feeling up for it, you can level up to the Top Brunello Tasting, with 5 glasses of some of the best Brunellos made in recent years. Not only are their wines incredible, but they also offer free shipping to the United States. And as a bonus, once we started picking out bottles to purchase, our incredible sommelier started bringing us glass after glass of complimentary wines to taste. By the end of our tasting, they had to bring another table over to hold all our wine glasses… Again, we would’ve loved to stay all night, but we had dinner reservations in Asciano. Now, this is the part of the trip you may want to call an audible and head over to the city of Siena for dinner instead. If you’ve never been, Siena is one of the most iconic spots to stop in, and you could easily spend hours wandering the streets. We considered heading there, but after our already long day of driving, we ultimately decided to grab dinner at the slightly closer Asciano. We sat down at Locanda Amordivino, where all their pasta is handmade (and INREDIBLE), and they’ll cook your Fiorentina over open flame right by your table. All in all, the Siena province is a beautiful area with endless adorable small towns to visit.

Next stop! Florence (or Firenze, as the Italians call it) was just over an hour’s train ride from the Camucia station. We immediately started walking—stopping only for a quick to-go Aperol spritz from one of Florence’s famous wine windows—until we reached Schiacciateria De’ Neri 18r, the best, undiscovered sandwich shop in Florence. While the sandwiches at the famous I’ Girone De’ Ghiotti are admittedly almost worth the 45-minute line, the Schiacciateria’s sandwiches are just as good, if not better, with no wait time and cheap prices. We ordered the La Golosona and La Firenze, coming out to a grand total of €14, and easily enough food for 4 people. I’d also recommend ordering La Maialona—you can’t leave Italy without having porchetta at least once. We then made our way to do some shopping, looking in some local boutiques and of course stopping at the Brandy Melville and Zara, which have better selections for half the price in America. We got gelato right by the Duomo, and enjoyed it while taking in Florence’s most famous sight. After a few hours in the 100-degree heat, we were ready for a drink at our favorite spot: Hotel Lungarno. Right across the Ponte Vecchio bridge, this (air-conditioned!) hotel has a bar area overlooking the Arno River. It’s a great spot to escape the sun, have a cocktail and snack, and regroup before heading back into the city. We sat for a while, talking, playing card games, and just staring at the beautiful river. When we finally managed to brave the heat and leave the hotel (did I mention the air conditioning!?), there are beautiful gardens not even a 10-minute walk away, the most popular being the Boboli, Bardini, and Rose Gardens. We took an early train home this last week, but if you can stay until dinner, I’d highly suggest hitting up one of the many amazing Italian food restaurants. However, if by some chance you’re sick of pasta and pizza (which, fair, is highly unlikely), there’s an incredible dim sum restaurant (called Dim Sum Restaurant, lol) with my favorite Asian food in all of Italy. Finally, to end off the night, I would head over to Green Street Bar, a popular spot among study abroad students. Their world-famous caramel espresso martini is a delicious sweet treat (be prepared—it is sweet) before hopping on a train home.

• BOOK REVIEW: The Paradise Problem

  Meanwhile, on the train home, I finished The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren. I’d heard talk around this book for a year, but somehow only managed to get to it recently. First things first, this was my favorite read of the trip. Everything about Anna and Liam’s dynamic had me hooked from the start. In college, Anna and Liam were both looking for cheap rent and got connected by a mutual friend. Their friend suggested that they get married to access subsidized family housing, and having no other options, they did. Now, three years after graduation, they haven’t spoken to each other for just as long, but get brought back together when Liam asks for Anna’s help. His super-rich family was hosting his sister’s destination wedding, and required that Liam bring his wife if he wanted any chance at an inheritance. Thrown together on an island, surrounded by money, booze, and drama, Anna and Liam’s personalities and witty banter made the book impossible to put down. If you take any recommendation from this post, let it be this book!

Now, with only a few days left in Italy, we wanted to spend a little more time in the Tuscan countryside. We swam, drank, tanned, cooked, drank, walked, and drank some more. A few places I can’t go without mentioning are Le Terre dei Cavalieri and Relais La Corte dei Papi. Le Terre dei Cavalieri is an adorable Agriturismo located in Cortona, not far from where we were staying. Essentially, an Agriturismo is a property owned by an Italy family that has been adapted to accommodate tourists, typically offering rooms, meals, and activities related to farm life. It doesn’t really get more “Italy” than walking past some pigs and gardens on your way to eat freshly made pork and vegetables (too far?). We stopped here for a dinner, and were tempted to stay the night, seeing as we didn’t want to leave this gorgeous property. Relais La Corte dei Papi is a little more luxurious, attached to a very nice hotel in the countryside. If you come for lunch, you can ask to sit in the gardens adjacent to their pool, where they have a gorgeous gazebo and rows of olive trees. All the food they prepare is fresh, local, and insanely incredible; bonus if you choose The Chef Suggestion (and make sure you get the cheesecake!)

• BOOK REVIEW: Things We Hide From the Light

  On the way to Rome, I finished off Things We Hide From the Light, the second book in Lucy Score’s Knockemout trilogy. There’s not much I can say about this book without spoiling the first one, but prepare for a small-town romance mixed with mystery, action, and an adorable dog. I did enjoy this book, but definitely not as much as the first. The female main character wasn’t entirely relatable to me, but I still loved the romance between her and her nice-guy-cop neighbor. If you’re prepared to dive into three 600-page books where you’ll fall head-over-heels in love with the whole town, I’d recommend starting Lucy Score’s series.

As our time in Tuscany came to a close, we headed the two hours back to Rome to spend one final day before saying goodbye to the boys. If you want to absolutely maximize your time in Rome, here’s the blueprint I’d give you: arrive a little before lunchtime. Immediately find somewhere to park between the Tiber River and Campo Dei Fiori, and make your way over to the outdoor market. Peruse the shops, maybe buy a thing or two, then head to the Piazza Navona, no more than a five-minute walk away. This famous piazza sits above the ruins of the Stadium of Domitian, a stadium that once held public athletic games for over 30,000 viewers. Next, the Pantheon is just another five minutes away, the largest unsupported concrete dome in the world. I’d honestly recommend saving your money and time by not paying and waiting to go inside, but I also realize seeing that open dome is kinda iconic, so it’s up to you here. When you’ve soaked up all the Pantheon that you can, grab lunch nearby at Er Faciolaro. This restaurant honestly blew me away the first time I tried it. If I can recommend anywhere to get some classic, handmade Italian food, this is the place. This last visit we got caprese salad, mushroom and sausage pizza, ricotta ravioli in rose sauce, and fettuccini bolognese. I’d honestly fly back to Italy just for that meal. We ended with espressos and complimentary limoncello (a must try in Italy) before getting back on our feet to walk to the Trevi Fountain. (Now for a sidebar: yes, I realize this day in Rome is mainly centered around seeing the very touristy sights. And while I’m sure there’s a ton of very niche, private, less crowded things to do in Rome that are phenomenal, I’m just a sucker for all these popular sights and can’t help but find myself going back to them every time I’m in the city. That’s all, carry on!) Anyways, see the Trevi Fountain, throw a coin in over your shoulder, make a wish, the whole shebang. Then head towards the Roman Forum and Colosseum, the “longest” walk you’ll have to make all day, which will feel like nothing when you’re walking past all the incredible architecture and shops Rome has to offer. Now, after seeing the Colosseum, maybe grabbing a gelato, here’s where you have a choice to make. If you’re like my mom and me, you can make the trek back to where your car’s parked, somewhere around a thirty-minute walk. But if you (or anyone in your group) is like my dad or brother, you’d best plan on hopping in a cab or Uber to save everyone the complaining that will inevitably occur. Either way, make sure you end up at Terrazza Borromini, where you’ll head up to the rooftop bar for spritzes overlooking the city. Drink, snack, talk, and take in the incredible view before grabbing dinner anywhere along or across the river. If you do end up staying a night, Hotel Smeraldo is well-located, gorgeous, and has the most incredible complimentary breakfast in the morning.

After our long day in Rome, we all got as much sleep as we could before sending the boys off to the airport to fly back home. Meanwhile, my mom and I hopped on a train for the Italian coast. (Well, hopped is a bit of an understatement—we moreso sped through traffic, parked illegally, and ran bags-in-hand to catch our train seconds before it left.) Regardless, once safely on our train, we headed off for Positano.

Books Read:

Tell Me Lies - 4.5/5 rating

Great Big Beautiful Life - 3.5/5 rating

The Paradise Problem - 4.5/5 rating

Things We Hide From the Light - 3/5 rating

Italy Recommendations (in the summer!)

Cortona: 4-5 hours in the late afternoon/evening, 9/10 rating

Pienza/Montalcino/Asciano: 2 hours in each, 7.5/10 rating

Florence: 7-8 hours in the afternoon/evening, 8.5/10 rating

Rome: 6-7 hours in the afternoon, 7/10 rating

Positano: (read next blog here!!)