An Italian weekend

An Italian weekend? With mom friends? Where do I start? Italy is magical. At least, for me it was. I honestly still pinching myself because I don’t believe this trip even happened. But because it was so last minute (planed literally 5 days before). Full disclosure: we went with a local & went in January, which is the off season for the region.

Airfare: It was definitely cheaper. We scored $400 round trip, direct flight from NYC to Milan on none other than Emirates (I’ll have the deets for this experience for another day- because IT WAS AND EXPERIENCE!!!).

Day 1

Thursday-Limbiate: We arrived around 1 in the afternoon. Going through customs was so easy, it took all of 5 minutes. A quick stop for a cappuccino and we headed to our hosts place. After we settled and changed, we headed to the mall for a little bit of shopping. Be advised, if you are in the suburbs of Milan, the grocery store does not give you shopping bags, so make sure you bring your own. We made the mistake of not having one after going shopping for Nutella and olive oil. Also, always keep your receipts!

DAY 2

Friday-Milan: Got on the subway to Piazza del Duomo. There we took pictures and headed to see Duomo di Milano, we purchased the entrance right there and only went to the inside. We skipped the roof for lack of time. Duomo is incredible. After the Duomo, we headed to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. There we did our spins on the bull (right in the middle of the galleria). Apparently you step with the heel of your foot on the bulls “part” for good luck. There was tons of people trying to do it. While this is a shopping center, we didn’t do any shopping since most of the stores are very high end (think Versace and Prada). We’re not even done yet! This was a great start to an epic weekend.

Next stop was Sforza Castle. It has a beautiful garden and exhibitions. A walk through the park and then lunch. La Prosciutteria Milano was perfect. And so our time in Milan was done, we headed to the train station to catch our train to our next destination. Sadly, we spend a little bit too much time enjoying lunch and missed our train by seconds. Thanks to me and the stairs and asthma, so please keep the time in mind. We changed our ticket and actually upgraded them to a different cabin. Our new ticket included a snack and beverages!

The train ride was superb, we had a choice between salty or sweet snack and got wine, coffee & water. There were plenty of plugs. We arrived in Florence about 6:30 ish. From the Florence train station to our hotel it was a 5 minute walk. after we checked in and dropped our stuff we headed out to dinner (food was amazing at Il Latini).

Day 3

Saturday-Florence: In the morning headed straight to Galleria dell’Accademia for Michaelangelo’s David. Because it was a weekend there was definitely more people so don’t forget to reserve the tickets before hand.  After visiting David, we headed to Duomo di Firenze. It was absolutely magnificent outside, but inside, they were doing some construction so I couldn’t really appreciate it. The church is free to go inside but you need to purchase a ticket in order to climb to the tower. Then some walking and exploring of the city.

We visited the Mercato Nuovo or “Porcellino” leather market. Florence is known for its leather so we couldn’t miss this market. Don’t forget to put your coin on the boar. There is a statue right outside the market. Apparently if your coin falls in the drain you will have a return to Florence. Be aware this area, at least in my short experience, was the most crowded with pick pocketers. Light shopping done and a short walk we reached Ponte Vecchio bridge. I was amazed at the structure of the bridge and the reflection of it in the water. Now lunch, we found a pizzeria in a cute alley and gelato, because hello it’s Italy! After a bit more walking around the city, we headed to the hotel to grab our things and then of to the train.

Again, the train was great, smooth and quick. I have to say the Padua train station was the most busy for me. It was a saturday night and there were a lot A LOT of young people out and about. It did made me feel a little bit like I was back home as the first two restaurants were a McDonald’s and a KFC. We took the tram to the hotel, checked in and went to dinner. So far, not bad for a weekend right?
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DAY 4

Sunday-Padua: After breakfast a quick walk to Basilica Pontificia di Sant’Antonio di Padova. As soon as I entered, I couldn’t contain my tears. I was crying the whole time. The emotion that overtook me was like nothing I have experience ever. It’s the only place we visited I saw a no camera sign, so sadly I have no pictures. While there, we quickly checked out the Chapel of Reliques, where you can see the tongue of St. Anthony. Also, at the Basilica you can get very close to the tomb of St. Anthony and offer a prayer. The Basilica also has a beautiful courtyard and a cute little shop.

Outside there’s a lot of vendors and you can shop for St. Anthony’s rosaries and such. We walked to Prato della Valle, which was so calming and relaxing. A quick walk pass Loggia del Capitanio, which is an astrological clock and Galileo’s home, where he lived while he taught at the University of Padua (which by the way is the 5th oldest university in the world). Time for lunch and of course we had to finally try and Aperol Spritz and tramezzino, and what better place to eat than at the Duomo square? After lunch we went in search of some wine and olive oil to take home. Went into a little shop where we got a class on how to choose the best one for the best price!

After a quick stop for a cappuccino we got in the car for our 20 minute drive to Venice. We arrived in Venice, left our luggage in the car and headed straight to Piazza San Marco. We didn’t go inside the Basilica di San Marco, instead we decided to use the rest of the daylight to go on a gondola ride. The gondola ride was about 45 minutes long and it was definitely an experience. Dinner in Venice was AMAZING! Trattatoria alla Rivetta was spectacular. The service and the food, so much we all had 2 main dishes. We walked the city and I fell so in love.

Day 5

Monday-Venice: And so our weekend in Italy was coming to an end. We packed our bags and headed to the train station. The city was so foggy, every eery. While at the train station, a guy tried to scam me, by helping me with the luggage, but we made it on the train safely. The train from Venice to Milan was very quiet and in Milan we quickly switched to our train to the airport. We have a few more hours, we could’ve explore Milan, but we had luggage and decided to just play it safe and head to the airport. At the airport we decided to pay and get in the Emirates lounge. Let me tell you, that was the best decision ever, especially after loosing my wallet and having to throw away a 600mg jar of Nutella.

 

Thoughts…

And just like that we took off and waved arrivederci to Italia. I have so much to say about this trip. Mainly because it’s a trip that has been a dream since I can remember. I had never done it, because I thought it was super expensive and my anxiety wouldn’t let me let go of my fears. Maybe because it was so last minute my anxiety didn’t have enough time to boycott me. I wish I had more time in Venice, but I am completely shocked by how much I loved Padua, so PLEASE add it to your list of cities to visit in Italy. I really can’t believe how much we did in a weekend.

Please, I beg all moms, find you a mom that makes you challenge yourself in the best way. If it wasn’t for my friend Suzanne, this trip would have never happened. She knew I had this dream and she asked her friend if I could tag a long. I am so grateful she thought of me and allowed me to experience this with her, because in reality- she’s the only person I know who loves food as much as I do!

I will definitely share more from this trip and Emirates experience, because Emirates is on another level FABULOUS.

Where would you go for a weekend getaway with your friends?