Buongiorno!
Welcome to the digital scrapbook of our trip to Italy! We are just three ladies looking to explore the world ❤️
Meet Joanna (me!)
Just a year ago, I went on the "Rick Steves: Best of Italy in 17 Days" tour with my husband Mike (more about that here). A few months after the trip, I posted a #TBT photo of me looking out over Firenze from the top of Brunelleschi's Dome reminiscing about all of the delicious gelato and pasta I ate on our trip. Next thing I knew, my aunt Sokmoua was messaging me about how if I really wanted to go back, she would come with me. One thing led to another, and a couple phone calls later we had signed up for the "Rick Steves: Best of Venice, Florence, and Rome" tour and convinced my mother to come with us.
Meet Sokmoua
Sokmoua is my aunt in my dad's side and had never been to Europe before. All the photos that I had posted were making her travel-buds water and she called me one day to ask if I wanted to go back to Italy with her. I mean, how could I turn that down.
Meet Sovanna
Sovanna is my mom and hadn't been on a trip to Europe since 1998 when she took my sister Rose and I to Paris to visit family we had living in France. She had been wanting to go back for years, so when I asked if she wanted to come with me and Sokmoua, of course, she said yes.
The Three Travelers:
(L-R) Sovanna, Sokmoua, and Joanna
About our Travel Scrapbook
This scrapbook has been organized in chronological order of our adventures starting with Day 0 with daily photo galleries to walk you through our adventures as if you were right beside us the whole time.
We'll share with you all the places we ate, slept, and visited as we immersed ourselves into the Italian culture. The Rick Steves Best of Venice, Florence and Rome in 10 Days tour is an amazing introduction to all the history and culture that Italy has to offer.
Why Rick Steves
Even though I had just been to Italy a few months before, I knew that there was no way I could provide my mom and aunt the full experience of Italy properly. So we decided to do another Rick Steves tour! I was blown away during the Best of Italy in 17 Days tour and knew that even though it would just be 12 months between tours, I would still have multiple "wow" moments on this tour that I didn't have a year ago.
Bridge of Sighs
Venezia
Rick Steves' Best of
Venice, Florence & Rome in 10 Days
Itinerary
Best of Venice, Florence and Rome Tour in 10 Days
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Day 1: Welcome to Venezia
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Day 2: Historic Venezia
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Day 3: Venezia's Accademia Gallery & Lagoon
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Day 4: Wonders of Renaissance Firenze
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Day 5: Backstreets of Firenze
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Day 6: The Uffizi and David
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Day 7: Wine Tasting, Roma at Night
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Day 8: The Vatican Museums & St. Peter's
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Day 9: Monuments of Ancient Roma
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Day 10: Tour over after breakfast
After the tour ended on Day 10, we decided to make Sorrento our home base for a couple of nights so we could explore Capri and the Amalfi Coast.
Preparing for the Trip
The Three Travelers:
(L-R) Joanna, Sovanna, and Sokmoua
Packing
Listen to Rick Steves when he recommends taking no more than a carry-on sized piece of luggage. Those Italian sidewalks and streets are all uneven and beyond bumpy. Most of the hotels you end up in also do not have elevators, so you've gotta carry that bag up the stairs on your own. Or in our case, you have to carry the bags above your head while walking to your hotel during historic flooding in Venice on the day of your arrival 😬 More on that on the next page...
We also recommend bringing at least one additional backpack/tote that you can pack with 2-3 days worth of clothes and your toiletries if you want to leave the suitcase on the bus for a few nights.
If you're looking for a good hard case suitcase, my carry-on from this brand has now survived five weeks of touring Italy.
Crowds & Pickpockets
While you're exploring Italy, you are constantly looking around or up sometimes unaware of the people surrounding you. Heed the warning re: thieves - they are everywhere and ready to pounce if you're not paying attention to your belongings. I highly recommends this bag, which has locks for the zippers and RFID blocking pockets. Its the perfect size for carrying around your camera and other needs while out exploring whatever city you're in.
Joanna + recommended travel bag
hanging out in Piazza San Marco in Venezia
How to Navigate this Scrapbook
This scrapbook has been organized by city and day for the whole trip. Each day's summary includes all the sights, shops, and food experienced while exploring each city's wonders.
We'll also give some tips along the way on how to make the most of your future trip to Italia!
We hope you enjoy reading about our journey as much as we enjoyed experiencing it! We hope this inspires you to get out and find your own "wow" moments.
All of the photos and videos in this scrapbook were taken on our iPhones while on this trip. All of the picture galleries and videos will expand if you click on the photo.
