Day 3:  Florence to Tuscany

I woke up super early, around 6:45am Italy time, and didn’t feel well at all. That morning we were traveling from Florence to Tuscany, and moving was the last thing I wanted to do, I felt extremely nauseous and weak. Poor Braden had to pack up all of my things for me, because I could hardly move after getting sick a few times. Trust me, feeling as sick as I did was probably the absolute worst way to feel when you’re traveling in the 90+ degree heat in a foreign country.  At the car rental place, I had to sit outside most of the time in order to get some sort of air flow. Y’all, it was horrible. I was praying the entire time we were in the car during the drive from Florence to Tuscany, constantly giving myself a pep talk not to vomit in the car & that I could make it to our destination.

When we arrived to Chianti, my nausea was at an all time high. I felt awful. We parked the car at the bottom of the hill of our hotel, and I slowly (I mean slowly) made my way up to the hotel. Once we reached the top and saw the view of the vineyards for the first time, I was overwhelmed with emotion and my eyes immediately filled with tears. It was so beautiful, I was literally moved to tears. It was such a strange moment, I felt extremely sick but I was also extremely moved. I felt the Lord in that moment, I really did. We got to our room and I immiedately ate a basket of bread and drank some water, and finally felt semi-normal. It was all the Lord, seriously, because only He could take away that awful sickness feeling that quickly and in an instant like that.

After regaining strength, we all got some snacks on the patio and then spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool. For dinner, we traveled through the mountains past some incredible views. 

We landed at a quaint little local spot, Cantinetta Sassolini, with the most dreamy of entrances. The owner of this restaurant was so kind, and made the experience so fun. We finished the evening with a stroll around Campomaggio, looking at the stars and taking it all in. Braden and I laid in the hammock by the pool walkway for a bit, then it was off to bed.

Day 4:  Tuscany

 We started our day with breakfast on the patio at Campomaggio. Although our hotel wasn’t a full service restaurant, we still had plenty of options for breakfast and lunch. We spent a good chunk of the day by the pool listening to music, swimming, and napping. Easily the most peaceful place I have ever visited. Around 4pm, I went down to the spa for a manicure. I may or may not have dozed off in the chair because I was so unbelievably relaxed! After my manicure, Braden and I met out on the patio and did a CrossFit workout with a view of the valley. It felt so good to get our bodies moving, and to do something that we love while on vacation! We got ready for dinner, snapped a few photos (how could we not), and headed up the mountain roads to dinner at Bar Ucci.

 Bar Ucci is quaint and had such a good local essence about it. The owner was so joyful and truly didn’t meet a stranger; she was exactly what I was expecting when I pictured an Italian restaurant owner! Seriously, she is someone you would see in a movie, I don’t know how else to explain it! Her pup, a Cocker Spaniel, roamed around the outskirts of the restaurant during dinner, their staff was incredibly kind, and she brought out blankets to her guests when the sun went down to keep everyone warm. It was an experience of a lifetime, unbelievable! We bought some of their house Chianti wine and then headed back down the mountain.

Braden and I had a little scheduling mishap, so we had to stay at a different hotel in a different part of Chianti for the night. We ended up staying at the Palazzo San Niccoloi, it was a cute little side of town that definitely had more locals. Driving in to our hotel, we may or may not have driven on the wrong side of the road.. oops!

The next morning we traveled from Tuscany to Siena, and then Siena to Rome. Stay tuned! 🙂