For my birthday this past August my boyfriend really one-up’d me (forever) with the gifts. I came home to find a pair of adorably wrapped presents sitting on the kitchen table. I opened two travel books of Italy, and was super jazzed thinking that he got these for me in the hopes of us one day going there.  And honestly, that’s all I thought.  I had just received my first-ever passport and we’d been watching a lot of Italian cooking shows, not to mention I had already received my “birthday gift” from him earlier in the week, so really, that’s all that I processed.  As I went to take a look through one of the books, a printout of airline tickets fell out, and well…I totally lost it. Never had I ever been out of the country and Italy?!  Not even in my dreams did I think I’d be going there one day.  It was the most thoughtful gift. And that day, our countdown to Italy commenced.

Last month the day arrived and we headed over to Italy for 11 days of perfection.  Our trip was beyond amazing, life-changing, mind-opening, better than anyone could have ever described.  We started and ended in Rome, with time spent in Florence, Vinci, and Cinque Terre in between.

In Rome, we didn’t really have a plan or much knowledge about what to do or see.  We just aimlessly wandered, stumbling upon the most amazing and jaw-dropping beautiful sights.  There were so many things we were able to see and experience in Rome, but here are some of my favorites:

• Santa Maria sopra Minerva (chill-inducing beauty inside this church; see below photo [credit: boyfriend])
• Pantheon in the rain
• Campo de Fiore early in the morning
• Gelato. Everywhere. Everyday.
• Dinner(s) at Cantina e Cucina
• Drinks at Les Affiches (all-around awesome decor/vibe; we were the only Americans and it ruled!)
• The paper stores (Cartoleria Pantheon was my favorite)
• People watching at night in Piazza Navona
• Altroquando was our favorite bookstore (by far).  Amazing selection of books, with a live music dive underneath, and a very inspiring collection of art and design books at their counterpart store across the street.

Over the next few days, I’ll post pictures from our other stops. For now, click “Continue Reading” below to see my photo highlights of Rome.