Out Of Office: Exploring Italy – WOOHOO!!

The countdown is finally over!

If you’re reading this it means that our wait is finally over and we’ve said goodbye to our kids, boarded the plane and set off to explore Italy!  I mean, at this very moment we could be sitting in a cosy little Italian Trattoria sipping some red wine and stuffing our faces with pizza.  Or maybe we’re walking the streets of Venice while shoving spoonful after spoonful of gelato in our face holes.  Or maybe we’ve stopped at a roadside coffee bar to catch our breath and take in the vibe.

And yes, I may be more than a little bit excited about the food aspect of this trip – haha.

While we’re away our blog is going to be taking a back seat while we explore, connect, indulge and relax.  I have not scheduled posts because who even has time for that.  And I’m sure you will forgive me while I take this as a legitimate break and not try and overwork myself just to make sure there’s content up on the blog to read.  I know you’ll be fine with that be you are all cool like that.  That’s why we’re virtual internet friends.

However, if you are wanting to keep up with us and our adventure as and when it happens, you are more than welcome to follow along on our social channels.  You can find us here:

 

INSTAGRAM – @cindyalfino   or   @sethalfino

TWITTER –  @cindyalfino

FACEBOOK – 3 Kids, 2 Dogs and 1 Old House

When we get back I know my personal tank will be all topped up and I will be bursting with stories to share.  Which is exciting because I will be able to share it on a fresh looking 3 Kids, 2 Dogs and 1 Old House.  I’m working with the creative genius Andrea Barras from Bird and Design who has been really patient with me and all my various demands.  What can I say, I’ve got lots of dreams my little space 😉  Anyway, you may notice a bit of down time from around 28/29 May until the “reveal” on 1 June.  But you also may not.  OK, you probably won’t but I thought I’d tell you anyway.

Then my Mother has asked for a full itinerary so that she knows roughly where we are every step of the journey.  Which got me thinking that it might be cool to share here too in case you’re wondering.

Our 9 Day Italian Itinerary

19 May – Rome

We arrive in Rome at around 7am and we will be heading straight from there to the Colosseum and surrounding sights to knock that off the checklist right up front.  No dilly-dallying on this trip friends.  Our AirBnB is around the corner from the Colosseum so we’ll probably hang around this area a lot and just take in the fact that we are finally here by drinking wine and eating pizza – you know that’s the first thing I’m going to check off my bucket list.

20 May – Pompeii

Today we will be taking a guided tour of Pompeii.  We meet our guide at the train station at 7am where we are then transported via a coach from Rome through Naples to Pompeii.  We skip the line and get shown around the important and notable bits there including a walk up Mount Vesuvius.  On our way back we head through Naples where we stop for a pizza.  We’re quite keen to stop here because apparently this is where Seth’s great, great grandparents are from so we will be the first Alfinos to have gone back there – exciting!

 

21 May – Trastevere

For our last night in Rome we will be staying in an area called Trastevere.  It’s got that old school Italian vibe about it – cobble stone streets, little alleys and flowers adorned doorways.  It seems to be the “younger” and possible more trendy side of Rome and so I’m quite excited to walk around here.  We’ll be walking here from our AirBnB near the Colosseum, so we will get to see all the things on our way – hopefully this will include the Pantheon and the Vatican City.

22 May – Hop on a train to Florence

It takes about an hour and a half on the train to get to Florence.  We only have to book into our AirBnB in the afternoon so we will try and see anything in Rome that we haven’t already checked off our list on the way to the train station.  Once we get to Florence we will just take in the city.  Exploring the markets and soaking in the ambience at our sweet little AirBnB – it’s a little house all on it’s own.  I’m quite excited to have our own space for this part of the stay.  Also it has a washing machine which is perfect as our midway point to wash all our clothing because we’re only taking backpacks and not suitcases.

 

23 May – Day Trip to Pisa and Cinque Terre

The more I actually researched this trip, the more I knew that there were a couple places that we HAD to visit.  One of those was obvs Pisa because have you even been to Italy if you haven’t pretended to hold it up for a photo?!  But also Cinque Terre.  I just knew that if we didn’t go there I’d be regretting it forever.  So I found a tour that takes us by train through Pisa before heading up to Cinque Terre for the day.  I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS!!

24 May – What you got Florence?

Today will be walking the whole of Florence.  Apparently you can walk one side to the other in 30 minutes.  We will be checking off the statue of David and walking to the top of the Dome as part of today.  Then it’s really about any other part of the city that takes our fancy.

 

25 May – Head off to Venice

It’s a two and a half hour train trip into Venice.  But from what I hear, it’s going to be worth it.

This is the part of the trip that’s actually going to feel like a holiday.  Being lazy and sleeping in, indulging in delicious breakfasts made of gelato.  Walking, seeing, talking, doing, drinking, eating, laughing.  All that business.  Lots of it.

26 May – More Venice

I want to get lost in the streets.  Wonder aimlessly and just enjoy our last day without any rushing or anything.  A real “holiday” in a beautiful city.

27 May – Head back to Roma

I stupidly booked a walking tour for this morning that’s about 3 hours long.  Luckily our flight in Rome is at 11pm so we have a lot of time to get there.  So we’ll do our tour, have our gondola ride and see inside some museums before hopping on the train for the 4 and a bit hour ride to Rome.  Then it will be making sure we get on our flight home with all the goodies that we’ve bought for everyone in tow.

28 May – Arrive in Cape Town

I will probably be running through the airport to reach my kids and strangle them in the biggest hugs EVER!  Then I’m sure there’ll be a few happy tears, lots of hugs and kisses and a resounding, “What did you bring us?!”

And that my friends, is that.