Get Your Sleep On – Villa Tolomei Hotel & Resort (Florence, Italy)

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Let me preface this by saying that I don’t really like Florence. It’s not my favorite Italian city, by far. I didn’t like it before my husband and I stayed at Villa Tolomei and I still don’t really like it after. But I can’t wait to go back to Villa Tolomei Hotel & Resort… so that probably says more about this hotel than I ever could articulate in a detailed review.
Villa Tolomei - Driveway
The driveway of the villa, looking out from the front door.

All dramatics aside, this hotel is the real deal. We’ve spent nights in various “luxury properties” on several continents and this place just has that “it” factor that some properties try to achieve, but never really do. It’s fancy enough, but the design is so subtly brilliant in mixing the classic, restored villa with the modern world in a way that doesn’t feel like it’s trying too hard or going to be outdated in a decade. It’s just effortlessly cool, but Continue reading →

Review: Try The World

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Update 10/6/18: Try The World has vastly updated how they do business since my original post below. We had a good run of delightful boxes that arrived in beautiful packaging, on time, and full of quality products. That has changed. How so? Try The World no longer offers country boxes – they give you a random assortment of items that have no cohesive theme, don’t ship on time, sometimes skip months for no reason, and the overall quality of the product and packaging has taken a serious nose-dive. A TRY THE WORLD MEMBERSHIP IS SO NOT WORTH IT. I really wanted this company to make it. I did. I loved getting our box every month. Now, Try The World can try making itself better. But first it should try to avoid bankruptcy, where it is likely headed, judging from its behavior these last few months.

Hubby and I have been subscribers of Try The World since Christmas and recently received our second box – the Venice box – in the mail. So, I thought I’d write a review.

Try the World

Contents of the Try The World Venice Box

“What’s Try The World?” you ask? I have to admit, I was hesitant to sign up for it because I found it via a Facebook ad. Normally, I ignore Facebook ads… and I would say that one out of 2 times I actually clicked on them and ended up buying something, I have been horribly disappointed. Continue reading →

In Vino Veritas – San Pier Wine Bar Cafe (Mdina, Malta)

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My husband and I happened upon the San Pier Wine Bar Café, tucked away in one of the ancient bastions of the city wall of Mdina, Malta during our honeymoon… and I’m so glad we did.
San Pier Wine Bar Cafe
Entrance – photo courtesy of the San Pier Wine Bar Café Facebook Page – Used with permission
Joanna Stellini, the daughter in the Stellini family, who own and operate the place, greeted us cheerfully and plopped down what was a very reasonably priced drink list on our high-top cocktail table, as well as a food menu, just in case we felt peckish.  After reviewing the offerings on the list, we enlisted Joanna’s help picking the perfect glasses of wine to enjoy before dinner.
Since we indicated we would like to try a local offering, she recommended a delicious Maltese red. Aptly named Medina, the young 2013 blend (Syrah, Carignan and Grenache) usually popular in the French Languedoc region and in Catalonia in Spain (where Grenache is, of course, known as Garnacha…those pesky Spanish with their special Spanish grape names!) is made by the Emmanuel Delicata Family winery. It was a beautiful Continue reading →

Pic of the Day – Gozo, Malta

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We signed up for a boat tour on the island of Malta during our honeymoon, which included stops for snorkeling off the coast of Gozo (one of the other islands of the nation of Malta), a stop at the Blue Lagoon, and some lunch onboard. We really enjoyed the tour, even though we ditched the boat and took an amazing speedboat ride back to the Sliema Harbor (more on that later). Here’s one of the shots from that day, from my iPhone:

Gozo, Malta

Date Taken: October 17, 2014
Location: Somewhere off the coast of Gozo, Malta

With highs in the 40’s Fahrenheit this week, you could say I’ve got Malta on my mind.

The Doorknobs and Doorways of Mdina, Malta

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We spent an afternoon wandering the streets of the Silent City (Mdina, Malta) between our day of sightseeing and our evening dinner, just getting lost in the winding, narrow medieval streets.

Here are some of my favorite shots of the beautiful, mostly religion-themed and marine-themed door décor in the beautiful hilltop medieval city of Mdina.

 

 

What are YOUR favorite doorknobs and doorways of Mdina, Malta? Tell me/show me in a comment!

A Night in Rome – Wandering Trastevere

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One of my favorite things to do when in Rome is wander the ancient neighborhood of Trastevere.
My husband and I went to Rome back in September 2010 and tried to eat at a particular restaurant in the neighborhood of Trastevere (Le Mani in Pasta – see my post about it here) after I’d done some research online and figured out that some of the best pasta places in the city were concentrated in that ‘hood. We’d already eaten at one of the best pizza places (Dar Poeta – amazing… but also super cramped and loud – see my post about it here) in the neighborhood, and fell in love with the awkwardly narrow, cobbled streets, piazzas filled with locals drinking beer and wine, dining al fresco, countless scooters whizzing by thisclose to where we were walking. It was magical. It feels exactly the way you would expect Rome to feel.
We had arrived at said restaurant and the harried waiter asked us how many, and assured us that we’d have a table in 20 minutes. Twenty minutes later, it was another 20 minutes. This continued for about an hour (we were patient!) until another waiter dropped an entire tray of food on his way to a table, and we finally realized: We are not going to sit anytime soon. Luckily, another couple had just been walking by and suggested that we check out the restaurant around the corner. We set off in search of our consolation dinner immediately, stomachs rumbling and hanger building with each step.
After navigating a small maze of streets we found ourselves in Piazza dei Mercanti, standing in front of Continue reading →