When I was planning out the final leg of our Europe trip, there was no doubt that my mom and I wanted to stay at the Piazza Pitti Palace in Florence again.  We made a last-minute hotel change last year and it was one of the best surprises of the trip.  Not only does the hotel have amazing rooms, but the staff is friendly, and it’s in a quiet location that’s still just a short walk from the main tourist attractions.  (And this isn’t a sponsored post.) The room we stayed in last year (you can see it HERE)was going to be tough to beat, but this room was just as beautiful. The most striking thing about the room is the huge antique original oil paintings on three of the walls.  It was like staying in a museum, but this was our room.  Nothing was roped off. Look at the

On our last full day in Barga, we went to tour and have lunch at a classic Tuscan vineyard and visited the small hilltop town of Montecarlo.  We went to the same vineyard last year and I was eagerly looking forward to the delicious lunch and the beautiful scenery.  Just walking up to the vineyard is a treat.  The gravel path is covered by a canopy of trees and dappled with shade and a smattering of sunbeams. The tables are beautifully set under open-air structures.  It’s a dream setting and it was a perfect day to visit this venue.  It was warm and sunny, but not too hot. Fattoria Il Poggio, the vineyard revisited, was the perfect balance between being high-end and having a comfortable family feel. Since I already toured the vineyard last year, I decided to sit on a bench in the shade to write in my journal

Well, when we were in Barga this year, we were asked by Dana (our host & guide of The Inspired Tourist) if we’d like to attend a cooking class.  Of course, my mom and I signed up for that!  When you have a chance to interact with locals through an experience like learning to cook local dishes from them, you take it. So, one afternoon, we headed over to La Mezza Luna, a bed & breakfast and cooking school, for Tuscan style cooking and dining with Rita.  It also happens to have a beautiful view. Rita was one of the most delightful people I met on our trip.  She is warm and boisterous; an Italian woman born and raised in Scotland.  Because of her Scottish upbringing. She still speaks English with a thick accent.  So much so, that you almost forget she’s Italian. Rita assessed group, which was the largest

On the afternoon of our first full day in Barga, we had the pleasure of doing a walking tour led by Keane, a man who moved from the UK 30 years ago and has made Barga his home.  We didn’t get to do this tour last year, so I was excited to learn more about this ancient walled town.  The main focus of the tour would be visiting the 1000-year-old Duomo at the top of the hill.  It’s a Christian church with a pagan history where the steeple bells are still rung by hand. Keane took us the long way up the hill through the winding streets of Barga.  One of my favorite things about these old European towns is the narrow streets.  I love the way the light falls into them creating sharp shadows and bringing the warm colors of the plaster to life. I love the little passageways