01
August 26—31
Rome
A historic heat wave, ancient ruins everywhere, and more adventure than we bargained for.
Read the Rome story →August 25—September 9, 2026
Italy, A Very Full Sixteen Days
Three cities, several cooking classes, food tours, and a delayed honeymoon that fulfilled a childhood fantasy. Truly the trip of a lifetime.
Start in Rome
The route
One trip, three cities
Day-by-day stories, the pictures worth keeping, and the details that survived the flight home.
02
August 31—September 5
Florence
Wine windows, Tuscan hills, and museums in smaller doses.
Read the Florence story →03
September 5—9
Venice
Colorful islands, cooking classes, and the best meal of the trip.
Read the Venice story →Looking back
The trip in review
I can’t speak for Jordyn, but Rome was my favorite city. That may have something to do with wanting to go there for half my life, so take my review with a grain of salt. Florence came next, and Venice finished last, although I loved all three cities for different reasons, especially the walkability and easy access to public water fountains throughout Italy.
My top experiences
- Colosseum arena and first floor
- Rosa’s cooking class in Venice
- Rome food tour
- Tuscany tour
- Pantheon
- Pompeii
Food tours
- Rome
- Florence
- Bologna
- Venice
Cooking classes
- Venice with Rosa
- Florence pizza and gelato
- Rome’s three pastas
Best meal
Our anniversary dinner at Osteria Barababao, especially Jordyn’s steak au poivre. I had the excellent crab pasta, but as you know, I'm a sucker for steak.
Best local bite
Piping-hot bruschetta with garlic and artichoke purée in Rome.
Favorite gelato
Dark chocolate and salted caramel in Bologna.
Next time
Fewer museums, and a better plan for getting door to door from the airport.
The complete camera roll
View all pictures
These are the pictures that made the story. The rest, including duplicates, alternate angles, and everything we couldn’t reasonably fit here, are in the full album.
From the kitchen
Recipes
We took three cooking classes, so we'd like to share the recipes we learned how to make. The biggest lesson? Pasta making is easier than you would think.
Coming soon