So. In case you hadn’t heard (or read or seen on FB or IG), I went to Italy! Want to hear what happened?
Going to use the same format as my packing list (two entries previous), because…why not?!
Day 1 – Wednesday, May 24 - Travel Day: Woke at my normal workday time and got a workout in! Showered, put on my travel outfit, grabbed my bags and hopped the train to the airport with TONS of time to spare. Went to one airport lounge and grabbed a mimosa (!) and heard from Maria, who wanted me to meet her at the other airport lounge, where she got me in as a guest and we drank MORE mimosas, ate some breakfast, and even got a massage!
Yes, vacation was ON!
Told Maria (who was naturally flying in first class) that I was hoping to sit next to a hot guy on the plane. Well, the universe must have heard because I sat next to THE HOTTEST guy from Reno on the plane! He was meeting a tour of friends and a couple of others and doing a big romp across Italy and down to Malta. We talked and talked for a long, long time…until I got kind of tipsy on plane wine and we both paused to watch movies (me, Lion…cries softly) and to try to sleep.
Day 2 – Thursday, May 25 – to Florence: As we came in for a landing (it was now Thursday morning in Italy), Hot Reno Dude and I resumed our chat and then when we got off the plane and met Maria, she gave me a wink and a nod and we found ourselves sharing a taxi to the train station with Hot Reno Dude. While in the taxi, Maria quietly prodded me to be more aggressive than my normal self (easier when traveling!), and soon HRD was asking for my NUMBER!!! We were going to be in Florence at the same time, and who knows? Maybe a drink one evening?
We dropped him at his hotel (close to the train station) and went on our merry way. Hopped the train through the amazingly scenic countryside of Tuscany and an hour and ½ later, voila…FLORENCE!
Checked into the St. Regis, a gorgeous hotel along the banks of the Arno River and O.M.G….as we were checking in, and the hotel manager was taking us to our room, there was a man standing beside the door. Who was this mysterious man? Why of course – our very own BUTLER!
[At this point, I probably should explain. Maria hadn’t been to Florence in several years – 7, to be exact – but there was a time when Florence was her home away from home AND her daughter got married just outside of Florence. She’d stayed at the St. Regis and its sister hotel across the piazza, The Excelsior, many times over. They knew her by name…and she’s spent lots and lots and lots of dough in and around these places. So we were given some extra special treatment, for sure. In fact, we’d both used our points to get these hotels, so we paid NOTHING for rooms that were…let’s just say, VERY expensive. At one point, I called the trip “our honeymoon” because it was so Rock Star]
We walked into the suite, and it literally took my breath away! There was a gigantic chandelier in the bedroom, over a velvet-draped bed. There was prosecco chilling in the living room, and the butler opened the doors out to the balconies (plural), exposing a panoramic view of the river and all the glorious churches and golden-colored buildings along the river and leading up into the Tuscan hills.
Our butler opened the bubbles, and we toasted (and let’s be honest, Instagrammed) this adventure!
Off to a pretty good start, I’d say…
[to be continued…duty calls!]
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