Earlier this year, after many a cold evening after work spent in Cake Stories (Jesmond) with the girls drinking coffee and dreaming of warmer weather, we finally decided to book a week in Italy! We decided upon Florence and Bologna as our destinations and before we knew it May soon came round and we were leaving Manchester and bound for Italia!

The first 5 days were spent in Florence and it was a perfect blend of prosecco and culture. Some of the places we visited included the Uffizi, Pitti Palace & Medici Chapel, all of which are well worth a visit if you are there! Being a property lover my favourite place was probably the Pitti Palace. It is an incredible Palazzo and has been home to many wealthy people including the famous Medici family. The architecture all around is jaw dropping and the gardens, which are stunning, seem to go on forever. All of this along with the incredible elevated views of Florence meant I could have stayed there forever, however the day we went we had a roof top jacuzzi to get back to in the late afternoon which was equally fabulous.

It would be impossible not to mention the food: we had so many delicious meals and we ate like queens the whole week. From the Mercato Centrale where we had what seemed like never ending antipasti boards and some of the best pizza I have ever had in my life, to gorgeous meals out in the evening, where I formed an unhealthy addiction to anything with truffle.. yum! We also had a top recommendation to go to Gelateria Del Neri, it was honestly the best gelato I have ever had, and if you are ever in Florence you simply have to go!

The last two days of our trip were spent in Bologna and again most of the trip was centred around food, a couple of suggestions if you are looking for places to eat there would include Drogheria della Rosa, Osteria dell’Orsa, and La Prosciutteria Bologna which is a great little place for lunch which does fantastic sharing boards.

Two of the girls are doctors and so it would have been rude not to visit Europe’s oldest medical school at the University of Bologna. Even as a non-medic it was incredible to see the theatre which is made entirely of wood, surrounding the marble-top Autopsy Table along with the statues of gods and goddesses on the walls – amazing!

Apart from being culture vultures and little piggies we spent the rest of our time in Bologna mooching around the beautiful shops, there were some incredible florists and home shops where I could have spent a small fortune. In between all of this we could be found slurping on Aperol Spritz – divine!

Before we knew it we were back on the plane to England and I was heading back to the office the next day within the blink of an eye. Thankfully it wasn’t long until I was planning my next adventure, but that’s for another post!