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Mrs. Beetle, New York/Palm Desert About: Mrs. Beetle previously wrote our weekly advice column. She got married in October 2006, and is currently guest blogging.
About Mrs. Beetle

Honeymoon Recap: Italy! (part two)

March 6th, 2007 @ 10:27 am by Mrs. Beetle


After some rest and relaxation on the Amalfi Coast, we headed over to Florence. If it were possible to marry a city, Florence and I would be husband and wife. I absolutely love everything about this city from the architecture, to the people, to the food and somehow everytime I go, I feel so at “home.” We stayed in the Hotel Degli Orafi which was perfectly located right on the Ponte Vecchio and is allegedly where they shot some scenes from the movie “A Room With A View.”


My very favorite thing to do in Florence, is to eat Gelato…and we ate a lot of it. It did not matter that it was October…or that one doesn’t typically eat dessert 3 times a day. In Florence, it’s all about the gelato and man is it delicious! Our favorite restaurant by far was La Giostra–a must stop if you are ever in Florence. It’s run by a distant eccentric relative of the Medici family, and the food is simply out of this world.


We took an amazing day trip to the Chianti Classico Region with Rebecca of Tuscan Wine Tours. We visited local, family run wineries, had a delicious, homemade lunch prepared by one of the proprietors, tasted the first batch of olive oil from that year’s vintage and met some other really lovely couples.

Aside from a three day stretch that I was sick as a dog, our honeymoon really was everything we had hoped it would be. Neither one of us are “beach people” and we knew that we needed to go somewhere that would keep us active, excited, and eating a LOT of delicious food–Italy was it. I would love to go back for our one year anniversary, but Mr. Beetle wants to go somewhere new…any ideas for us??

13 Responses to “Honeymoon Recap: Italy! (part two)”

1.
thistleorchid says:

Mmm wine and olive oil, sounds good.

You could try Scotland, one of my favorite countries ever ever.

2.
Lou says:

We spent part of our honeymoon in Florence in October and had a wonderful time as well! I was surprised at how crowded it was at that time of year. And I totally agree about the gelato! We had some every day that we were there!

3.
ch_bride says:

Lisbon…. absolutely fantastic food and some interesting historical places to visit. We found so many wonderful little restaurants where the waiters were wonderful (and they don’t really work for tips!) and good (especially fish) that is just out of this world.

We visited in July and it was sunny with a pleasant breeze.

4.
Annie says:

How important is it to be able to speak Italian while visiting Florence? I basically know italian food words and ‘buon giorno”.

5.
Mrs. Beetle says:

Annie: most Italians speak English and we never really had a problem anywhere we went. I did loving using “grazie” and “Prego” (thanks and you’re welcome). I also learned “Il conto, per favore” which means check please. You should be fine…esp in bigger cities like Florence.

6.
ocicats says:

How bout Spain. My mom was there two years ago and said the food was delicious.

7.
cjscorp says:

The Dalmatian coast of Croatia is beautiful!! So are the islands off the coast (Brac, Hvar, Korcula) And it’s not too far from Italy (just across the Adriatic). So you could go to Croatia and Italy for you anniversary!!

8.
Miss Lemon says:

Oh how I miss Firenze! I’d go back for the olive oil and gelato in a second!

9.
Gaby says:

can’t wait! I think we’ll check out that restaurant….so thanks for the rec! 2 more days and I too will be eating lots of gelato!

10.
Mrs. Beetle says:

Gaby: You must make reservations at La Giostra (they only do two seatings per night)…and be prepared to spend hours (they really take their time with each guest). Let them recommend a great wine for you and don’t order the same thing as your husband…you have to try as much as you can! I would also highly recommend doing a day in Tuscany. Rebecca (I mentioned her above) was so wonderful and our day with her in the Chianti Classico region was def one of our favorites. Bon voyage!

11.
mrswrightn07 says:

I am currently planning my Italy honeymoon for July. We will be in Florence for 3 days. I definitely will add your gelato place on my must do list.

Questions regarding the wine tour: Approximetely what was the price for the tour? How many other people were on the tour with you? Do you think it’s was a great side trip for a 3 day stay in Florence? TIA!

12.
Gaby says:

Thank you Mrs. Beetle! We will try to reserve and see what happens. And we are actually staying in a villa in Tuscany for 2 days (in Sinalunga - Locanda dell’Amorosa) so we will be able to go to all the near by towns. Less than 24 hours to go!

13.
Helen says:

Hi Mrs Beetle!
Your trip looks amazing!! My boyfriend and I will be taking a 3 week vacation in Europe in June - we’ll be visiting Switzerland and Italy. We’re still in the planning process and wondering if you had additional insight on any other must-see italian cities. We have access to a car during the trip so nothing is off limits!
Thanks in advance!


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