Florence, the Cradle of the Renaissance

While Florence’s city center is dwarfed by Milan’s, its size is deceptive. Known as “the cradle of the Renaissance,” Florence packs endless amounts of history and art into a small space.

As we only had two nights in Florence, we could only see so much. When I travel, I prioritize flexibility over the impossible feat of “seeing it all” — and Florence was no different. In our case, we discovered the huge city market somewhat by accident, but we didn’t make it to the Uffizi or Galleria dell’Accademia. Traveling with time constraints while also embracing the ability to make spontaneous decisions sometimes means that you take the path less traveled at the expense of missing a major tourist attraction. Most of the time, I’m okay with that. Continue reading “Florence, the Cradle of the Renaissance”

The Glamor & History of Milan

Already recognized as a world fashion capital, Milan is well on its way to becoming a major destination. And with airfare into its international airport — Malpensa — routinely coming in hundreds of dollars cheaper than surrounding airports, I think it may soon become a popular hub for European travelers.

More than just a place to fly into, however, Milan possesses history and charm all its own. Continue reading “The Glamor & History of Milan”

City Guide: Savannah and Charleston

If you remove the oppressive humidity from the memory of this trip, it might be one of my favorites of the summer. Alas, you cannot have southern beaches in the summer without humidity and sky-high temperatures, so we spent a good deal of time ducking from one air-conditioned building to the next, but it was still a good time.

My husband had not yet been to Savannah or Charleston and as many of my childhood beach memories revolve around those two places, it was time to visit. The two cities are so iconically southern, and I was excited to spend some time in areas with such rich culture.

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City Guide: Dallas

As I hadn’t been to Texas since I was too small to remember it, I was excited to spend a few days in Dallas for a work conference. Considering the many Texan stereotypes, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would everything truly be bigger? (You know what they say…) Would everyone wear cowboy hats? Would it be far more southern than where I’m from in southern Georgia? While I did see several gentlemen in cowboy hats on the airplane and the city is enormous (my cousin quipped that there are multiple skylines in Dallas), Dallas surprised me with its charm and modern feel. Of course, I had the pleasure of touring the city with my cousins, who were perfect hosts, so that certainly made the experience memorable.

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City Guide: New York City

This trip was a bit of a whirlwind since we were packing tourism into my brother’s wedding weekend. While we had both been to New York City on separate occasions, this was the first time I had visited NYC with my husband, and we had such a good time exploring the city together.

I can’t say it’s a place I want to live, but it is a place I love visiting. I could keep making trips there for the rest of my life, and I don’t think I’ll ever see it all. We flew into La Guardia on Friday, spent the night in Times Square, woke up early Saturday to go to New Jersey for the wedding festivities, and then on Monday and Tuesday, we were back in NYC to hit the town.

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City Guide: Atlanta, 2014 Edition

At the beginning of the year, I made what is now becoming my annual pilgrimage to see one of my best friends, Katie, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Now with Katie as my guide, it’s like I’ve rediscovered Atlanta, a city that was once “just Atlanta” to me. A place I went on occasional weekends, since I grew up in Augusta, Georgia, just two hours southeast of the big city. A place that I thought I didn’t like, but that now has restaurants and locations I find myself wishing to be in from time to time. Thanks, Katie, for helping me re-appreciate my Georgia roots and the big city of ATL!

No matter what, I’ll always be a Georgia girl, that’s for sure.

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