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Showing posts with label florence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label florence. Show all posts

Friday, 9 November 2018

Our travel adventures as husband and wife

We're off to New York in just over three weeks! We haven't had more than a couple of days off work since our last big holiday in May, so we're very excited about our pre-Christmas getaway.

We travelled to New York together for the first time in February 2013. It was one of our first holidays together as a couple and, in some ways, it feels as if it happened a whole lifetime ago. This got me thinking about all the places we've travelled to together since then... cue blogging inspiration alert.

I decided to focus on the holidays we've been on since we got married in August 2014. We didn't get photos of the two of us on every occasion, but I'm quite impressed that we managed as many as we did considering we don't particularly like having our photos taken.

Please excuse the inconsistent photo sizes... we've both had lots of different cameras and phones over the last four years! 



Rome, September 2014

We went to Rome for the first leg of our honeymoon. Rome is an amazing place and we loved the four days we spent there, apart from the stress of trying to cross their hectic roads.





Lake Garda, September 2014

The second leg of our honeymoon was spent in beautiful Malcesine. A completely different pace to Rome with breathtaking beauty at every turn.




Venice, September 2014

The last leg of our honeymoon was spent in Venice. More beautiful views, architecture and food... it's safe to say that we were well and truly in love with Italy by the time we left.





Disneyland Paris, December 2014

We went to Disneyland Paris for the first time in December 2014. We couldn't afford to go to Walt Disney World in 2014 due to our wedding and honeymoon but we still wanted our Disney fix. Disney + Christmas = perfection!





Amalfi, April 2015

We decided we wanted to see a different part of Italy in 2015, so we went to Amalfi on the Amalfi Coast.  Definitely one of the most beautiful coastlines I've ever seen in my life.





Walt Disney World, September 2015

It was finally time to go back to our favourite place in the world in September 2015. This was our first trip back to Florida since we got engaged there in 2013, so it was an extra special holiday for us.





Toronto, March 2016

We spent a week in Toronto in March 2016. Toronto is an incredible city with loads to see, and we also went on a day trip to Niagara Falls while we were there.





Walt Disney World, September 2016

Surprise surprise, we ended up back in Walt Disney World in September 2016. Although this trip was overshadowed by my cancer diagnosis, escaping to the most magical place on earth for two weeks was the ideal distraction.





London, October 2016

We went on an overnight theatre break to London in October 2016 to see Aladdin at the West End. I was still recovering from my operation so we had a slow couple of days, and it was lovely to get away for a night.





London, March 2017

We booked another theatre break in March 2017 as we loved the first one so much. This time we went to see The Lion King and it was absolutely amazing.





Walt Disney World, April 2017

I know I know, we can't keep away. This trip was only eight months after the last one which meant we didn't have to wait quite so long for it to arrive!





Wizarding World of Harry Potter, August 2017

I bought tickets for us to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Watford for Neil's birthday back in March. We booked our trip in August to coincide with our anniversary, and we had a brilliant time.





Florence, October 2017

It was time for us to try yet another part of Italy in October 2017. We loved Florence and I'd highly recommend it if you're looking for the perfect mix of culture, city life and relaxation.





Walt Disney World, May 2018

Back again... yes, we do enjoy going back to Walt Disney World every year. We just love it that much!





Llangennith, October 2018

We went on our first holiday with Jessie in October. It was so lovely to be able to take Jessie with us and we'll definitely be planning more dog-friendly weekends away in the near future.





Next stop... New York! 

Friday, 5 January 2018

Best of 2017

Happy new year to all my readers!

2017 was a mixed bag. In some ways, it was even more difficult than 2016 as the reality of what I'd been through the previous year really started to sink in. I hit a very low point between June and August as the one year anniversary of my diagnosis loomed large, and I had lots of niggly health issues all year which caused some frustration. However, there were also many positives to report on from 2017. 

I really enjoyed writing last year's highlights post so I thought I'd do the same thing for 2017 to make sure I reflected on all those positives. Enjoy!



Celebrated three months all clear 



We celebrated my first 'all clear' appointment after my operation with a visit to Via Napoli. This started the tradition of going for a nice meal after every oncology appointment! 



Fake Christmas 



I celebrated fake Christmas with my university friends in Minehead. 



Milton Keynes 



We went to Milton Keynes for the weekend to visit Fee and Dave. I blogged about it here



Spa day at the Hilton Hotel 



Nicola and I went to the Hilton Hotel for a spa day and an excellent afternoon tea.



The Lion King theatre break 



Neil and I went to London for the weekend to see The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. I blogged about it here



Celebrated six months all clear 



We celebrated my next 'all clear' appointment in April with a meal at Miller & Carter. 



Walt Disney World 



We went on another amazing holiday to Walt Disney World! I blogged about our meals here, my shopping haul here and my character meets here



Sophie and Bryan's wedding 



We celebrated the lovely Sophie and Bryan's wedding day with them at Court Colman Manor in Bridgend. 



First support group meeting



I attended my first ever support group meeting (and subsequent lunch!) which I blogged about here



Rhys and Rhiannon's wedding 



We celebrated Rhys and Rhiannon's wedding with them over two days in the beautiful Brecon Beacons. 



My birthday 



I celebrated my 31st birthday with a lovely meal at Bar 44! 



Celebrated nine months all clear 



We celebrated my next 'all clear' appointment in July with our first visit to Moksh. I blogged about it here



Jessie 



We brought our beautiful puppy home. I blogged about her first few weeks with us here



Weekend in Portishead 



I visited Amy for the weekend in Portishead. I blogged about it here



Third wedding anniversary 



We celebrated our third wedding anniversary with dinner at Etc, afternoon tea at Pettigrew Tea Rooms and a visit to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. I blogged about our anniversary here



Celebrated one year all clear 



We celebrated being given the 'all clear' for a whole year with an amazing meal at Restaurant James Sommerin. I blogged about it here



Florence 



We spent a week in beautiful Florence. I blogged about it here



Bristol shopping trip 



I spent the day in Bristol with my university friends, and blogged about my amazing festive pizza here



More afternoon teas than I can count 



I had afternoon tea at the Mercure Hotel in Swansea, the Hilton Hotel, Llanerch Vineyard, The Park Plaza, and at Pettigrew Tea Rooms (several times!). 



Christmas 



We had a lovely Christmas with family and friends. I blogged about it here.



So as you can see, 2017 had lots of highs as well as lows and it's important to remember this as I step tentatively in to 2018! 

What were your highlights of 2017?

Thursday, 9 November 2017

Florence: A visual summary

We went to Florence on holiday last week and I absolutely loved it.

Just like everywhere else we've been in Italy, it was beautiful in every way. Our hotel was perfect, the sights were spectacular and the food was amazing.

To save myself some time, I thought it would be a good idea to summarise our week in Florence (including our day in Pisa) using my favourite photographs rather than using actual words. However, this plan took a LOT longer than I thought it would due to the sheer volume of photos I took on my phone!

So, after a few hours of gazing longingly at my 'Florence 2017' photo album and trying to narrow it down, here's a visual summary of the main sights/attractions/views we enjoyed last week...



Piazza del Duomo 







Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (or Il Duomo di Firenze)




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View from Giotto's Campanile 







View from Piazzale Michelangelo 







Ponte Vecchio (and the view from it!)







Views alongside the Arno River







Uffizi Gallery Museum







Statue of David at Galleria Accademia 







Palazzo Pitti







Palazzo Vecchio 







Leaning Tower of Pisa 







Have you ever visited Florence? Let me know if you've published any blog posts about your trip as I'd love to read them. If you haven't visited, I'd highly recommend it!