Italy!

On August 13, just a week after finding out I was pregnant, Jay and I went on vacation to Italy.  It was a bit of a whirlwind experience full of lots of emotions - excitement, anxiety, awe and exhaustion!

Our first stop was a night in Pisa.  The city itself was small enough to easily navigate on foot and we really enjoyed strolling around. I especially liked seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa - it was leaning even more than I imagined! 

 

Our next stop was Florence for a few nights.  It was really hot for our entire trip, and though I didn't realize what it was at the time, my pregnancy exhaustion was starting to set in (and only continued to worsen for the next two months...I've just started to turn a bit of a corner with it - here's hoping that continues!). We wound up getting up early to beat the heat and check out a few tourist sites, then grabbing an early lunch before heading back to our gorgeous hotel (thank you Hotwire) for an afternoon nap (aka a 2-3 hour sleep for me).  After a few hours of rest, we'd get ready and head out on the town for dinner and a stroll in the much cooler evening air.

And of course, as it was Italy, we had lots of great food - especially pasta and pizza!  

We also enjoyed a few tasty drinks.  (All mocktails for me of course!)

 

Our last stop was Tirrenia - a little beach resort outside of Pisa.  We spent two nights by the sea getting some much needed rest and relaxation.  I read three books in three days lying on the beach and thoroughly enjoyed swims in the sea and evenings playing dice before delicious dinners. 

It was a great trip for us and we both really enjoyed it!  We're also both looking forward to going to Italy again (Rome and Venice are high on our lists) when it's not quite so hot and I'm not quite so exhausted.  Of course, that probably means having a little one with us - quite different but quite exciting!