Everything I Wore in Italy - Part Two

Well, hello Rule Breakers.

Today is the final installment of Everything I Wore - a recap of all my outfits from our recent trip to Paris and Italy.

(Did you miss the first two posts? Catch up with Everything I Wore in Paris, here, and Everything I Wore in Italy - Part One, here.)

Yesterday, we left off midway through our Italian road trip. After attending the Formula One race in Monza, we meandered through Tuscany and stayed overnight at a farm. (They had three dogs!)

Today, I’m sharing the final stretch of our trip. My outfits were more successful, and the pizza just kept getting better!

Let’s get back to it!

Day Nine - Driving Day

On our last morning in Tuscany, we got up early, ate breakfast, then headed to the pool!

Post swim, I decided against the t-shirt and jeans I’d worn to breakfast, opting, instead, for my long blue polka dot dress. I figured it’d be more comfortable for the long drive ahead of us.

We drove south for most of the day, purposefully taking the long route. What we thought would be scenic ended up being long stretches of flat farmland…. and, weirdly, stalls selling camo clothing on the side of the road.

Though the drive was lackluster, the end of our day was far more exciting!! We stopped in Caiazzo, and had dinner at Pepi In Grani! Their pizza is considered some of the best in the world! (It was very, very good.)

After dinner, we drove the final hour and a half south and landed in Sorrento, our home base for the next few days.

Day Ten - Pompeii & Sorrento

The INspiration

Michelle Obama on vacation in France! (And Bono in some questionable sandals.)

My Interpretation

For me, our first leg in Italy got a bit… frumpy, fashion-wise, but on Day Ten, I turned it around and dressed like a First Lady!

Before we left, I saw a photo of Michelle Obama on vacation in France (Bono was there, too. Casual.), and knew I wanted to recreate her look. My dress wasn’t orange, but the shape and length emulated hers. I brought a sun hat, black sunglasses, and sneakers (I’d initially planned to wear my smaller Keds, instead. My wonky ankle made me sacrifice those for heftier Adidas.) I wore this outfit to visit Pompeii, and it was perfect. It was HOT and the white cotton dress and hat combo kept me (mostly) comfortable.

We expected Pompeii to be a few rows of excavated bricks. It isn’t. It’s huge. Its size, alone, blew our minds. (And it’s not even fully excavated!) We spent hours zig zagging across the town, and we only truly saw maybe a third of it. If you’re ever nearby, it’s a sight I wouldn’t miss.

Post-Pompeii, we were hot and hungry. We returned to Sorrento, stopped at a grocery store for cheese tray fixings and a bottle of wine, and had lunch-dinner (linner? dunch?) on the roof of our B&B.

Later, we headed into downtown Sorrento for an evening stroll (and some gelato!).

Not surprisingly, I spilled down the front of this white dress multiple times, and, sadly, couldn’t wear it again.

Day Eleven - The Amalfi Coast & Naples

On Day Eleven, we ditched our travel book and got a real-life guide to drive us through the Amalfi Coast.

I’d seen lots of photos of Positano on Instagram (who hasn’t?), and brought this navy blue dress for the Amalfi Coast, specifically. I figured the solid color would look nice against the backdrop of colorful, vertical, buildings. (Aside from aesthetics, I also just really like it. When I wear it, I feel like modern Belle!)

After our day in Amalfi, and back in Sorrento, Christian made a big decision. We’d hemmed and hawed about driving into Naples to have dinner (more pizza!) at the famous 50 Kalo. Our travel book called Naples (and its traffic) the Bombay of Italy. We asked our Amalfi guide, and he said driving into Naples would be a big mistake.

But, Christian’s from Venezuela. He knows crazy driving. (Apparently, Venezuelan drivers are adventurous. I’ve never been!) And we really wanted that pizza! He decided to brave the streets of Naples, and off we went.

It was, admittedly, pretty crazy. But Christian did it! We even found parking right out front! And the pizza was SO GOOD. It was unlike any pizza I’ve ever had. I don’t have words to describe how good it was. (This blog is slowly morphing from fashion-focused to food-focused!)

Day Twelve - Rome

Day Twelve dawned, and we were back on the road!

The drive from Sorrento to Rome was three and a half hours, so I dressed for comfort and less for style. I wasn’t upset about my look, but it won’t be winning any awards, either.

Once in Rome, we toured the Colosseum, and then walked through the ancient Forum. We stopped in for cocktails at Drink Kong, where every drink on the menu is described by a feeling! Finally, we ate dinner outside, at a restaurant tucked into an alley, before walking back to our guest house for the night.

Day Thirteen - Rome

The INspiration

My Interpretation

AH! WE’VE MADE IT!

This outfit, inspired by Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, was my favorite look of the whole trip. Clearly, my outfit isn’t an exact replica of Audrey’s. I wanted it to have the same feeling as hers, but still feel like me, too.

And while I couldn’t convince Christian to rent a Vespa so we could whiz bast the Colosseum like they did in the movie, our day felt like it had the same sense of adventure. We walked nearly 30,000 steps. At one point, we came around a corner and ran into an ancient theatre commissioned by Julius Caesar, with a man playing accordion right outside! (I love the accordion! Christian is less of a fan.) We finished our day with arepas at a Venezuelan restaurant, and an Aperol Spritz at the cafe outside our hotel.

Day Fourteen - Rome

As you can see, our travel steamer broke. :)

Our final day in Rome was a big one - it was our first wedding anniversary!

For our rehearsal dinner, Christian and I made matching shirts with little cartoons of us (and our dog, Izzy!) on them. As a surprise, I brought that shirt to Rome and wore it on our anniversary. I paired it with my green polka dot skirt, and those ankle-saving Adidas.

We got up early to visit Saint Peter’s Basilica. We were feeling brave and active, and decided to take the many, many stairs to the top of the dome. (If you get motion sickness, don’t do this!!!! Near the top of the dome, the path gets very narrow, and the walls slope in like a carnival fun house. It’s the first time I’ve ever gotten motion sickness from walking.)

We kept the rest of our day low key. We meandered through a park, visited an art museum, and, as a final hurrah to Italy, ate really fantastic pasta.

Day Fifteen - Paris

Surprise!! One more day in Paris! (There are no direct flights from Seattle to Italy, so we flew in and out of Paris.)

For our final day, I returned to the dress I brought just for Paris. (There are better pictures of it in my Paris post.) We did a bit of shopping, and then Christian took me on a walking tour with our travel book. We finished the day, and our trip, with a very long, very French, very good, dinner.

The next morning, we got up early and visited our favorite bakery. Then, it was back to Seattle and back to life. And, truthfully, I still haven’t adjusted! So, please, tell me - where are your favorite places to travel? What’s your packing style? Do you go for function or fashion or both? What’d you think about my outfits for this trip?

I’ll be back tomorrow with another blog post!