If you are reading this blog as a “how to pack smartly for vacation” turn back now. I offer zero value in that department seeing as I brought my entire closet and wore about 1/3 of what I decided to lug 18 hours to Tuscany.
If you’re reading this to get some inspo from what I did end up wearing and the beautiful Italian landscape that stole my heart, then step right in can I offer you a refreshment?
While most of my outfits are all Beckett, only one pair of pants is still available… I styled some current shoppable items as well so you can get a similar look if desired!
Pin It!Streets of Siena
Pin It!Message us on Insta: @beckettboutique for details and purchasing!
Pin It!Siena Cathedral
Sigh…. They just don’t make gargoyles like they used to. This Church took my breath away both inside and out (I imagine my boyfriend wakes up every morning and thinks the same about me). It felt sort of like a very serious candy land or the stuff my dreams are made of. It was both spectacular and encapsulating of a historical story at every glance. In fact, Siena is bursting with charm and character, still celebrating traditions that date back to 1100’s and further.
For example, one church’s main purpose in life is to bless a horse of its district before running in the Palio race- an intimidating bareback horse race and city- wide party between the many ancient districts that unite Siena.
Another example – I pointed out two tall scraggly sticks oddly jutting out in the midst of all the detailed artistry in the Siena Cathedral pictured above. I discovered these very sticks were used in battles and are the real life inspirations for capture the flag.
Pin It!HIlls of tuscany
Pin It!@beckettboutique for details or / 843-405-1105
Pin It!La Marronaia Vineyard
Pin It!Tuscany
Pin It!Food to make you jealous
This was the day we enjoyed wine tasting at the La Marronaia vineyard in Tuscany.
Is that my car in the first picture you ask? Indeed no. See we rolled up to the vineyard and the picture is beautiful: a vista of hills, a cat stocking lazily across the grounds, a small child bouncing a ball (no joke) in the courtyard.
Karols arrive. All 8 of us pile out of the van making ourselves quite at home and causing mayhem in the general sense – lots of chatter, pictures with my sister and that green car, someone putting a bike helmet on my 9 month old niece for funzies. Boy in courtyard drops his ball, looks at us strangely, runs inside without saying a word. 15 minutes later when we are greeted by no one, the realization sinks in that we are, in fact, on some Italian family’s private property. Damn Americans… .
We did end up making it to the wine tasting though and it was glorious and I bought some olive oil.
Pin It!Florence
Pin It!Our Villa’s pool + Beckett clutch
Pin It!Boticelli Painting in the Uffizi gallery
Pin It!Ancient architecture in Modern florence
Pin It!Hipster In the Uffizi
A little snippit from Florence showcasing my Beckett moroccan clutch – all clutches are unique and hand made, but we have many similar ones available at the store!
Florence is so bursting with art that there is nowhere you can physically look in the city without seeing Renaissance expression and historical significance. This visual is pretty astounding for someone who grew up in the oldest city in America – Boston – and takes great pride in that. We did two days of Florence, saw the beautiful David, the Uffizi, a Medici family residence, and so much more. Yet, I still feel like I barely scratched the surface.
Word of advice though, if you are going to be a tourist and order gelato, do not opt for the Rose flavor because it sounds interesting….It tastes terrible.
I would also like acknowledgement for finding proof that hipsters were among us in the ancient times. Pretty certain that blasé man statue served me my coffee this morning.
Pin It!Villa Pool
Pin It!Villa
Pin It!My favorite picture of villa & pool house (where I stayed)
Behold, the pants that are still shoppable at the store. Only one left though! I love wearing heels with the long wide leg linen. However, given that I packed three pairs of heels, the obvious choice was to wear none of them throughout the entire vacation.
These were taken at the villa we stayed at. I considered asking the people who owned it if they needed a person to stay at house in an effort to keep it lived in… that is a job right?
Pin It!Sundress essential
Pin It!Palm leaf necklaces are a must and still available!
Pin It!Italian Menu, it could be selling fried snacks and would still be gorgeous
Pin It!Ancient town of Volpaia that we hiked to for lunch
Pin It!J* And I finding that Tuscany looks good on us
Look! You can find Italy right here in Charleston! The first picture was taken at the Church next to Beckett with A* as my wonderful photog… I was having too much fun to take outfit pictures all the time! I think thats a very fair excuse.
Especially when your “professional photographer” is a confused boyfriend and an I-Phone. Actual quote while taking the very first picture in this blog, “Um, people are staring at you.”
The point is that maxi dresses in any form are a great way to stay comfortable yet stylish for day time adventures during your Summer travels. You can quote me on that.
Bloopers below!
Pin It!When you realize too late that a casual bonding bike ride to your father means a 20 mile road bike race in rolling hills
Pin It!What My backyard will look like in a few months
Pin It!The most perfect food known to mankind!
Have you ever seen Inglorious Bastards? My favorite thing to do on this trip was annunciate beautiful Italian words in the most Southern garishly flat way possible. I confused quite a few tour guides. Arrivederci – C*