Happy Tuesday from Switzerland! We’re driving back to Paris (but really just the airport) to start to make the long trek home, which means we have plenty of time here in the car to start sharing all the highlights of our European adventure over the past two weeks with you! We aren’t travel experts by any means, but we always love to share our experiences in case it helps someone else plan a future trip! First up, Italy!

This was our second time in Italy, and even though we loved it a lot the first time around, we have an even stronger appreciation for the country as a whole the second time around. Last time, we spent most of our time in big cities hitting the most popular tourist attractions, but this time we got to spend most of our time in the Tuscan countryside. We got to interact a lot more with the locals, explore teeny tiny towns, and, of course, eat our wight in pizza, gelato and risotto.

After spending time in nine different countries in Europe, Amy has officially declared Italy her favorite one. Why? Because the food is unreal, the prices are the best, the wine costs as much as the water, the people are incredibly warm and there are so many different sites to explore. Here are a few things we learned the second time around:

– If you love gelato, don’t forget to keep cash on you at all times! Euros in your pocket are the only guarantee you’ll be able to walk away with a little heaven in a cone every time you hit a small town.

– Opt for a B&B! We stayed at our very first bed and breakfast on this trip, and even though we were a little nervous about the idea of staying with a host, we loved the experience. We’ve done AirBnBs before, but never a real B&B, and we’ve gotta say, it’s one of the best ways to really experience an international destination! We loved getting to know our home host, Simona, who moved from Rome to live permanently in the Italian countryside with her husband a daughter. She made us the most amazing authentic breakfasts with only locally sourced ingredients (a lot from her own vineyard!) and we wish we could describe the difference in quality! The strawberries were sweeter, the bread was fresher, the cheese was more flavorful, and we got to experience it all around a warm family table.

– Civita di Bagnoregio is definitely worth a visit! We blogged more about that yesterday and shared lots of pictures in this post, but it was definitely a highlight for us!

See the ten-year Tuscan villa anniversary session here!

For those of you who aren’t on Snapchat yet, here are our snaps from this leg of the trip!

Love seeing new places? Here are links to our other travel adventures!

International: Ireland • England • France • Spain • Italy • Greece & Turkey • Anniversary Photos: Venice • Italy 2.0 • France 2.0 • Vow Renewal: France • Switzerland • Iceland • Prague • Germany & France

Domestic: Nashville • Denver • Phoenix • Vancouver • Seattle • Vegas • Atlanta • Santa Barbara • Florida • Virginia • New England/New York • Sedona • San Diego • Nantucket • Boston • San Diego • Virginia • Arizona • Charleston • Disney Cruise