our FREE stay in Italy

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us. DJ restored a 1977 Corvette and had it done just in time for our wedding back in Spring 2017 to be the get-away-car. A few months go by and it isn't getting much use, so we decide to try and sell it.

What does this have to do with Italy?? Well, weeks went by and several people contacted us about purchasing it but none ever worked out. One day he gets a call from a strange number, but decides to answer to hear a man named Dennis on the other line with broken English and questions about the Vette. He then explains he is from Italy and very interested in coming to check out the car. To say we were skeptical would be an understatement.

Fast forward a few weeks, this man flies in to Miami and drives all the way up FL to come check it out. We were sure it would all be a scam, but Dennis was the real deal. He brings Euros a little under our asking price and says he would throw in a place to stay in Italy for a week if we let him buy the car. Yet again, not really believing him, but wanting to sell the car (especially after him flying 13 hours here), we agreed.

A few months pass and the car is almost finished getting a few more things added in Miami before being shipped over, and Dennis and DJ continue talking. He mentions coming over to Italy again with more information on the guest villa that would be available to us. At this point, we were still a little hesitant, but interested as our one year anniversary was sneaking up and we had no idea where we wanted to celebrate.

Dennis contacts us again a few weeks later with pictures of the villa and asks when we would be coming; to which we respond,

"How does March sound?"

He said the weather would still be a little cold and rainy, but would be happy for us to come stay and show us around. Our parents thought we were insane and we probably were a little young (20+22) to trust someone so much but we booked our flights and planned our stay for March 2018.

After our 8 hour drive + 13 hour flight we finally arrived in Pisa. Dennis and his family met us there, helped us get our rental car, and showed us our way to the villa in Lucca.

The next day they showed us around Lucca, his hometown and Pisa, where we explored and tried tons of new food.

It took us a few minutes to get it right, but you can tell who the better photographer is ;)

You can't visit Italy without admiring the architecture and all of the DOORS - I'll show you some of my faves from shack to Baroque.

The Guinigi Tower - Torre Guinigi - a must see in Lucca

Later that night, Dennis took us to a small village in Lucca called Borgo a Mozzano which is more famously known for the "Devil's Bridge". It's pretty creepy, not going to lie. Had we'd been Crime Junkies back then we probably wouldn't have gone up there all alone in the middle of the night with a friendly stranger. For a split second we thought our parents' were right about him being sketchy and that we were about to be pushed to our death, but luckily just a few pictures and some cool history #thankthelort If you'd like to know more about the history of the bridge click here.

The next day we caught a train in Florence to tour a few cities along the coast. We jumped from train to bus to deeper explore the Province of La Spezia and all of the tiny communities along the way: Portovenere, Riomaggiore, Monetosso al Mare, and Cinque Terre.

We then took the next few days to explore Florence and Rome before heading back to the States, knocking out an average of 10 miles a day on foot! Since I took most of these pics on my Nikon instead of my iPhone, I don't remember all the exact locations and points of interest unfortunately. Those that come to mind 2 years later (and must-sees of course) are the Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, the Roman Forum, Sistine Chapel in Rome and the Duomo along with the Ponte Vecchino in Florence for a quick day tour in the city.

We are forever grateful for Dennis and his hospitality. Although the Southerners in us, craved fried food and sweet tea for the week we were there, celebrating our first anniversary in Italy was truly a dream come true.