Category Archives: Travel

Florence, Italy, Travel

Windows on Italy – Apartments in Florence

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I’ve been working on a bit of a special project lately and found myself in need of an apartment for a single day — not to actually sleep in, but for photography and video purposes. Florence has no shortage of amazing apartments, but finding one that was available for one day and that had the “look” that I needed was a bit of a tall order.

Thankfully, I found Windows on Italy, a holiday rental company that not only rents apartments here in Florence, but all over Italy. In fact, I confess to checking out rentals on the Amalfi Coast and the Lake Region (clearly someone is dreaming about an August vacay). Back to Florence, I found an apartment that looked great in the photos, is furnished beautifully and had amazing natural light — which was a big reason why I couldn’t work on this project at home…our place is a bit of a cave.

Full disclaimer: they gave me the apartment for the day (minus a cleaning fee that I paid) in exchange for this review, but I’m telling you the honest truth when I say how nice it was to work with them. Even when I was initially inquiring I was impressed with how quickly they responded via email. Anyone that’s planned a trip to Italy or tried to reserve things from abroad knows how difficult it can be to get prompt email service, so this was huge! Also, the staff speaks great English.

I found the apartment’s photography very true to what was actually there. If you’ve ever rented a place you know that this is not always the case. Somehow, apartments always look better online. I think the high-end nature of most of the Windows on Italy apartments is the reason you actually get what you see. I also love that their descriptions of each apartment are so detailed. They do a great job of capturing the personality and unique character of each place.

I may have spent extra time on the site collecting ideas for how to furnish a potential new apartment (no news now…maybe soon) and found these great rooms that really got me dreaming. You can click any of the photos to see the entire apartment:

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Screen shot 2013-05-14 at 4.09.39 AMLong story short, I would highly recommend Windows on Italy to any of my readers that are planning a trip to Italy and are looking for great rentals from a great company, Windows on Italy.

 

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Parenthood, Travel

How to Rent Baby Equipment in Amsterdam


   

After our success with renting baby gear during our trip to Paris in December, it seemed like a no-brainer to try the same thing in Amsterdam. With fingers crossed I googled “baby equipment rental Amsterdam” and was super excited to find Travel Baby Amsterdam. Not having to lug our stroller across Europe was a huge relief!

We rented the Classic Stroller and a highchair. Livia is pretty attached to sitting in a high chair during meals, so we knew it was a must for the trip. I was nervous that a different type of chair might not be comfortable for her, but she loved the one that we rented! She was similarly comfortable in the lightweight stroller, which was a dream for navigating around a crowded city like Amsterdam.

I’m getting quite attached to having baby gear rental options in the cities that we travel to. Being able to travel light and not worry about who is lugging what baby stuff where is a huge relief during the actual travel process. Just like the company in Paris, the folks at Travel Baby Amsterdam deliver and pick-up the baby gear — all you need to do is tell them where and when to deliver and it shows up on your doorstep. After three long days driving from Florence to Amsterdam, it was nice to have this taken care of for us.

Planning a visit to Amsterdam with the kiddies in tow? We highly recommend Travel Baby Amsterdam - www.travelbabyamsterdam.com

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Travel

Where to Shop in Amsterdam: Mint

        

One morning as Rob and I headed out to work for a bit in a nearby cafe we passed by Mint Mini Mall. Naturally, I went all “work, what work?” and ran inside. Die. If shops like this existed in Florence I would be Broke with a capital B.

Mint is an adorable little boutique that just opened this past month. The aesthetic and the products were so refreshing. I love shop owners that take time to properly curate and style their stores. Everything in Mint has so much thought behind it and it shows. In one store we were able to buy Rob a watch and Livia a stuffed elephant. Bigger selection does not always equal better. Quality are thoughtfulness are always best.

If you are in Amsterdam and looking for a special gift for the stylish man, woman or baby in your life be sure to check out this little gem! Mint Mini Mall, Runstraat 27.

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Travel

What to Do in Amsterdam: The Rijks Museum

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We totally lucked out with the timing of our trip to Amsterdam. The Rijks Museum opened back up after 10 years during our stay here. On the Saturday it reopened there was free admission, so Rob and I joined about 10,000 of our closest Dutch friends in waiting in line to see the artwork.

While certain parts were closed to foot traffic during the free admission period, it was still amazing to see what the museum had to offer. We saw classics like Night Watch and The Milkmaid. The building itself is something to be seen, as well. We obviously never saw the museum before, but I can tell you it’s beautiful now.

If you are visiting Amsterdam soon we highly suggest checking it out!

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