Our babymoon: Paris & Italia
I’d like to start by saying this can serve as a guide for anyone who is looking to travel to these cities as this was anything but your typical babymoon! We ambitiously planned for a very active trip not knowing how I would be feeling around 6 months pregnant, but the pregnancy gods (Rihanna, I assume) were working in my favor and I was feeling able to make the most out of each city. Not to mention my husband is still able to drink and do all the things and he should have the opportunity to do so! I want to preface this by saying if you’re looking for a guide to which guided tours or tourist activities to book, this is not for you. I hate guided tours, so sorry. Anyhow, here’s a dive into each city - what we did, what we saw, and most importantly…what we ate.
Paris
Ah, Paris. To be completely honest, I wasn’t even sold on the need to go to Paris. It’s never really been too high up on my list but we kept hearing that it is a must and my friends, I am here to tell you…it is a must. The vibes are immaculate, the buildings are so picturesque you feel like you’re walking through a rom com, and despite their iffy reputation…the French were extremely kind to us!
Must see/do:
The Eiffel Tower - just incredible. We both agreed that it was much larger in person than we expected which never happens in the world of travel! It really is breathtaking, especially at night. There are some grassy areas right around the tower that are perfect for a picnic. One of our trips over there happened to be on election day so the grassy areas were closed off. We went across the river and found a place to sit with arguably an even better view, and less tourists! Highly recommend grabbing a baguette, some cheese, and a bottle of wine to just sit and take it all in. The tower lights up every hour on the hour starting at 9pm - an absolute must see!
Seine River Boat Cruise - do it at night! We booked on the website Viator - there are a bunch of options to choose from. The one we chose was an hour long and left every hour on the hour, so we hopped on about an hour before sunset. It takes you past all the key landmarks and drops you off right by the Eiffel Tower. Get there early to make sure you get a seat up top!
Montmarte - our favorite neighborhood! Wear comfortable shoes as it’s full of steep hills and cobblestone streets, but it is breathtaking. I felt like I was transported to Belle’s village from Beauty and The Beast! There are tons of cute cafes and restaurants and lots of live music pop ups. The Sacré-Cœur is there as well and is just incredible. I’d recommend spending an afternoon here!
3rd Arrondissement & Latin Quarter - two more really cool neighborhoods to check out. The 3rd Arrondissement has lots of shopping and cool restaurants. The Latin Quarter is a hot spot for scholars - young crowd, cute streets, delicious cafes. We sat at Shakespeare & Company cafe and had a great view of The Notre Dame!
Must eat:
I’ll be real with you - in my personal opinion, French food (with some exceptions) is nothing spectacular. We obviously ate at a ton of places but I’m just going to share the things I really recommend because many of the restaurants seemed really similar and like you could get the few French staples anywhere. Choose restaurants for the vibe, read some reviews, and be ready to enjoy a nice long and relaxed meal! Also, shout out to Paris for having mocktails on literally every menu. The respect us mamas deserve!
La Mangerie - the best dinner we had in Paris! This is a tapas speakeasy style restaurant. They greet you with a shot and then take you through what looks to be a closet door into the dining area. The food was so good. Larger portions than the tapas you get in America so don’t over-do it. We got the beef risotto, peanut chicken, and brie. I’m still dreaming about the beef risotto - don’t leave without it.
Other restaurants with cool vibes - Le Compas, Brasserie Les Petits Carreaux
CROISSANTS! You can get them at any bakery and every one we had was delicious. The chocolate ones are delicious but don’t sleep on the plain ones. I don’t know what sorcery makes them so good (besides butter) but you should probably eat as many as humanly possible. Same with the baguettes and cheese - it’s cheap and so good.
Andy Wahloo - super cool cocktail bar. They have a terrace area but this is one of the few places I’d recommend sitting inside for the bar vibe.
Florence
What a dreamy lil place! We loved how walkable the city is and the views & architecture are incredible. There is a heavy population of seemingly American students so be ready for a young crowd but I’ll take them over the tourists any day! To get here, we flew from Paris to Rome and took the train. It was pretty easy to get the train from the Rome airport to downtown Rome where you then transfer to a different train to head to Florence. The trains in the airport run every 15 minutes. I would recommend booking the longer train in advance as prices can increase as availability decreases.
Must see/do:
Just walk around! The city is small and you can really take it all in on just a couple of long strolls
Ponte Vecchio - we stayed close to this area and loved it. The views from the bridge itself are out of this world. You can also do lots of shopping on/near the bridge for jewelry, leather, etc.!
Piazzale Michelangelo - wear comfy shoes! This is about a 30 minute uphill walk so be ready to sweat but it is WORTH IT and feels good after everything you’ll be eating! Great views of Florence from the top - there are a couple of restaurants up there as well but we didn’t check those out. We went during the day but it would be amazing at sunset!
The Duomo - simply incredible even just from the outside.
A couple of the squares have live music at night…bring gelato and soak it all in!
Must eat:
GustaPizza - probably the best pizza we’ve ever had, even after living in New York! If you get one that has burrata on it the portion that they give you is what dreams are made of.
GELATO. There are shops everywhere…look for the ones where the gelato is in silver tins as opposed to the ones where the gelato is piled high and shown off. We’ve heard these are the most authentic/fresh!
View on Art - stop by here for a drink! Rooftop bar with views of the Duomo
Osteria del Gatto e La Volpe - delicious! We got the cacio e pepe and the carbonara. Can’t go wrong!
Il Santino - super cute wine bar with very friendly staff! Sit at the bar and they’ll give you bottomless bread with cheese and meats sliced right in front of you. Big pregnancy win!
La Busssola - traditional Tuscan restaurant, so yummy! I got the truffle and asparagus ravioli and it was a dream.
Base V Juicery - if you’re craving something healthy for a change this is a good spot. Acai bowls, smoothies, juices…yum.
Rome
Rome. What’s more epic than Rome? It’s impossible to miss the sheer magnitude of the city’s significance. Unfortunately we both agreed that human beings have sort of ruined the allure of it over time. Maybe it’s just because it was our last stop and we were a little fatigued, but it felt completely overrun with tourists. I will say, we absolutely loved Trastevere which is the area we stayed in. From my limited knowledge, I wouldn’t recommend staying anywhere else! This particular area was very walkable, it’s known to be the spot with the best restaurants in Rome, and it had a very cool vibe at night. We also found that we didn’t need dinner reservations anywhere which was nice! Overall, Rome is a worthwhile stop if for no other reason than the food. It. Was. INCREDIBLE.
Must see/do:
This cooking class was one of the best things we did on our entire trip! It’s in an Italian family’s home so you really get the full experience as opposed to doing a class in a restaurant. The family was so sweet and the food we made was delicious! Also includes wine. We absolutely loved this. I’d recommend doing it at the beginning of your trip because they also had great recommendations for Rome that could help you avoid the tourists.
The Colosseum - we opted not to do a tour of the inside and instead just walked there from Trastevere and looked from outside. It’s pretty cool to see and costs you nothing!
The Vatican - honestly, this was not my favorite but I’m putting it on here because if you’re super into art history or not phased by tourists, you’ll love it. Again, I felt like the tourists ruined what could have been really great. It is beautiful nonetheless! Something to be aware of - we booked tickets online to skip the line which was ultimately probably worth it, but when we showed up at our assigned time they told us it was too full and we had to wait an hour. Essentially, just go into it knowing it’s going to be madness.
Must eat:
Carbonara and cacio e pepe. Anywhere. You can’t go wrong. We particularly loved it at Casetta di Trastevere and Ristorante All Arco di Scalisto. Both on super cute streets in Trastevere!
Le Levain - delicious croissants & nice humans
Gelato - my favorite was from a place called Il Gelato which sounds suspect but it was the best I had on the whole trip!
Overall tips:
COVID things will always be changing but as of April 2022, this was the scoop:
We had to upload proof of vax for our initial flight. They’re strict about the date of your last dose being within a certain timeframe so if you’re not boosted, your submission may be rejected. I’m sure there are ways around it via testing but I’m not going to claim to be an expert on that!
Italy was much more strict than France. Masks on in most indoor places and some asked for proof of vax. We also had to show proof on the train to and from the different cities. In Paris, masks are required on the subway and in some Ubers but that was all.
If you need to test to get back into America before your flight, make sure you plan ahead. Tests are readily available at pharmacies but we happened to be leaving on a Sunday which was also a holiday and most were closed which was a bit nerve wracking!
If you fly within Europe on EasyJet you are allowed to bring a rolling carry-on despite what their website says. I ended up paying to check my bags based on what their site said and it turns out I was hoodwinked. Sad.
They are more strict about liquids in your carry on than they are in America. Make sure you separate them out and use the size bags that they require.
The internet will warn you a ton about pickpockets. It doesn’t hurt to be careful but we did not witness any sketchy behavior!
Don’t pack heels or any uncomfortable shoes. All of the streets are cobblestone!
Not speaking the languages can be frustrating but you’ll be fine. As long as you are polite, most people are polite back and try to help you.
Head over to @emilycollins on Instagram for more photos and highlights! Safe travels!
xo,
E
