Not traveling to Italy this year, but have it on your wish list?
We know you’re working hard to make your dreams come true, and we think it’s important to hold the vision of whatever it is you want in your mind’s eye as you live your day-to-day and take (sometimes only tiny!) steps to get there.
We’ve got some ideas on how to take those teeny-tiny, intentional steps to make your dream Italy vacay a reality.
Think of this post as a mini vision-boarding shopping spree.
The kind that features sweet home decor, fragrances fit for royals, and Italian cool-girl fashion.
Little reminders that you’re working hard towards making those limoncello-colored dreams come true!
Here are a few ideas for ways to keep Italy close, even when it might seem so far away.
Turn your walls into living postcards
Got a wall? Bring Italy inside your home with cute wallpaper that dares you to swap your sweater for a silky beach cover-up!
We love this wallpaper for the perfect blend of pretty, pastels and Portovenere. Excellent for party conversation starters!
Passing by it day after day will keep Italy (and sunset aperitivi) on the brain till the day you’re ready to buy that ticket!
Adorn Italy like a charm
If you can’t be in Florence to browse their bridge markets yourself, you can still bring the vintage to you. The creators behind Storie in Italy shop at gorgeous markets all over Italy, keeping an eye out for rare vintage materials that they pull together into pieces of jewelry.
We’re talking necklaces with medallions and cute charms, like little locks from Venice and fleur-de-lis from Monterosso all on one piece! Anything you buy from them truly feels like you’re wearing a slice of history. (Our guide for our Cinque Terre tours for women makes them!)
Check out their stunning pieces here.
Make like a Medici
If you come to our writing workshop in Florence, one of the first things we do on our walking tour is take our ladies to the Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy in Florence –– the oldest pharmacy-slash-apothecary in the world, where every scent is sexy cool and has a major back story.
They still produce the same perfumes they used to create for royals, which is why we think you should spritz your wrists with this one that Caterina De Medici first commissioned to be concocted by the Dominican monks who ran the pharmacy in 1533.
Or lather up with one of their handmade soaps. ‘Cause if you can’t be in Italy, you may as well kick it up a notch and smell like the nobility there!
Wear Italy every chance you get
Got a raise or a promotion? Splurge on a Dolce & Gabbana original Majolica print dress, or get it cheap and cheerful from a knockoff store (it’s the feeling that counts)! Or make a statement with this Alice & Olivia Butterfly Paradise pouf miniskirt (which is more Cinque Terre tower houses than butterflies, if you ask us). Make a new pair of cute leather sandals crafted in Italy your go-to summer staple. Buy that Gucci handbag you’ve had your eye on for months.
Whatever you do, wear something Italian-inspired consistently and you’ll wanna get nose-to-store-window close in Milan real soon.
Get geared up on pre-planning your trip
There’s no better Italy-related gift to yourself (according to us) than knowing the insider intel to set you up for a remember-forever trip –– and it saves you tons of Googling too. We’ve poured years of research into our beloved Italy City Guides, which are perfect for people who want to invest in personal recommendations, in-the-know info and local secrets that will turn any trip into an I’ve-got-the-inside-scoop experience. And we keep it updated, so you won’t miss a beat if your trip is still months (or years!) away.
If you’ve got Rome, Florence, Venice or Cinque Terre (or all of them!) on your radar, gift yourself a City Guide and make that vision board super-duper specific. Like, exactly what pasta dish to order in which neighborhood in Rome. We’re not messing around!
Wanna tag along on a trip that has all the nitty-gritty details covered? Our Sicily Tour for women this fall could make those pastel-hued visions come to life sooner than you think.
We hope that by peppering little pieces of Italian inspo throughout your life, it’ll make the wait for that glass of Chianti Classico in Tuscany oh so worth it.
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Want more ideas on how to bring more Italy into your life? Check out these posts:
- Gigi Guides: City Guides for Italy
- 3 Ways You Can Siesta Like The Italians Every Day
- Hone Your Perfect Vacay Vision
- Sicily Tours for Women
Now, over to you. When are you planning to visit, and what are you doing to stay excited until then? Let us know in the comments!
Images 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 by Leela Cyd
