The Whitehills’ Mediterranean Adventure

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This experience was thanks in part to Culturalitaly.com for their donation of the Florence experience.

The trip began at a small boutique hotel in Terme di Saturnia, known for their 3000-year-old thermal waters. “You would think that the sulfur smell would be overwhelming, but it was just a beautiful resort. The food was amazing and the waters – just wow!”

From there, the Whitehills went on a wine tasting trip to Poggio Rubino, a family vineyard in Montalcino. “This farm had breathtaking views of the Tuscany Valley,” Ben said “The owner told us that just on the other side of the mountains was the Adriatic Coast. Then he walked us through some of their wines. They were all paired with cheese and cured meats – from two villages over. Everything was “two villages over”.

“The host made it feel so special,” he said. “We tried their balsamic vinegars, and they’re very serious about balsamic. The very last wine was a Brunello, which is like the best of the best wines there. Grandma, the owner’s mom, works there. She made the pasta to pair with the wine. It was incredible.”

After that experience, they went to a different winery in Chianti, just a short drive through the Tuscan countryside. “They had a 100-year-old balsamic vinegar I spent a lot of euros on,” Ben joked.

The next stop was Florence. The hotel was another boutique hotel located in the middle of everything. Hotel Number Nine was very nice and modern, just a two-block walk was the Duomo. “All of the accommodations were five-star. In Florence, the package included a personal walking tour, and Gaston was our walking tour guide who met us down in the lobby of the hotel. And boy, does Gaston know Florence! I think we walked 40 miles in three days.”

From Florence, the travel agent provided them with high-speed rail tickets to take them to Rome. “The train traveled at 155 miles an hour the whole way. All through the Italian countryside. That was cool.”

While in Rome, they stayed at the Rome Cavalieri, a Waldorf Astoria hotel. “It was outside the city, up on a hill. There was a shuttle that would take you down into Rome.” Ben explained that the shuttle was frequent and allowed them to see all the top sites on the first day – the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps. “We did the Colosseum that first day too. When you see pictures of the Colosseum, it does not compare the scale of it in person. It was huge. It held 50,000 Romans. An unforgettable experience.”

The last portion of the trip was Barcelona, which was an easy two-hour plane ride away.

The hotel in Barcelona was called the Grand Hotel Central. Built in 1926, the hotel was teeming with history and art.

The Grand Hotel Central Barcelona was centrally located, which made it very walkable. “It was easy to get lost in such a vast city, but we spotted a Ferris wheel which led us to a beach and boardwalk.” There was also a big park not too far from the hotel that had “Balboa Park vibes. Barcelona felt kind of like San Diego. There’s like green parrots flying all around. The temperature felt like San Diego. They’re right by the water like San Diego.” A memorable moment of Barcelona was when they shut down for afternoon siesta, the shutters on the shops were all colorfully covered with graffiti which gave it an interesting look.

All in all, it was an unforgettable journey. “We had never been to any of these cities,” Ben shared. “Every hotel was incredible. We kept saying to each other — whoever planned this trip has clearly been to these places and knew exactly the kind of experience we’d have. They really knew what they were doing.”

When asked about his favorite part, Ben paused. “It’s a toss-up between Florence and Barcelona because they’re so different,” he said. “The Colosseum in Rome brings up so many emotions — just standing there and realizing how ancient everything is. A hundred-year-old house here feels old, but there, it’s a baby compared to Rome, Florence, and Barcelona. Seeing something built before BC was mind-blowing.”

He smiled, recalling the details. “I still think about those healing waters at our first hotel in Tuscany — and the wine. It’s hard to pick a favorite. The whole experience… it was magical.”