Florence, Italy: Trattoria ZaZa

There are so many wonderful benefits to traveling.

If you've ventured out much into this vast world of ours, 

you'll know what treasures await you in new cultures:

quirky sayings...

interesting style...

unique approaches to 

religion, family, dating,

and ever other facet of life

that our home cultures view so differently.

While I love discovering those in every place we go,

I also really just love to go for the food.

There, I said it.

When we went to Florence the other week,

I was a bit determined to take everyone to Trattoria ZaZa.

Will I be bold enough to claim it as "the best restaurant in Florence?"

No.... because, unfortunately, I haven't eaten in all of the restaurants in Florence.

Though it's a goal I hope to accomplish.

I can say it is a place that is always delicious,

well-located to a day's trip to the city,

and a crowd-pleaser.

Plus, it's really sentimental to me.

I spent time there in college with my friends (now sister-in-law),

I went on dates there (with my then boyfriend),

I've eaten many meals with my family there throughout the years...

and now Tyler & I have our own handful of special memories together there.

The bruschetta is great.

The truffle ravioli is fantastic.

The ribollita is a Tuscan treat that I never miss.

Ribollita = minestrone soup with bread cooked into it.

It's a hearty soup that Italian farmers would make to use day old bread...

I'm not going to lie, it's fantastic.

the crew: stephen, megan & corey (liz's main man)

So there you have it:

One solid recommendation for a very tasty meal in Florence, Italy.

{Editor's Note: Reservations for dinner not required, but highly suggested!}

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

Just a thought...

The other day I was having a really good talk with a dear friend.

Mind-blowing isn't it?

Girls talking over tea and apple tart tatins... with ice cream.

Ok, so that's not the interesting part of this post.

{Editor's Note: Until I arrive to said interesting point, 

enjoy some pretty pictures by the talented Victoria Wall Harris

taken in NYC for our 5th anniversary.}

The noteworthy part of catching up with my friend

was the articulation of a little idea

that has been bugging me in a big way lately.

It has to do with happiness

and the ever-seeking quest 

that people take to find it.

The thing is...

being happy isn't a destination that you suddenly arrive at

once you get everything that you've always wanted.

Nope. 

It's a choice that you make every day

to enjoy life as it arrives before you.

If you hold out for "happiness" to arrive

after something big happens,

you'll never find it.

Do you know why I think that is?

Because if you can't enjoy the small things in life

and be happy with the little moments & pleasures,

then you'll always be too bogged down to enjoy the really big wins in life.

Take today to find {authentic} pleasure in something simple.

Dress up something ordinary 

and revel in how good it can be.

Sleeping in.

Spooning someone you love.

Morning coffee from your favorite shop.

The ride to work in the sunshine.

A really good CD that you haven't heard since college.

A forgotten bag of jolly ranchers in your office drawer.

Whatever small thing that you can enjoy for "better than average."

Not only will it make today better,

but when you actually do strike gold in life...

it will be all the sweeter.

*all images by victoria wall and original to aspiring kennedy

Pack Your Bags: Cinque Terre

Last summer, 

I posted about Cinque Terre

and gave my recommendations for a trip 

to this gorgeous chunk of heaven

that sits dotted along the Italian coast.

This time I just want to hit a few of the highlights

and show you some gorgeous pictures

from the rebuilt town of Vernazza.

You might remember that last year

the Cinque Terre was more or less wiped out

by severe flooding that swept down from the hillsides.

My cousins visited Vernazza in June

and described it as a ghost town 

compared the vibrant place that it used to be.

Mi non piaci.

The idea of going back was a little scary to me...

I wasn't in the mood to see one of my favorite places in deserted shambles.

But we had a free day with Megan & Stephen before our flight

and decided to give it a go.

Besides the 45 minutes of sun-tannings & relaxing that we had on the pier,

I was so glad to go and see that life was, basically, back to normal in the Cinque Terre.

The people of the 5Terre have worked tirelessly

and, to my delight, rebuilt the town.

The same places have come back and are now freshly standing where they once were.

For those that asked if the Cinque Terre is worth visiting after the floods,

I can now say, yes!

I give my blessing for you to go back to Vernazza...

because you were all, obviously, waiting for that, right?

It's alive!

{And ready for some tourists to get it back in business!}

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

Beginner's Manual for Staying In An {Italian Villa}

When we planned this blogger hen-do,

we knew it had to have a supreme backdrop.

With us all coming from different places in Europe,

we knew that most any decent place 

within the reaches of Ryan Air was our play ground.

So we settled on Tuscany.

Megan, our bride-to-be, had never been,

and as a wedding gift to her, 

I thought she should experience the greatness that is Italy.

And, as you may be realizing,

 I have issues with spending any free time I have there. 

Really bad issues.

So Liz found us an amazing villa on *AirBnB,

we paid the deposit, packed our bags,

and away we went.

If you are looking for an affordable place to rent in Tuscany,

this might be your spot.

It has four bedrooms,

 

two and a half bathrooms,

large common areas,

an updated kitchen perfect for making big meals,

and, most importantly, a pool set among an olive grove.

 

It took a lot, I mean, a lot to post a picture of me in a swimsuit next to tiny Megan.

The other great thing is that it's about 15 minutes away

from my favorite place in the world, Lucca.

I have highlights from Florence & Cinque Terre to come,

but for now,

enjoy the quick trip to our temporary piece of heaven.

To read the more tragic & real start to our trip,

head over to Liz or Megan's blogs for the recount.

They wrote out the stories so well,

I'll leave it up to them to give you the full picture.

{Read my review for renting an affordable house in France here.}

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy
**if you haven't used AirBNB, use this link. We both save money. Win-win.

Dreaming of St. Andrews

I'm back from our blogger weekend in Italy

and am already pulling 12 hour work days 

as my new semester starts.

It feels good though.

I like being busy.

Before I get heavy on the Italy pictures

and trying to articulate all that happened during our trip,

here are the dreamy shots I promised

from our trip to St. Andrews.

Even though I lucked out with posh accommodation this time,

what I typically like the most about this town

is how normal St. Andrews is.

There are just a few streets running through the town

lined with approachable restaurants, regular shops & charity shops....

it's just a sweet place for regular people to live and study.

{Or for Royals to fall in love... whichever.}

Regardless of the town being really tiny and secluded

and being, well, pretty much freezing most of the year, 

I actually think I could live there.

Isn't this place the cutest?

To get more information on visiting St. Andrews,

read my post here on things to do

and my review on staying at the famous Old Course Hotel.

And if you wonder if the nut falls far from the tree,

this picture of my dad taking a picture

reminds me that my genetic predisposition is what it is.

No need to keep fighting it.

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

The Most Epic BLATE Ever.

For those of you who don't know

a "blate" is a blogger date.

A few months back, 

over dinner in Glasgow

Megan & I started scheming up 

what could be an amazing hen-do blate

{hen-do = British bachelorette party}

after her and Stephen got engaged.

{We had a feeling it was right around the corner.}

Obviously, I suggested Italy.

Obviously, Megan thought it wasn't a terrible idea.

Fast forward to 3 months later,

and I'm sitting on the rug of my living room 

packing for a 5 day get away to Tuscany

with two of my favorite blogging friends.

{Us American ExPats in Europe have to stick together.}

We meet in Pisa tomorrow

where we will drive to a villa

and lounge in the country for two days...

after that, our men come to join the party.

I simply can't wait for several reasons:

1. It's so fun to spend time with blogger friends in real life.

Getting to have girl time with Megan & Liz is just what the doctor ordered.

2. We will be in Lucca, which (as I have previously said) 

is Tyler & my's favorite city in the world.

That's a bold statement, but we love it there.

 Remember when I spent my birthday there last year?

3. There is this really awesome gelateria there 

with a particular homemade flavor that I love, Raffaello.

It's white chocolate, hazlenut and fresh coconut... just like the candy truffles. 

Last summer, we drove all the way from Florence on our last night

and each ate a large cone full of it...

and went back in for a second cone when we finished.

So yeah, that's another pretty big draw.

If you could join us in Tuscany, 

what would you insist on doing/eating/seeing?

Follow Us on Instagram During Our "Viaggio."

me - aspiringkennedy | megan - msgram | liz - lizdenfeld

*all images via