Five Thoughts for Friday

I am taking a break from recapping our Italy trip for some tidbits happening in my world.

1. As I mentioned previously, my brother is in town this week! Yay! We are headed to London for the weekend. What a lucky duck he's spending his spring break in Dublin and London!

2. At the recommendation of Jillian, I started my second Jojo Moyes book: The Girl You Left Behind. Here's the list of the last few books I've read.

3. The bird and I completed one week of oil pulling. Although it isn't the best way to wake up, it really isn't so bad. I distract myself with catching up on social media and emails in the morning. Here and here are a couple people talking about it.

4. I am finally making the decision to do a redesign for the blog... and I need help! If you have any suggestions for blog designers, please send them my way or leave me a comment.

5. Lastly... Get excited for an upcoming giveaway week! March marked my 3 year blog anniversary and I wanted to put together something special for all my lovely readers. The giveaways are scheduled for the week of April 7th!

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Italy: Amalfi Coast recap (part II)

This part of our trip definitely deserves its own post.

At the end of our vacations, the bird and I pick our highs and lows of our trip. One of my highs from the Amalfi Coast was definitely The Path of the Gods (Sentiero degli Dei) hike.

From Positano, we took the SITA bus down to Amalfi.

We had a little time to spare in Amalfi, grabbed lunch to go and hopped on another bus to Agerola (Bomerano stop), where we started the hike.

The hike is moderate and was about 5+ miles. We picked up lunch and water in Amalfi and stopped along the trail to eat, which was perfect. In my opinion, this is a must-see and do in Amalfi- fits in some vacation exercise, gorgeous views and a whole new perspective of the southern coast of Italy.

Here is Part I of our trip to the Amalfi Coast (Sorrento + Positano) and Part III (Capri).

Italy: Amalfi Coast recap (part I)

I am so excited to recap our trip to the Amalfi Coast of Italy!

Our first stop was a night in Rome. We got in and found a nearby spot for dinner and our first scoop of gelato for the trip.

How cute is this shop?!

Since it was only a short stay in Rome, I don't have much. For a full recap on Rome, here is a recap wrote up from last summer.

The next morning we took the train south, stopping in Naples for lunch before heading down to Sorrento for the night via the Circumvesuviana line. You can also take the ferry.

Sorrento was so pretty and perfect for a one-night stay.

The bird had surprises waiting for me in every place we stayed! In Sorrento, we had prosecco and birthday cake.

The next day we took the SITA bus down to Positano for two nights. This place was gorgeous!

The last three are from our hotel room + balcony where we stayed at Hotel Conco d'Oro. Highly recommended!

I have too many pictures to make this a one-parter. Stay tuned for Part II + Part III to follow soon!

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Instagrams of Italy

And we're back!

I hope to have my 'real' pictures up and ready to go next week, but for now here are a few Instagrams from our vacation in Italy.

And here is one last shot from the plane ride, going over the French Alps.

Lastly, here is a lovely article on the 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in the US.

I may be a little bias since my little hometown was voted #2! Yay!

Looking forward to a full recap on Italy next week! Have a lovely weekend!

Linked with A Liz Adventures

My Beach Bag in Italy

We are packing up the beach bag today after spending a gorgeous week in Italy.

My beach bag essentials + wardrobe for the past week

We first landed in Rome for a night before taking the train to Naples, where we had a delicious lunch, and continued on for a lovely stay in Sorrento. The next two nights were spent in Positano. This place is unbelievably gorgeous. So was the place we stayed for the last two nights: Capri. So dreamy!

Looking forward to getting a more detailed recap & lots more pictures up on the blog. Until then...

Yay for birthdays!

Today is my birthday!!! WooHoo!

I am aware my birthday is also shared by St. Patrick. But since we managed to escape Dublin this year, I am celebrating this day all by myself.

We are currently leaving Positano and headed to Capri and loving every minute of this gorgeous vacation. Looking forward to posting a recap when we return! In the meantime, follow along on Instagram (@birdietobe).

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Off to Italy

I am beyond excited to be spending the next 5 days, including my birthday, in southern Italy on the Amalfi Coast!

Packing for vacations always makes me so giddy. Here are five lovely pieces that I think would suit Italy perfectly.

thong sandals // white denim // panama hat // striped bikini top + bottom // lightweight long sleeve

Here's our itinerary and rough plan:
Day 1: Land and stay in Rome
Day 2: Train down through Naples to Sorrento
Day 3/4: Staying in Positano for 2 nights
Day 5/6: 2 nights on the island of Capri

I know I said this before, but recommendations are the best. If you have any, please shoot me an email or leave a comment below.

Hope you have a lovely weekend! Feel free to follow along on our adventures on Instagram @birdietobe.

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