So let’s pause from all the travel for a while, shall we? Since my blog is all about “dainty” things — the small, pretty and sometimes trivial delights I savor — indulge me for a moment as I tell you about what I wore on my five-day Tuscan Blogger Adventure with the Lifestyle Network team.

Since this trip came as a complete surprise (and in the fall in Europe, at that), I had absolutely zero things in my closet for our Tuscan excursion. (My last trip to cool weather was six years ago, and those clothes were long gone.) I didn’t have a clue about what to shop for, admittedly out of touch with cool weather clothes. Since I happen to be an indecisive Scrooge when it comes to shopping, I also wanted to be sure I only bought what I needed and could use what I’d bought even after this trip.

Thankfully, my friend Vanessa Ordinario was just a Tweet away! I emailed her about helping me with my shopping list, and she happily obliged by providing me with a simple look book for the trip. If you’re traveling to Italy any time in the next few weeks, these basics are must-haves for the early autumn weather (Oct-Nov).

The Basics

The basics were the obvious:

I had most things here, save the cashmere scarf and the peacoat. Instead, I opted for a short black jacket and my favorite nude polka dotted scarf. I was basically set, and needed a few more things to give me a little bit more variety.

Siena/Chianti/Pisa

I won’t bore you with details of my Day 1 travel outfit, because I slept through most of the journey! (But, if you’re going on a 12-hour plane ride, do dress comfortably.) Let’s just skip to Day 2. We were going to be traveling a lot on our second day in Tuscany, and so I wanted something simple, comfortable, and bearable enough to wear on the 2 hour-long bus rides from one town to the next. (Yes, we went to Siena, Chianti and Pisa all in one day!) So here’s what Vanessa put on my shopping list:

This is me on Day 2, upon arriving in Siena. The oversize sweater was from Mango, while the nude scarf with polka dots was an old find, (Greenhills tiangge) as were the black leggings, satchel and brown booties from The Ramp.

Food-Walking in Florence

Day 3 of our stay was a food-walking tour of Florence with our passionate foodie guide and culinary instructor, Paul. Now, I don’t normally care about what I wear when food tripping here in Manila, but when in Rome (or in this case, Firenze), do as the Romans do (or Florentines do). Here’s Day 3′s picks from Vanessa, followed by what I wore.

 This photo is backlit (but I don’t mind — that’s the Duomo di Siena behind me, outshining me!), but I’m wearing stuff I already own! No need to shop for these basics, which are simply my usual separates all layered in a kind of Parisiene look. (Polo; sweater – Mango. Jeans; scarf – Promod) Because the temperatures changed throughout the day (very cool in the morning; warm at noon, then cool again by evening), layering was really the way to go.

Uffizi Museum/Shopping

From the famous masterpieces of Botticelli and Raphael at the Uffizi Museum, to the exquisite though off-season works of art at The Mall (i.e. Florence’s outlet mall for Prada, Armani, and Valentino, to name a few), Sunday in Florence was about appreciating Italy’s most renowned artisans. In the morning, we reveled in the Uffizi’s priceless treasures (including The Birth of Venus and The Madonna of the Goldfinch, two of my most favorite masterpieces); in the afternoon, we salivated over the beauteous bags, shoes and apparel by the gods of modern fashion.

 The jacket is all cotton, very lightweight, from Promod’s fall 2012 collection. I already own the sweater (Zara), but I bought a short skirt from Rustan’s (Culte Femme) and the black boots (Janilyn). (That’s a new bag, which I bought on Day 3 at the leather market.)

Rome, then home

The trip back to Manila was on the evening of Day 5 of our trip. The first half of the day was a runabout Rome, and we had some time to check out the Colosseum before hopping on the bus for the airport. (We were flying back via Amsterdam-Taipei again.) Again, the trip home called for a comfy getup, so I opted for leggings again and a dress.

Here were Vanessa’s recommendations:

The grey cotton-cashmere dress from Promod was light and soft — I adore this! Old brown booties and the standard leggings, of course. Forgive the most non-outfit-of-the-day manner of wearing my bag. Patrizia, our guide, warned us of pickpockets being most notorious around the Colosseum grounds, so I was paranoid.

And me being me, I had to take another shot:

Again, clinging to the bag! But at least, I look more relaxed here.

So there. I hope you enjoyed my little flight of fancy, because it’s not often that I post so photos of myself, especially when it comes to anything even remotely close to fashion! This is really my way of saying “thank you” to Vanessa for being such a great help, and for helping me save big bucks on spur-of-the-moment buys. Even after this trip, I can still use the few items I bought for the trip — not one peso wasted!

For style tips, or to consult about your lookbook for your trip or wardrobe — or whatever (!), contact Vanessa Ordinario at @vanessaordi on Twitter. You can also visit her style blog, The Pink Mate Project, where you can also find her other contact details.