Florence (Part 1), Italy

We arrived in Florence on time to meet the host for our Airbnb thanks to the change to the fast train out of Le Spezia.

We caught the taxi to the apartment and waited for her to arrive. She arrived on a bicycle in red stilletos! This is how most Florentines get around and most are wearing heels.

We thought our apartment was on the first floor but to our surprise there were more stairs!! We were on the fourth floor with 60 steps. The lady insisted she help carry our bags which she regretted!

Our apartment had a great view of the Duamo from the balcony which is why Steve booked it.

We went out straight away to check out the beautiful city of Florence. It is a bit like Venice with lots of little streets everywhere and piazzas.

We walked around the corner to the Duomo. It was another amazing duomo! Huge!

I have never seen so many leather shops ( it smelt like leather!) and gelato shops! They were on every corner and in every lane way.

There were bicycles, motorcycles, little trucks and taxis everywhere that would just come up behind you forcing you to move. There were pedestrian crossings but you took your life into your own hands because the drivers (of all vehicles) would not slow down or stop for you.

And of course the people! Very busy!!

Once again there were streets with all the usual designer stores.

It was also very hot and humid but with beautiful blue skies.

We stopped and had pizza for lunch. We found the perfect pizza. It was called a Florentine and had ham, salami and mushrooms. It had everything we both loved in a pizza. Perfecto!

We wanted to get some nice salami and cheese. The host suggested the main market -San Lorenzo, that had all sorts of food and it was just what we needed.

Surrounding the food market was the leather market!! So many stores!! Along with all kinds of souvenirs. Steve had left his sunnies and hat in Cinque Terre so he bought another hat and sunnies. With Firenze on the hat he looks like a tourist now.

After a bit of a walk around we came across a dessert place. They had ice cream sandwiches that we just had to try. They were so good!!!!

We found a deli for the cheese. We bought 3 – a smelly camembert, a gorgonzola and a favourite of the girl who served us. I think it was a type of pecorino.

Next the salami. The shop was basically a butcher shop. It had all kinds of meat.

Steve wanted a hot sopressa but they only had a pepper one, it was a Toscana.

Next stop a local supermarket for biscuits, bread and wine. Steve managed to get a sopressa salami but it still wasn’t hot enough. As far as the cheese the smelly one was the best.

We just had cheese and salami for dinner because we were so tired after our sprint to the train that morning.

The next day we were up early for a tour. It was ‘Florence in a day’.

We met our guide Melana who was very knowledgeable as she was born and grew up in Florence. She was very passionate about her city.

We went straight to the Academia Gallery to see David! He was very big! and he was the real David.

He was originally on top of the Duomo but due to being exposed to the elements his arm broke so they moved him to the Academia Gallery. There are many copies of David all around the city.

We learnt that Michelangelo worked on his own and worked straight from the marble. Other sculptors would make a plaster first.

Michelangelo created David when the city was under threat from invasion of the French when the Medici’s were exiled. His creation was based around the story of David and Goliath.

Seeing Michelangelo’s David in the flesh/marble was amazing.

The Academia Gallery was originally an art school. There were lots and lots of different plaster sculptures made by the students.

We walked passed the Duomo and the line was up to a 2 hour wait. The tour guidelines said that although it could be part of the tour the lines would be long and therefore we would miss the rest of the tour. Melana gave us the option to wait but of course we all decided that it wasn’t and option. Instead Melana gave us the external tour of the cathedral which was very interesting.

We wandered through the streets from here, visiting the grainery/church along the way before finishing at Pont de Vecchio. She gave us a lot of interesting information about her city. Far too much to write about here!

The rest of the tour was in the afternoon so we had a break for lunch. Opposite our apartment was a little shop that many of the tours would stop at. We didn’t know why but had looked at the menu and thought lampredotto sounded nice. We decided we’d share one for lunch. I took one bite and thought it was full of fat so didn’t really like it. I thought it was going to be lamb. Steve had to explain more than once that it wasn’t lamb it was beef. Long story short it was a Florentine specialty – made from the fourth and final stomach of a cow.

😫😫😫😫😫😫

When I learnt this I felt like vomiting!! Steve loved it!!

The next part of the day was the Uffizi. It is an art gallery that was left to the city by the Medicis, and holds some of the most priceless works of art in the world from the gothic period and the renaissance.

We also saw Leonardo Di Vinci’s first painting.

Leonardo Di Vinci, Michelangelo and Raffaele!! Amazing!! But where was Donatello?? All of the Ninja Turtles! But no Donatello?

After researching Donatello I found out he sculpted his own David.

The gallery was amazing and gave you an understanding of how ancient Florence was such a modern city, the center of the Renaissance, which has really shaped the world as we know it today.

We finished the tour at about 4pm and headed to the local Irish pub for a drink while we looked up a restaurant for dinner. We found a wine bar that looked good so headed over to try it out. It was right in front of the Palazzo Pitti.

Some nice wine, a selection of cheese and salami and a very yummy pasta dinner.

On the way home we stopped at the Ponte Di Vecchio for the sunset.

One last thing I need to say is I’m so thankful for all the squats and lunges I did before this holiday because so many of the toilets didn’t have toilet seats! Thanks Jacqui!!