World Tour Stop 26 - Florence, Italy

We grabbed a quick train from Rome to Florence (roughly 30 Euro and easy to book online, and a short 90 min trip using ItaliaRail). The walk from the train station in Florence to our airbnb off of via guelfa was under ten minutes and super easy. I wish the US had a better train system because this was so quick and easy with no long security lines or having to arrive hours beforehand.

We kicked off Florence with a lovely meal of meat and cheese and espresso and wine and again just enjoyed being in Italy. I don't think that we could have found a bad place to eat but we stepped into a small cafe and had a homemade menu and super fresh food.

From here we walked into town and were going to try to visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria (St. Mary's Cathedral) and climb to the top of the duomo (dome). Well, that didn't work as the line was wrapped all the way around the cathedral and tickets to climb to the top of dome were not available for any of the days that we would be in Florence (we were only going to spend about 50 hours there). So, in hindsight, this would definitely be something that you need to purchase a head of time. We still took some really cool pictures of the outside of this huge structure.

From here we wandered around town a bit and walked past the replica version of the Statue of David and some other fun marble structures. A little fun with some souvenirs as well. I think I look like a professional chef if you ask me.

We wandered to the Arno river and crossed Ponte Vecchio and enjoyed the classic feeling of Florence and all of the colors and history in its streets.

Florence is beautiful and happens to be where my brother and sister in law call their favorite place in the world to visit, so we took their advice for the evening. We went to dinner at a restaurant named Hosteria del Brico and then hiked to the top of Piazzale Michelangelo for a beautiful sunset. After a quick change into some clothes that hadn't been sweat in yet, we walked over to the restaurant and it was as cute as my family had said it was. The restaurant is family owned and the menu is hand written out by the mother of the family. We started with fresh bread and spreads (everything from an olive spread to mushrooms, onions, and even a pate (chicken liver) spread. We also split a bottle of prosecco and then moved into the main meal and I am going to try to describe it, but just trust me, it was amazing. Bri ordered a meat and potato stew (which was thick and not at all like a stew that I expected, but that meat was so tender), and Emily ordered a spinach and cheese gnocchi that was heavenly and a lot larger than what we would normally expected and I had a spicy pasta with vegetables and oil. This place is a must visit and all of the credit of the find goes to my favorite sister in law.

After dinner we went up to the top of the PIazzale Michelangelo, grabbed a bottle of prosecco and enjoyed a perfect evening. We stayed out here for a couple of hours and just took in the views and atmosphere. The best part of Europe are all of the incredible views and the fact that bringing a bottle of wine and grabbing a place to sit and enjoy each other's company is acceptable and normal with none of the restrictions we have in the US that limit people on where they can enjoy a beverage.

On the walk home we walked back over Ponte Vecchio and took a photo while we were all on our own, something very rare during tourist season in July.

The next morning we woke up bright and early for a Tuscany countryside tour. This was booked through tripadvisor and our guide was so good, but it was way over crowded with a bus of about 50 people. It ended up being fine, but definitely the largest tour group we were on this trip. The tour would have three stops and a lunch at a winery. The first stop was in Siena which is where the annual horse race (Palio) takes place. This is a short half mile track around a courtyard and the entire countryside shows up in their 16 districts colors and animal sponsors.

We also were able to walk in and learn about the Duomo di Siena, or the Siena Cathedral. This cathedral was built in the 13th century and contains incredible art on the floor and ceiling as well as the art of St. John the Baptist by Donatello to the right after the Piccolomini Library, the rose window by Duccio di Buoninsegna, the marble pulpit by Nicola Pisano. Oh, and you get to wear a cute poncho if your shoulders are exposed.

After Siena the next stop on the Tuscan tour was to San Gimignano. This town felt like what I expected of Tuscany with rolling green hills and beautiful red clay roofs. Here we tasted the world's best gelato from Gelateria Dondoli and then we climbed the Torri Di San Gimignano for a small fee. I think it was 7 euro per person and again, I like to see things from the top so it is always worth it for me. Plus, the wind blowing up here was a nice cool down.

We had a really good lunch and some wine tasting just outside of San Gimignano, but i failed to get any pictures! We are in the actual wine barrel room and had three wines, plus cheese and focaccia bread, pasta and then a fun dessert. Our final stop of the tour was to visit Pisa, obviously famous for the leaning tower of Pisa. We had about an hour here and it was super overcrowded so we took a few photos and then escaped into a cafe and enjoyed a glass of wine. But of course had to get the iconic leaning on the tower pictures.

Apparently the tower was close to being unable to stand on its own in the early 2000s and support was added to stop the lean. It is currently at a 4% lean which is very noticeable when walking around it.

This was our final stop of the day and then we boarded the bus to head back to town. It was definitely a super full day of seeing the countryside and I would recommend this tour, but maybe in early June or later August when it's less crowded and a bit cooler.

That night we wen and had pizza at the restaurant that our guide recommended so I had to share the location as it was great, with great service and way too large of portions.

L’antica pizzeria da Michele Firenze

The next day, our last day in Florence, we visited the Accademia Gallery which include the Statue of David and a lot of other works by Michelangelo. Again using Rick Steve's Audio Tour, this was cool art and history to view and some incredible moments that were captured in stone. Michelangelo was so talented and it was crazy to see the way his mind worked in some of these pieces.

From here we snacked on one last cannoli and a glass of prosecco for me before heading back to the train station for another train ride from Florence to Venice. Ciao Florence, you were fun, beautiful, and way too short of a visit.