A and I's tour of Italy included only one night in Florence! A real shame because the city is really gorgeous and chock full of art history, including the most famous statue in the world Michelangelo's David. Despite our whirlwind time in Florence, we experienced a lot of culture, ate some really really delicious food, and met so many wonderful people along the way!
Our gorgeous, sun-drenched apartment doors overlooking the veranda. Fun fact about this house and the neighborhood: they all used to be part of an abbey! You can definitely tell from the gates, shutters, and the rounded doorways.
The garden was full of roses and happy butterflies flittering around
When we first got to Florence, after being graciously picked up by our Airbnb hosts at the train terminal and given a tour of our breathtaking apartment, A and I hopped on the bus and headed into the center of Florence. Our original plan was to go see David on our first day in the city, but the line was so long (as it always is--seriously, book your tickets in advance!) that we decided to see the city instead and return for David the next morning before our train to Rome.
After we ditched the line for David, we headed to a local restaurant where we gorgeously indulged in a salad with strawberries, goat cheese, and cherry tomatoes (mine) and a pizza with smoked salmon (hers, although technically we share everything anyway).
We spent the rest of our day wandering through the city.
After a bit of wandering aimlessly through the beautiful streets, A and I found a corner gelato shop that caught our attention with its huge case of gelato flavors.
The owner of the shop who has a personality as big as a city block, and is twice as friendly!
Mine: mint chocolate chip gelato and chocolate chip cookies gelato
The owner of the shop is so unbelievably friendly, he walks around with a smile on his face all the time. He spotted my camera and immediately swooped over to take pictures of A and I before he jumped in and took a selfie with us.
After our gelato, when we promised him that we'd be back before we left Florence the next day.
We wandered some more after gelato--honestly with all the walking we're doing throughout each of the cities we're in we've worked off all of the carbs and gelato we've been eating, I'm sure it all balances out. At least, that's what I tell myself so I can continue indulging in my pizza, pasta, and gelato in peace.
We do a lot of step-sitting in every city we're in...a great foot reliever and people-watching opportunity
In a square under the shadow of a big church there was a lovely artist selling his gorgeous watercolor paintings of Florence. After I purchased one, he pointed us down a street full to bursting with a street market. People everywhere were selling leather purses, jackets, random Italy souvenirs, and some very racy aprons. Halfway through this market was the entrance to the second-floor of an under-restoration building that housed a food market. We decided to check it out.
We did some more stair sitting after the match was over, just outside the building housing the food market. After a while sitting and people watching, we decided to walk some more...before heading back to our gelato spot from earlier.
I had more mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie while Amrita tried her first frozen margarita--being legal here really has its perks!
Before we left Florence that night, we made sure to photograph the gorgeous sun setting on the gorgeous buildings.
We slept soundly in our gorgeous nunnery apartment and headed back to the city early the next morning, long before our 2 pm train.
The line was already obscenely long to see David, so we decided to take a roaming tour guide up on his offer and joined a guided tour that got us in the door so much faster than standing in line ourselves and offered a knowledgeable guide to lead us around the museum. At around 11 am...we finally saw him. David.
David really is as magnificent in real life as people promise. The statue is awe-inspiring, truly, and the realistic details like the veins in his arm and outlines of his bones and muscles. It's true what they say--whenever you're in Florence you have to visit David.
Our time in Florence was far too short but now we're in Rome and I can't wait to share all of our adventures with you! If you have any recommendations for what to do in Rome, please let me know in a comment!
xx
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