To get to Florence or as they say Firenze, it was not easy. We had to carry our luggage in the heat onto three trains. When we finally arrived in Firenze we had a ten minute walk to our bnb which would have been easy if they did have cobble stone roads, I don’t know how my wheels made it through. Luckily this time our room was only up one flight of stairs. On arrival our host was lovely, taking us through everything and even sitting down with us to mark out all the important things to see in the city.
Once we had dropped our bags and cleaned ourselves up we went out in search of food and yes you guessed it, shops. As soon as you walk out you are immediately lost in a sea of leather shops and markets. Now of course naturally we were excited but just after five minutes I was ready to get out, the sellers literally jump on you to have a look, come in side and buy. The most annoying thing is they don’t give up even when you say no or are just walking by. In saying all this you as the customer do have the power to bargain with them as there is so much completion for them.
Despite that Florence in amazing, the architecture stands out like nothing else and even after we have visited so many historical cities I still am amazed every time by the scenery and buildings. With our short time in Florence we managed to tick off a lot of things, most importantly the shops but also the statue of David (all three of them) which was my personal favourite, an afternoon trip to Pisa, Piazzale Michelangelo, Ponte Vecchio, Florence Cathedral and so much more. Florence is filled with amazing attractions, with so many things to see and do we definitely got a leg work out. After all that walking we needed to re-carb load and boy we did. Having dinner right across the road from where we staying which was recommended to us, we all filled up on bread, cheese, prosciutto and pasta, because what else would you eat when in Eataly.
The next day we had the dreadful job of trying to once again re-pack our bags, a duty that is becoming less than pleasant for some..
carry on essentials 