TRAVEL RECAP: FLORENCE

Now that blog edits are near complete, I can finally get back to travel recaps which are well overdue. I hope the “better late than never” doesn’t become a theme here. Tuesdays are set to be Travel Stories Day on the blog. A few of the travel images were previously shared on insta but not a complete recap of my time in Florence.

Florence completely lived up to the hype. Of all the architecture I got to see in Italy, 2 of them stood out. The first being the terra cotta tiled Florence Cathedral, the second being the Duomo di Milano (more on that in coming soon Milan post). When you think about the detail and work that went into constructing the Florence Cathedral and this is prior to modern construction tools and techniques. There’ll just never be architecture that interesting ever again.

A few highlights:

Get thee a free walking tour and the one in Florence was extremely informative, no cutting corners. Although I have to admit, we nearly lost the group when I decided I couldn’t wait till end of tour to try Vivoli, the highly recommended by tour guide and more importantly, the oldest gelateria in Florence.

Another great thing about a free tour, is you don’t feel bad if you feel spontaneous and want to do something else. I recommend you notify your guide and leave a tip before heading off on your own. Note: Best gelato for me was the much hyped and ridiculous long lined Edoardo il Gelato. It’s your call if the long line is worth it, I guess it depends on how much you like gelato.

Eat: Mercato Centrale (MCF)

I can’t even go down the list of recommended places to eat, there’s just too many and its highly unrealistic that you’ll be able to make it to all of them. Which is why i recommend Mercato Centrale. It’s an upscale food court- (please do not use mall food courts as your point of reference). Butchers, Bakeries, Pastas, Pizza, Cheeses, all under one roof. And while I fully recommend MCF, I can’t say the same for the Mercato San Lorenzo right outside where you’d find stall after stall selling what looks like identical leather pieces (think Canal Street). I hear this market used to have the best leather but not so much anymore- unfortunately kind of a tourist trap now.

Stay: close to everything

Roommate Isabella was an excellent choice for a few reasons. Located in the fashion district, there’s so much window shopping, chic restaurant eating and fashion people watching to do. Also, at a 7 minute walk from the Florence Cathedral and the Piazza della Signoria, you’re so close to almost everything you’d want to do or see.

More to come.

TRAVEL RECAP: FLORENCE

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