Italy: Florence

We planned on spending Amanda's birthday week in San Francisco and Napa Valley this year, but then we discovered a mistake fare and decided to forgo our original travel plans for Italy.  In Italy, we visited Venice, Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, and Milan.

Part 1 - Planning & Introduction
Part 2 - Venice
Part 3 - Rome
Part 4 - Florence
Part 5 - Tuscany
Part 6 - Cinque Terre
Part 7 - Milan

"Adventure is worthwhile."
-Aristotle

Before driving to the Tuscan countryside, we spent an overcast and rainy day exploring Florence.

To Get There

We slept in, hopped on the 8:20 a.m. train out of Rome, and arrived in Florence at 9:51 a.m. We used viRail to book tickets weeks ahead of time for 19€ a person.  

If you don't mind traveling on a schedule, it is much cheaper to buy train tickets ahead of time from the states. Tickets from Milan to Venice (35,50€) and Venice to Rome (80€) would have been cheaper if we would have purchased them ahead of time. However, we didn't want to risk it in case of flight delays, so we bought them from the train station.

What We Did

After arriving in Florence, we dropped our backpacks off at the luggage deposit for the day (5€), remembered to grab the umbrella, and walked to the Galleria Dell' Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. It was a much larger sculpture that we had imagined. It was very detailed and gave us a new appreciation for art, although Matt is still confused about why Michelangelo left him naked. We had reserved tickets ahead of time (11€ plus 4€ booking fee), but it was not necessary during off-season. [Being that we aren't super into art, we skipped the Uffizi Gallery.]

From the Accademia, we walked to the Duomo sites and purchased tickets onsite. Tickets are sold at all of the sites for 10€. Otherwise, they can be purchased in advance for 12€ here.

We walked through the Cathedral of Santa Maria dei Fiore (free).

And climbed Giotta's Campanile or Bell Tower (414 steps) and the Duomo's dome (463 steps) back to back. Even on a rainy day, both climbs offered gorgeous views of Florence and the hills in the distance.

The Baptistry was closed since it was undergoing restoration (pictured below).

Rick Steves' Renaissance walk led us through Piazza della Signoria and to the Arno River where we viewed Ponte Vecchio from Ponte Santa Trinita. Built in 1345, Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge in the city and contains storefronts.

Then, we hiked up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo and enjoyed yet another view of the city. Shortly after, it started to rain again. So arm-in-arm, we huddled under the umbrella and walked back to catch the bus to pick-up the rental car and escape to the countryside.

Where We Ate

We walked around the block two times looking for Osteria Il Buongustai at Via dei Cerchi 15 r. From the window, you can watch the same three women who make lunch every day. We enjoyed an antipasto, espresso (Matt), and the best tiramisu (Amanda). Dessert before a meal is always a good idea. ;)

The next stop was I Due Fratellini at Via dei Cimatori 38 r. It is run by two brothers near Piazza della Signoria. Their 2,50€ sandwiches were delicious. We ate spicy salami + goat cheese and prosciutto + pecorino paninos.

Matt loves his coffee.

The best gelato of the entire trip was from Gelateria de'Neri at Via dei Neri 20-22 r. It was SO good.

Amanda had lemon and salted caramel gelato.

Matt went for all chocolate varieties of gelato.

Other places we would have loved to try:
All'Antico Vinaio at Via de'Neri 65 for paninos
Gelateria Carabe at Via Ricasoli 60 r for gelato
II Gusto di Acasamia at Piazza Ghiberti 5-6 r for Tuscan food and pizza