Since we had planned to stay an entire week, Andrew and I were excited about our next stop in Italy, Florence (or Firenzia as the locals call it). We thought it would be nice to fully unpack and experience more of the Italian culture over an extended period of time, in one city.
The drive from Siena up to Florence was quick, took just about an hour to get to the airport, where we had to drop off the rental car. We took the complimentary shuttle from the Florence airport to the train station, where we were able to walk to our Airbnb. As we were walking to our Airbnb, we noticed the vast amount of people in the city, comprised of both tourists and locals. There were a number of shops and cute little Italian restaurants, so we knew we made the right decision to stay here a bit longer than the other places.
We met our Airbnb host at the place and she showed us around. The Airbnb ended up working out perfectly for our week long stay. It was a 1 bedroom apartment, with a very spacious bathroom and kitchen. The kitchen worked out great and we were able to make breakfast every morning, as well as a couple of lunches and dinners during our stay. After dropping off our bags, we were able to find a local gym that gave us a great deal for the week. It was a short 5 minute walk from our place, so we were able to use it most mornings before starting our day.
We ended up checking out a local market and picked up a few items for our meals, as well as dinner for that night. We had a delicious meat/cheese appetizer, and then enjoyed a delicious, homemade, grilled steak salad! It’s always nice having a meal out, but when you’re traveling for an extended period of time like we are, these home-cooked meals are much needed at times.
We decided to take advantage of another free walking tour the next morning since our past experiences had worked out so well. Our tour guide was great and took us around the city, giving us some great history along the way.
Basilica di Santa Maria Novella
This is how they used to transport wine from the countryside into the city:
On the left: Andrew in front of the Duomo // On the right: Palazza Vecchio
Piazza della Signoria – Includes a copy of the Statue of David, as well as other original pieces
The line above the “Via Del Parlagio” sign represents the level of water in the city during a massive flood 50 years ago:
Church in Piazza de Santa Croce – Contains Michaelangelo’s remains
After grabbing a quick lunch at our place, we headed out to the Galleria dell’ Accademia, which is most-known for housing the official Statue of David that Michaelangelo carved. Once again, our rain jackets came in handy since it started to rain pretty hard that day. Luckily we had pre-bought tickets, so we only had to wait in line for about 15 minutes to get in. If you didn’t pre-buy tickets, the line was wrapped around the corner, and was about a 2 hour wait to get in. We’ve learned it’s very important to always pre-plan for a few things like this to avoid the long lines.
Andrew learning some history about a pair of hurdy-gurdies from 1775:
Statue of David – We learned in our walking tour that Michelangelo carved the Statue of David in just 3 years and it represents the civic testament of Michelangelo’s life & career.
Checking out the rest of the Galleria dell’ Accademia
After the museum, we went to check out the Central Market, which housed numerous vendors, similar to a few of the other markets we’ve gone to in other cities. We really like these markets as they give you an opportunity to try a bit of the local cuisine and feel like a local as you’re doing so.
The next day we had planned a day trip to Lucca & Pisa, 2 cities that were only about an hour from Florence by train. Our first stop was Lucca, which is a city encircled by a perfectly intact wall, even though we learned it hadn’t been involved in a war since 1430. Apparently most cities have torn down their walls to make way for modern traffic, but Lucca’s wall has remained, and effectively keeps out traffic and much of the modern world. The wall was pretty incredible and we were able to rent bikes and ride along it as we checked out the entire city. Unfortunately our lunch experience in Lucca was not the best and was probably the worst meal experience we had in Italy (thus far). We ordered a salad and a pizza, and should have remembered what our free tour guide had said: “Don’t ever order pizza at a place that’s not called a pizzeria”.
Off to Lucca!
The wall surrounding the city of Lucca:
Andrew appreciating the wall in all of its’ glory:
After spending the first half of the day exploring Lucca, we hopped on the train and headed to Pisa, where of course we checked out the Leaning Tower. There is not much else to do in Pisa, so we only stayed there for about an hour, getting some great “tourist” pics of the tower. It was pretty hilarious watching everyone do the exact same poses (i.e. pushing the tower up). We definitely felt like major tourists, but still managed to get the pose.
City of Pisa:
The famous Leaning Tower:
It was a long day, so we ended up making dinner at our place and enjoying the nice bottle of Chianti that we had gotten from one of the Tuscan wineries we visited on our drive up to Florence.
The next day we had tickets booked for an official, half-day wine tour around the Chianti Classico region in Tuscany. This was our wedding gift from Andrew’s sister Lauren and her boyfriend Robbie, so we were very much looking forward to going on an “official Tuscan wine tour” since the one we tried to do on our own didn’t work out very well.
The wine tour started off at their local “wine school”, where we spent some time learning about the different wine regions in Tuscany, as well as the proper way to taste wine. One interesting fact was that 65% of Tuscan wineries are for making red wine, so white wine is not as prevalent in Tuscany. We learned the differences between Chianti Classico and Chianti, which is apparently something you never want to confuse when talking to a winemaker. Chianti Classico wines are from a protected region and all the wines need to be made here, with the grapes from this region alone, while Chianti is more widespread. Chianti Classico wines are 80% Sangiovese and then the remaining 20% can be Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Shiraz grapes, while Chianti is usually 100% Sangiovese grapes. The difference between the 2 wines is apparently shown by a rooster on the label. All 3 of the wineries we were going to as part of the tour were part of the Chianti Classico region in Tuscany.
Andrew and I in “wine school”:
The 3 wineries we went to that day were all family-owned, which made the experience much better. At the first winery they took us out to the vineyards and discussed the initial process of making wine. This winery produced 300,000 wines a year, which is actually considered large for the wineries in that region.
At the 2nd winery (Casa Sola) we were fortunate enough to meet the owner, who took us into the cellar and told us about the aging process in the wood/oak barrels.
At the 3rd winery we tried a few more Chianti Classico wines, and learned about pairing wine with meals. We enjoyed a delicious Tuscan meal at this last winery before heading back to Florence.
Probably the best Balsamic Vinegar we have ever had…it was a bit sweet, but delicious!
When we got back to Florence it was still raining, and I hadn’t packed any water-proof shoes, so we decided to spend some time looking for boots. Andrew was a trooper as we spent a couple of hours going into numerous boot shops trying to find a good pair. We checked out a local bar near our place that night, which turned out to have live music and was a good place to relax after a long day of wine tasting.
We spent the next day doing a few of the “touristy” things in Florence. We climbed to the top of the Duomo, which is the main site to see in Florence, and also climbed to the top of the Bell Tower. This area of the city, known as Piazza del Duomo, is comprised of a few different sites, including a museum, cathedral, and baptistry as well, so we spent the morning exploring the different sites.
View of the Duomo from the street:
Climbing up the Duomo – 463 steps! Very small spaces.
Top of the Duomo:
Andrew getting bored as we waited for people in front of us to take about 25 pictures of the top of the Duomo before continuing on up the climb. It’s so narrow that it makes it very difficult to pass people in front of you.
Are we there yet?
We made it! Got some beautiful shots of the city from the top of the Duomo
And back down we go…
Climbed to the top of Giotto’s Bell Tower – 414 steps up! Great shot of the Duomo from across the way:
Left: Inside the Baptistery // Right: The Cathedral
Inside the Opera di Santa Maria Del Fiore Museum – Andrew’s a bit “hangry” at this point
Florence Pieta – Michelangelo
We went and checked out another famous museum that afternoon, the Uffizi Gallery, where we spent a few hours checking out all of the incredible paintings of Italian artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Leonardo da Vinci.
Although the thunderstorms had started that evening, we were looking forward to dinner because we had made reservations at a place called Osteria Vini e Vecchi Sapori, which had come as a recommendation from a former colleague of mine at Sony. We made the reservations a few nights prior after reading some reviews that stressed the importance of doing so. This was without a doubt the best meal we have had in Italy. You know it’s a good restaurant when you see Michael J. Fox and his family leaving the restaurant as you’re walking in, definitely a good celebrity sighting. The restaurant was small, family-owned, and only had 8 tables inside. I believe it’s run by 1 man, along with his wife and son, who were all extremely friendly and made you feel welcome from the moment you walked in the door. The pasta and ossobuco that Andrew and I shared were incredible and we highly, highly recommend this to anyone traveling to Florence in the future. It’s an experience you won’t soon forget!
After dinner we checked out the local night scene and didn’t make it home until the wee hours of the next morning.
Met an awesome bartender at a bar called The Blob
Although it was a fun night, the next day wasn’t as fun, since I was feeling a bit of the aftermath most of the day. We did manage to find a local Irish bar, where we were able to watch the Chelsea game, but spent the majority of the afternoon relaxing at our place before heading out that night for a ramen dinner. We were craving a meal that wasn’t Italian, and ramen turned out to be a delicious call.
On our last day in Florence we headed to Piazzele Michelangelo, which came highly recommended from Lauren (Andrew’s sister), who had studied abroad in Florence a few years back. It was a bit of a hike to get up there, but the view of the city from the plaza was incredible and well worth the hike.
Steep hike up to Piazzele Michelangelo
Beautiful panoramic shots of the city of Florence
Exploring a garden nearby – he loves me and my picture taking.
On our way back down into the city, we stopped by Ponte Vecchio, a well-known arch bridge over the river in Florence, filled with a number of shops and cafes.
Ponte Vecchio
We spent the afternoon doing some shopping at a few of the local markets and then grabbed dinner at a kebab place that was rated very high on Trip Advisor. Pretty delicious. We checked out a few local bars that night before heading home.
All in all we really enjoyed our time in Florence and were able to feel like true “locals”, as we stayed in the city the entire week. Off to our last stop in Italy – going to try and enjoy the pizza and pasta a bit more before leaving this amazing country.
Andrew + Allison Around the World 