Italia: Sunsets, food, and summer memories (Part 1 – Firenze)

Firenze – the capital of Tuscany. What is it about this city that makes it so beautiful? Is it the people? Its streets? Its art and history? Probably all of those things, in addition to its food. Museum buffs and Italian Renaissance art nerds love Firenze for the Uffizi and other famous galleries (which, granted, are lovely), but as with any city/town/country I visit, my absolute favorite part of visiting a place is walking its alleyways & cobblestones, peering into its shop windows, observing the people (both local + tourists)…

Let me step back for un momento and say Ciao, readers! How is it already March of 2019?! I don’t know the answer to why time passes so quickly, but I am back with some wanderlusty photos from last summer’s trip to share with you all. Firenze (Florence) is such a beautiful, charming city – I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of visiting it.

Back to the trip – We went towards the end of June, when the heat & humidity started rising along with the crowds of American tourist groups & the swarms of college students on summer vaca (along with tourists from many other places). It wasn’t the most quiet time, but we still got to do many things without being too overwhelmed by other visitors.

This was the last few days we had in Europe after spending most of our time in France – one of the funny things we learned is that we shouldn’t order from the menu as we do in France – eating an appetizer, first course, and second course is simply not possible with the large portion sizes (and I’m someone who always LOVES large portions). My eyes and gourmand nature were definitely too big for my stomach! Another post coming soon, featuring food from Firenze and Genova!

For now, here are some links and tips if you’re planning for vacation to Florence:

• Visit Florence (a great site full of tips, guides, and general good-to-knows)
• We stayed in an Airbnb! It was great to be able to stay in a regular apartment – our hosts were also very kind 🙂
• The view of the city from Piazzale Michelangelo is gorgeous – just be prepared for a bunch of other tourists (and maybe some locals?) to be there with you.
  • If you’re hoping for a good sunset pic, make sure you get there plenty of time in advance and wear some comfortable standing shoes to get a good spot before everyone else! The little café at the top that’s open in the summer is super pricey, so maybe carry something to drink with you and a snack.
  • If you find yourself inundated with other photographers – if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! Consider using the other photographers as props for your photos (you’ll notice this is what I resorted to, 😂)
• Don’t make the same mistake as us – if you want to climb the Duomo’s Cupola, make sure you get tickets well in advance of your trip! They were sold out by the time we arrived in the city for the duration of our 3-day stay so we only climbed the Campanile (which, tbh, was also amazing but I would have loved to climb the Cupola!).