Italy Adventure - Part 2 - Florence
Florence
We jumped on a two hour train to Florence from Venice early in the morning on Friday. I have been to Florence several times and was SO excited to take Drew there! Once we arrived, we walked to our hotel from the train station and dropped off our bags. We went and grabbed a panini for lunch and then headed to our first activity for the day - Climbing to the top of the Duomo. The duomo is a part of a huge church (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore) in the center of Florence and we got to go to the very top of the dome.
I 100% recommend buying tickets in advance for this and even then you must get there about 30 minutes before your time slot. Once inside the cathedral, we had to climb 463 steps up winding staircases in very small corridors. This was the only way up and down. It was a really cool experience and the views at the top were incredible.
After all those stairs, we worked up an appetite and went to get gelato. We ate so much gelato on our trip I actually lost count of how many cones we had. Soooo yummy!! We then headed to a free walking tour of Florence. Almost every city in Europe offers something like this. All you have to do is tip your tour guide. Our tour guide for this tour was an expert on the Renaissance. Learning about the history of the city and the Medici family was fascinating. She took us to the Medici family home, Cathedral Santa Maria complex (which includes a bell tower and baptistry), the Ponte Vecchio (which means "old bridge" in Italian), and the Piazza della Signoria.
For dinner we ate at a special restaurant called Osteria del Gatto e la Volpe. The reason this restaurant is so special is because my sister was a regular at this place when she studied abroad in Italy in 2006. When I came to visit (I was in high school at the time) she took us here and it was so delicious. Then, when I was studying abroad in Spain in 2011, some friends and I visited Florence and we returned to this restaurant and my best friend and I still talk about that meal to this day! So, I just HAD to take Drew here. It did not disappoint!! This restaurant is away from the city center/tourists so it really has a true Italian feel. Drew and I might just have to come back to Florence just to eat here... It's that good!
On Saturday morning we woke up early to go to the top of the bell tower (because we didn't get enough stairs the day before lol). It was so nice to beat the crowds and see the city before too many tourists were out and about. Gorgeous views from the top!
After that, we had planned a cooking class with a company called Eating Europe and I cannot recommend this experience enough!! This was by far our favorite thing we did on our entire trip! I'm actually going to do a whole post on the class because it was just that fun! Stay tuned!
After our amazing class, we had tickets to go see the famous David statue. We bought our tickets in advance and again we were so happy we did. We walked right up to the door at our designated time and passed a huge line of people waiting. The David is pretty much the only thing to see in this museum (although we did walk around a little bit to make sure lol). The David was sculpted by Michelangelo between the years 1501 and 1504 out of a solid piece of marble. This just amazes me! The statue is 17 feet tall and Michelangelo was only 26 years old when he sculpted it.
After seeing the David, we walked to the top of a hill called Piazza Michelangelo to watch the sunset. This is basically a place where people can come and enjoy the views over Florence. The views are absolutely breathtaking.
To end our time in Florence we had pizza at Gusta Pizza and of course, gelato! Our train to Rome left around 10:00 AM the next day!
Florence is one of my very favorite cities in the world! I'd love to go back again some day. Florence has some of the best food and there is just so much to do and see!
My next post will be all about ROME!
xoxo
Liz
I 100% recommend buying tickets in advance for this and even then you must get there about 30 minutes before your time slot. Once inside the cathedral, we had to climb 463 steps up winding staircases in very small corridors. This was the only way up and down. It was a really cool experience and the views at the top were incredible.
After all those stairs, we worked up an appetite and went to get gelato. We ate so much gelato on our trip I actually lost count of how many cones we had. Soooo yummy!! We then headed to a free walking tour of Florence. Almost every city in Europe offers something like this. All you have to do is tip your tour guide. Our tour guide for this tour was an expert on the Renaissance. Learning about the history of the city and the Medici family was fascinating. She took us to the Medici family home, Cathedral Santa Maria complex (which includes a bell tower and baptistry), the Ponte Vecchio (which means "old bridge" in Italian), and the Piazza della Signoria.
For dinner we ate at a special restaurant called Osteria del Gatto e la Volpe. The reason this restaurant is so special is because my sister was a regular at this place when she studied abroad in Italy in 2006. When I came to visit (I was in high school at the time) she took us here and it was so delicious. Then, when I was studying abroad in Spain in 2011, some friends and I visited Florence and we returned to this restaurant and my best friend and I still talk about that meal to this day! So, I just HAD to take Drew here. It did not disappoint!! This restaurant is away from the city center/tourists so it really has a true Italian feel. Drew and I might just have to come back to Florence just to eat here... It's that good!
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| "Spaghetti Nonna Rosa" (Spaghetti with ham, tomato, and spicy sauce) This is my all time favorite meal! |
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| Tiramisu!! Holy cow this was so good!! |
On Saturday morning we woke up early to go to the top of the bell tower (because we didn't get enough stairs the day before lol). It was so nice to beat the crowds and see the city before too many tourists were out and about. Gorgeous views from the top!
 |
| View of the Duomo from the top of the bell tower. Isn't this stunning? |
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After our amazing class, we had tickets to go see the famous David statue. We bought our tickets in advance and again we were so happy we did. We walked right up to the door at our designated time and passed a huge line of people waiting. The David is pretty much the only thing to see in this museum (although we did walk around a little bit to make sure lol). The David was sculpted by Michelangelo between the years 1501 and 1504 out of a solid piece of marble. This just amazes me! The statue is 17 feet tall and Michelangelo was only 26 years old when he sculpted it.
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| Of course we needed gelato before seeing the David! This is a cookie flavor and it is my FAVE!! |
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Florence is one of my very favorite cities in the world! I'd love to go back again some day. Florence has some of the best food and there is just so much to do and see!
My next post will be all about ROME!
xoxo
Liz
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ReplyDeleteHi ms Naylor its Ben from team 36 I was wonder if you and your dog had to get vaccine shots?
ReplyDeleteHi Ben!! How are you? So, I did not have to get any vaccine shots to move to Germany (since I was up to date in the United States) but Tex did have to get some shots :( He had to get an updated rabies shot!
DeleteLet me know as soon as you can.
ReplyDeleteHi Mrs. Naylor I'm Alex Diaz from Team 36 and my question is what is Austria is it Australia in German language?
ReplyDeleteHI Alex!! I miss you and hope you are doing well. Loved seeing your name pop up! So Austria is a country that borders Germany (hopefully I'll be able to go to more cities in Austria while I'm here) and in German they call Austria, Osterreich.
DeleteHi mrs. Naylor I'm Xavier Dominguez I was wondering if all the streets are water in Vince????
ReplyDeleteHi Xavier!! So fun seeing you comment on my blog! Hope you are doing well :) Great question about Venice. So yes, all the streets in Venice are water. So instead of cars, they take boats to get from place to place. There are also smaller streets throughout the city that people walk on and you can also get everywhere in Venice by walking over small bridges!
DeleteHello Mrs. Naylor it is Gabriel Estes from team 36. I was wondering where you got the Spaghetti Nonna Rosa from and if the chefs made it by hand?
ReplyDeleteHi Gabriel!! Thanks for your comment :) Spaghetti Nonna Rosa is my favorite dish in the world!! I got it from a restaurant called El Gato e La Volpe. Yes, the chefs at that restaurant make everything by hand and it is just sooo good!!
Delete