Florence

Day 1

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DUOMO DOME CLIMB

I took the fast train from Venice to Florence and it felt like no time had passed. I was seated with this couple from South Carolina and we became fast friends, chatting the entire length of the trip. Upon arriving, I tracked down a place with great reviews that was close to my Airbnb. It made for the perfect lunch stop. I am a sucker for homemade pasta and this did not disappoint.

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I chose to buy a 3-Day Brunelleschi pass, and I was so glad that I did this. This pass gave me the option to visit some of the various sites on a whim and earlier in the morning to avoid the crowds. The only caveat with this pass is that I had to schedule the Duomo Dome climb close to the time of my arrival. I had to hurry from lunch to find the correct line to stand in. Thankfully, there were workers outside to help and the timed ticket kept the line limited. They did not let anyone stand in line early, so I was in line for only 15 minutes before my ticket time.

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The climb to the top of the dome was no small feat. Looking at the building, it should feel rather obvious that where we start and where we end were significantly different heights. Nonetheless, I was still surprised. The spiral stairs felt endless. It was nice to have a bit of a respite from climbing once we got to the first railing on the inside of the dome, but some claustrophobia definitely kicked in as I stood along the rail with dozens of people in a line where I could not move. We stood there for a while and from this vantage point, the people below looked like the size of ants.

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The climb from the inside of the dome to the top was both a fascinating invention to see and also a crazy incline of stairs. You feel like you are scaling a mountain on the inside of a building. I could not believe that a small (maybe 4-year-old) child was achieving this feat along with the rest of us. There were several people who did not finish the climb because it was so difficult.

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The view from the top was INCREDIBLE. You can see every side of the city- the rolling mountains of Tuscany and the terracotta rooftops. I do believe it was worth the climb, however, I would choose to do this on a day when I am well-fed and well-rested.

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After leaving the Duomo, I opted for an early wine and charcuterie board where I ate the most incredible cheese and salami (pecorino and grana padano).

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Day 2

UFFIZI

The next day I woke up before the crowds, grabbed an apple hand pie, and walked to the Uffizi. Once there, I had to get my ticket from the ticket office before heading over to the other side of the courtyard to stand in the line that goes into the museum. Thankfully both lines were quick.

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I popped in Rick Steves’s guide and watched the Renaissance come to life. I like how he pointed out the differences in painting styles and focal topics. For example, in the pre-Renaissance era paintings were reserved for saints or holy people, and were often 2 dimensional, lacking in perspective. Whereas the Renaissance era drew forth realism, perspective, and embracing God-breathed beauty, including humanity in all its forms. At the Uffizi, you get to see works by Leonardo Divinci, Raphael, and a rare painting by Michaelangelo.

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I highly recommend enjoying lunch on the terrace of the building. You get a beautiful view of the Pitti Tower and some of the Duomo as well. The food was tasty!

*One note I will make about the Uffizi, which I hope is a super temporary situation. The bathroom was very hard to find. There was a bathroom closed due to maintenance down the stairs from the terrace, and the only way to get to the other bathroom was to go back to the other side of the museum near the entrance. In general, I found that Italy was hard to navigate- not a lot of helpful maps or directions from people.

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I went home for a bit of a rest and as I did a huge storm came through producing hail that looked like snow on the ground. Once the hail passed, I went out in the rain to find this incredible spot for lunch called Obica. This place felt a bit fancy but the prices were reasonable and the food and wine were delicious. The pasta was homemade and the pizza ordered by a table next to me also looked amazing. Such a great atmosphere there.

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Nearby was a cool location I wanted to check out, an old Pharmacy/Perfumery whose roots date back to 1221. Not only were there some good-smelling perfumes, but a collection of old tools used to grind natural materials for treating ailments.

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Boboli Gardens

After my visit to Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, the sun finally came out, so I headed to the nearby Boboli gardens. I actually missed my original ticket time on the day of my arrival and they kindly exchanged it. The garden was immaculate, huge, and mostly uphill. There are different areas for botanicals and citrus. I was actually in search of a wisteria tunnel that I saw painted across Pinterest. It took me about an hour to find it in the nearby Bardini gardens, a separate garden included in the same ticket.

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This garden was actually a treasure to me. It was a little more compact than the Boboli but still beautifully manicured. It felt like an “English garden” on a hillside. Unfortunately, the delicate purple Wisteria flowers were perfectly in bloom but fell off of the vine because of the hail ( huge bummer).

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Just through the tunnel sits another stunning view of the city and a bar! Enjoying an aperitif at the Bardini bar overlooking the city of Florence is easily a high point of my entire trip. The American club music playing in the background kind of killed the vibe, so I popped in my AirPods and easily felt like I could sit there forever. They were in no rush even though the gardens stop accepting visitors at 6 pm (and it was 7) so I took my time too. On the way home I snagged a pizza to go and finished the night relaxing.

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Day 3

ACCADEMIA

One of my secret pleasures when traveling in Italy was walking the streets at 7 AM before the crowds woke up. I did this as often as I could to get some uninterrupted views of the beauty. Since my Accademia ticket was slated for 10 AM, I decided to go have breakfast at a highly-rated coffee spot in the city facing the baptistery. Soaking up the architectural views in this spot was a perfect way to start the morning.

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Because I had a 3-Day pass that covered several sites, I decided to check out the inside of the Baptistery after breakfast. It was undergoing renovation but they did a great job of presenting the space in this condition.

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A trip to Florence would not be complete without a visit to see Michelangelo’s David. Florence really has their museum lines down with efficiency so there is no need to arrive early. Like most of the historical sites in Florence, the crowds were full. I was surprised to be able to get so close to the statue. It was so much bigger than I had anticipated. Rick Steves’s guide highlighted that David was originally one of the statues guarding the Pitti Tower and a replica is still there today.

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Following this museum trip, I walked over toward my Airbnb in search of a place to eat. While I intended to eat at the infamous Gustapizza, the place was packed and the line was long to get in. So instead, I opted for Gustaosteria nearby. I sat outside and drooled over the sausage penne dish I ordered. The sausage was the best I have ever eaten.

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That evening, I got to experience one of the activities that I anticipated the most- pasta making. Our chef was absolutely hysterical and taught us techniques used for decades in her family. We made tagliatelle, tortolleni, and ravioli. She then cooked them up in simple sauces and it was absolutely delicious. This was definitely of the highlights of my trip!

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Day 4

TUSCANY

Florence held many of my most anticipated adventures, so on Day 9 of my tour of Italy I was very excited to head to Tuscany for a wine tour. I stopped by a coffee shop for the morning that seemed very “American” in its food options and ability to sit and enjoy a cuppa, then headed out to the train station.

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The Airbnb event hosts had listed out several ways to get to their vineyard and I chose the cheapest option–the bus. I assumed that finding and purchasing a bus ticket to head to Tuscany would be a breeze. However, it was the most stressful point of my entire trip. Inside of the crowded station, it was hard to find my way around, only to discover that the ticket station was across the street in one direction and the bus across the street in the opposite direction. Neither of these locations were in the actual train station, even though that is how they were described. I ended up running around (literally) in the rain for 30 minutes and making it onto the bus at the exact time of departure. I also realized I did not purchase a return ticket. So I headed off to Tuscany with no clue how I would return.

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Even with a bumpy start and rain, I highly recommend this experience. I chose to visit Torcibrencoli Winery, a small Chianti vineyard run by a group of cousins. We had funny, personable hosts who guided us through their cellar and labeling room. I found it fascinating to learn about different techniques and types of wine. The wines were fantastic and served with local cheeses, salamis, and delicious homemade penne with ragu sauce. It was a perfect way to round out my trip to Florence, as I hitched a ride with a newlywed couple back to the city.

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NOTES ON TRANSPORTATION

Overall, Florence was really easy to navigate by walking. The train station is extremely crowded but not far from most parts of town. The streets are very bumpy so walking with luggage is not enjoyable but it is doable. I ended up taking a taxi from the train station and it cost 15 euro (cash). The taxi stand there is interesting- you actually wait in a line and the taxis pick you up in order of that line. So there is no “hailing” a cab from the train station. Like most of the other cities, transportation is a bit tricky to navigate without the maps for things like stops.

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CITY COMPARISONS FROM MY TOUR OF ITALY

• Florence’s architecture was definitely different. The buildings felt more Western European than the romantic colorful alleyways of Rome. The crowds, however, were just as crazy as Rome. All of the major sites and city squares were flooded with people of all ages and cultures.
• Florence had the best food. I genuinely did not have a bad meal and it was all very affordable.
• Florence is the easiest city to take excursions from- Cinque Terre, Chianti, San Gimignano, Siena, Pisa, Bologna, and more.

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