Florence | Italy2018

FIRENZE

Day 5

Back Streets of Firenze + Cooking Class

We started our morning off with a back streets walk through Firenze while most of the city was still sleeping. We were able to walk over the Ponte Vecchio before the shops opened and before the crowds appeared. Our first stop was the Santa Trinita which is home to the Sassetti Chapel with beautiful frescoes depicting the story of St. Francis. We would return here later in the day to visit the Ferragamo store across the street...

Next, we went back over the Arno to visit the Santo Spirito which is home to Michelangelo's Crucifix. the Crucifix which is sculpted from wood and the detail is magnificent and must be seen. There were no photos allowed inside. We got to take a mini-espresso break before heading over to In Tavola for a cooking class and lunch.

At In Tavola, we got to assist in making our lunch, which consisted of bruschetta, pasta with a mushroom sauce, chicken pomodoro, and tiramisu! I discovered amazing tips like rubbing fresh garlic on your crostini before topping with bruschetta, how to knead pasta dough properly, and tiramisu is easier to make than you think. I purchased a pasta attachment after returning and have yet to use it, but hopefully soon I will be putting those pasta making skills to use.

After devouring our hard work and washing it down with a little wine, we were let loose to enjoy the remainder of the day on our own.

Afternoon + Evening

We decided to do a little shopping and headed back over to the Ferragamo flagship store. Last year, my husband Mike got himself a pair of Ferragamo loafers, so I got him a matching belt to go with his shoes.

Then, somehow we ended back at Perché No for more gelato. We spent the rest of the afternoon popping in and out of shops, and just enjoying the Firenze energy. When the sun was starting the set, we headed over to the Piazzale Michelangelo for some of the most breathtaking views of Firenze. I highly recommend the walk up here at sunset. Watching the city light up as the sun goes down is magical.

After taking in the views and getting all the pictures, we went to dinner near our hotel at Antica Mescita. We ordered a few items on the menu to share between all three of us, and then headed back for some shut eye before an early morning Uffizi visit.

Patricia & Sokmoua

Statue on Ponte Vecchio

Alleyway in Firenze

Patricia & Sokmoua

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Morning back streets of Firenze walk

Sokmoua, our chef, and Sovanna

Veggies for chicken + bruschetta

Dining in the wine cave

Sokmoua, our chef, and Sovanna

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Cooking class!

Ponte Vecchio

Dinner at Antica Mescita

Ponte Vecchio

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Afternoon and evening photos

Day 4

Leaving Venezia

The rain returned this morning! Somehow Patricia, our fearless leader, organized water taxis to take us from the Rialto Bridge to the bus terminal without losing any person or any of our luggage. The people and the bags were a little wet, but it was nothing an Autogrill stop couldn't fix! A few shots of espresso later, and we were unloading from the bus in Firenze ready to hit the pavement with our feet again.

Renaissance Walking Tour

After a quick break to unpack and a welcome drink at the Hotel Silla, we were ready to start exploring Firenze. We headed over Arno River and walked to Santa Croce. Here we got to see the resting places of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and the composer Rossini. After paying our respects to these great historical figures, we headed over to the Duomo and made a pit stop at Perché No! for quite possibly the best gelato.

After a quick gelato break, we then headed to dinner (which is a great way to do things). We had a delicious dinner of traditional Florentine dishes, such as ribolita soup, and a beef stew that was to die for. After stuffing ourselves full (with another dessert and lots of wine), we headed back to our hotel to get some sleep before a BIG next day.

Santa Croce at night

Duomo + Brunelleschi's Dome at night

Day 6

Uffizi Gallery

We started our morning bright and early at the Uffizi Gallery, one of the largest art museums in the world. The amount of art work at this museum would take days to take in. Our guides walked us through the major pieces of art which included work from the masters Giotto, Michelangelo, Leonardo di Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, and Caravaggio. I was able to capture photos of a few pieces, but you definitely need to go see them in person to see how beautiful each painting is.

We also were lucky enough to view pages from Leonardo di Vinci's Codex Leicester which was written mostly between 1504 and 1508 in Florence. It focused on di Vinci's ideas and thoughts on water and its movements. The Codex Leicester was on loan to the Uffizi Gallery by its current owner, Bill Gates.

Afternoon Walk

We had our afternoon free to explore and grab lunch before meeting up with the group again to go and see Michelangelo's David.

I was dying to have a lampredotto sandwich that I had last year, but could not for the life of me remember the name of the sandwich shop, but I thought I remembered where it was located - near the Duomo. So we started to walk from the Uffizi Gallery towards what I thought was the Duomo. Turns out my sense of direction today was not good. We eventually found our way to Gusta Trippa and I got my sandwich but it was MANY, MANY steps later. I found it just before we had to get in line to climb Brunelleschi's Dome.

463 steps up later, and I had worked off some of the calories from the lampredotto sandwich and it was all worth it for the panoramic views of Firenze. We stayed at the top to enjoy the views and catch our breath before heading back down to check out Ghiberti's Golden Doors that Michelangelo once called the Gates of Paradise. These bronze doors once were the entrance to the Baptistery at the Duomo.

Michelangelo's David & the Evening

After the Duomo Museum, we met up with members of our group again to walk over to the Accademia Gallery to spend time with Michelangelo's David. The details of the marble statue are flawless and beautiful from each angle that you look at him from.

Afterwards, we walked over to the Mercato Centrale with a few group members to check out options for dinner. The three of us had other dinner plans, so we decided to just have some gelato before walking over to La Cucina del Garga. Sokmoua found her most favorite gelato of the trip at the Mercato Centrale gelato counter's rum & raisin flavor. She spent the rest of the trip searching for rum & raisin gelato.

Our dinner at La Cucina del Garga was just as good as I remembered it being last year and I'm so glad we made the trek over to the restaurant to enjoy the food at this restaurant that has been in business in Firenze for over three decades.

We then walked the mile back to the hotel. So 30,000+ steps later, the three of us probably had the best sleep we had the entire trip out of pure exhaustion.