The second city of our honeymoon was Florence. Now everybody knows
Florence and its beauty, so I had high expectations... and my expectations
were met! We arrived in Florence on a very hot weather while every tourist was
out exploring the city and I remember being very frustrated about that. I don't like
crowds. That's the reason why I didn't like Prague.
Nevertheless, after resting
"at home" for a couple of hours and going out when the temperatures
dropped a bit helped a whole lot! I discovered my new favorite supermarket: Esselunga!
Man, they have everything your heart desires and even that in 3 colors or
types! Including a huuuge aisle of Barilla pasta! I was literally in pasta
heaven! 😀
Later on we went to explore the city a bit. First we enjoyed a gelato and we watched the world go by.
I remember looking at Ponte Vecchio and expecting it to be overrated and full with people. It was indeed full of people, but the feeling I had on
that old bridge I won't have again soon... it was the most relaxing typical
Italian "dolce far niente" with a performer singing like and angel
and playing the guitar and people sitting down around him to listen to him
while basking in the evening sun and maybe enjoying a gelato. That is Italy at
its best and I loved it!
The Dome was absolutely breathtaking and its sight on a soundtrack of orchestra playing in front of it when we arrived made it
all the more majestique. We just sat down on the warm pavement and enjoyed the
show as the sky got darker and darker.
On the second day we wandered on the streets of Florence in search of other beauties. That's how we ran into the Santa Maria della Croce square. What a beautiful church! Same style as the Dome, but fewer people around ;)
Then we found the famous Piazza della Signoria, with its famous museums where you can see the real David statue by Michelangelo. The square was swarming with tourists so we didn't spend time there. We didn't go in the museums either because our host told us it's not worth it that time of the year. She recommended to come back in January or February and visit the museums at half price and no tourists at all :) Good tip, I'd say!
At least we saw a fake David outside too :)
After our short walk around town we booked a wine tasting tour around Tuscany during which I literally cried happy tears (because my dream of a lifetime came true) in front of a Tuscan villa taken out of Google Images. Our wine experts were hilarious and very good at their job! I LOVED both Castellina and Monteriggioni villages and their wines. I felt so good being able to understand the wine terms and the whole presentation! The memories of the Tuscan landscapes will always stay with me! Tuscany is SO gorgeous it's difficult not to fall in love with it. Its cypress trees, its green curvy hills covered in vineyards and a majestique sunset are all you need to reach peace of mind.
When we returned to the city we went to Piazza della Michelangelo to look at the city from above, but we barely had room to squeeze in and take a couple pictures. So many people! Of course, it was a very touristic spot of the city. We left very soon even though the view was very beautiful... I still remember having a bittersweet feeling up there. Oh well... you win some, you lose some.
On our last day in Florence we went to Fiesole, a little village on a hill surrounding the city and we ended up overlooking Florence in peace and quiet and no tourists at all (which was very unexpected) and just dolce far niente-ing. I still remember the relaxing feeling I had up there! Definitely worth seeing!
All in all, even if touristy, Florence was a dream! I loved walking between the very old buildings and feeling trapped back in history! It's a city rich in culture and untold stories that lay between those old walls... as does a fake Mona Lisa ;)
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