Yesterday afternoon we arrived in Florence! This city is absolutely beautiful, and I'm already wishing that we could stay here for longer (we're here until Friday). I feel like I could spend days just sitting in the countryside, just admiring the view!
We're right around the corner from the Ponte Vecchio, which is a famous bridge here in Florence, and close to dozens of shops and restaurants. So yesterday evening, we took a stroll down the street and across the bridge and ended up in the Piazza della Signoria where we checked out some beautiful sculptures and enjoyed an evening drink.
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| On the Ponte Vecchio |
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| Piazza della Signoria |
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| Palazzo Vecchio |
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| Rape of the Sabine Women statue |
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| Perseus and the Head of Medusa |
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| Musicians on the Ponte Vecchio |
Whats crazy though, is that the weather cooled down enough to where we needed a sweatshirt. So after our drinks, we went back to our apartment to grab another layer and looked for places to go for dinner. We decided on a place called Trattoria Nella, as it was highly recommended by my mom. Unfortunately they were closed for the holiday, so we settled on another restaurant a few doors down called Hostaria il Desco. I'll be honest, I was a little hesitant because not many people were in there, but my mind changed quickly as soon as we were given a very warm welcome and had the tastiest Italian dinner by far! We shared 3 different courses: fried pasta balls with proscuitto and fresh mozzarella, fresh pappardelle with cinghiale (boar), and cuttlefish with spinach. We even got to enjoy some complimentary prosecco, zucchini & pea soup, and biscotti! It was all out-of-this-world good!
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| Pappardelle with cinghiale |
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| Cuttlefish and spinach |
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| Biscotti |
Despite the sleep trouble (Florence is very noisy), our morning started off beautifully! My mom has been telling us we need to go to this cafe called Rivoire, so we decided to hit it up for breakfast. With all the delicious-looking pastries and yummy cappuccino, I now want to come here every morning!
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| First cannoli of the trip, and probably the best! |
After breakfast, we walked over to Palazzo Pitti to go see the Boboli Gardens. You could probably spend all day here in the gardens. It's just so beautiful, and you get great views of Florence. Luckily the weather was overcast and kind of rainy, so not many people were around while we were there.
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| Signor Boboli |
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| Neptune Fountain |
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| Beautiful view! |
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| I was totally fan-girling at this point |
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| Cypress Alley |
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| Island Fountain |
A ticket to Boboli Gardens also gave us access to the Porcelain Museum and Costume Gallery. They were small exhibits, but very beautiful!
We also went up to Forte Belvedere to check out the stunning views of Florence.
By the time we were finished with Forte Belvedere, it was time for lunch. We found a deli shop and enjoyed some delicious sandwiches!
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| Prosciutto e formaggi |
Despite to the fact that my collection of bug bites have grown substantially since we've arrived, we've been off to a great start here in Florence! I can't wait to see what the rest of this week has in store for us in this beautiful city!
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