A Travelin' Girl: Getting Settled in Florence

We made our way from Venice to Florence in just over 2 hours...really do enjoy train travel and wish it was more popular in the US as it is less stressful and time consuming than airline travel. Our apartment is about a 5 minute walk from the main train station and so convenient to so many of the sights in town...not to mention it is the best stocked AirBnB I have ever rented! Here's a few pics of our home for the next 17 nights.

We spent Thanksgiving relaxing and then wandered out to the Mercato Centrale to buy a few fresh fruits and veggies...nothing like in season fruits and veggies right from the farm! Downstairs is full of vendors selling fresh produce and meats (you can also get them to fix some of the meats for you to eat at their bar) and upstairs is more like a food court but only local (no US chains). Since turkey, dressing and cranberries were not on the menu, we opted to see how the Italians do some American classics...brisket and potato salad. Will say the brisket was quite tasty!

How can we come to Tuscany and not taste the wine?! We found a great wine tasting experience on AirBnB - The Secret of Wine & Cheese in a Winery and it was fabulous! There were 10 of us in the group (3 couples, a mother & son and LuLu & me) and everyone got along so well and had so much fun! The farm/winery was about 35 minutes outside of Florence and we first stopped at the processing facility where growers in the area bring their grapes and olives for processing. The process is much more automated now so no stone wheels like I've seen in the past.

We arrived at Roberto's place and from the time we arrived until we left we were eating and drinking...we definitely did not leave hungry!

We enjoyed all 10 (yes 10) wines but one in particular so we bought a bottle to have in our apartment. LuLu was holding onto it with dear life on the crowded tram back to our place!

One of the best ways to get an overview of town is to take the Hop-on/Hop-off tour and just ride the loop so off we went. But first we had a cappuccino and a croissant with pistachio cream (yum yum).

View of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo (one of my most favorite spots in the world)

While I was in college studying in London, some friends and I came to Florence during our Fall Break in 1987 and I fell in love with the view from Piazzale Michelangelo. In November of 2007, a friend and I came to Florence and visited the spot again where I once again fell in love with the view. Now it is 37 years since I first visited and I still love the view. My photo from 1987 is old school photo so not on my phone but I did have the 2007 photo.

Part of the wall that used to surround Florence

From the time I first visited to Florence, not only did I fall in love with the view, I also fell in love with the little church up the hill from Piazzale Michelangelo...Basilica di San Miniato. When I visited in 2007, I got lucky and was able to hear the monks and their Gregorian chants during evening services. LuLu was a trooper as there were A LOT of steps to get to the top and that was after walking up a hill...sadly the facade was under renovation so she didn't get to see the beauty in person but at least we were able to go inside (I think she would have killed me if the church was closed!). It is a simple church but there is just something about it that has been etched in my memory all these years.

We went into the bookshop and LuLu found a nativity scene and the monk showed us a cake freshly made by the monks. When I asked what type, he said "chocolate, of course!" so of course we had to buy it! He did not have change so I told him to keep the few extra euro and he blessed a San Miniato medal and gave it to me with thanks. Another great memory from one of my favorite places.

LuLu was jamming to the music on the Hop-on/Hop-off...

Arno River

The Basilica of Santa Croce was built in 1292 and is the largest Franciscan church in the world.

Christmas is the time for Christmas Markets throughout Europe. Germany and France have some of the best. The one here in Florence is outside of Santa Croce and is pretty limited but they did have some good hot chocolate (cioccolato calda) and hats for LuLu and me as the weather turned pretty cold.

One cannot come to Florence and not go to Galleria dell'Accademia to see David. We got lucky and it was not crowded as it was the first Sunday of the month when many of the museums and galleries are free.

One the way back to our apartment (did I mention how conveniently located?!), we stopped in the Cappelle Medicee. Again, we got lucky ad it was not crowded on 1st Sunday! Everywhere you look in Florence, you see the Medici coat of arms.